Down Payment Assistance
Assistance Making Your Down Payment
USDA offers 0% down loans, OHFA features 1.5% down loans in Central Ohio and VA offers 0% down loans, too!
The Ohio Housing Finance Agency program (OHFA) offers a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at a below market interest rate. The low interest rate and fixed term enables the Agency to create homeownership opportunities for those who could not otherwise afford to purchase a home.
The current program provides home buyers with the flexibility of choosing a mortgage rate that best fits their needs through a two-tiered structure. This includes a 2% downpayment assistance grant to qualified borrowers based on the purchase price of the home. Which means for many first time buyers, you only need 1.5% of your own money down ($1,500/$100,000)!
The program is available to first-time homebuyers (persons not owning or occupying their principle residence in the last three years), or anyone purchasing a home in a targeted area, so, be sure to check before making an offer!
USDA loans are from the Depratment of Agricultural. They are intended for more rural areas and are target for those who's good credit and steady income are not enough to qualify for a home loan at a commercial lending institution, such as a bank, savings and loan or mortgage company.
More rural families and individuals may be eligible to become homeowners with the help of a USDA guaranteed home loan. When the federal government agrees to guarantee a loan, lending institutions can help buyers while incurring less risk. Through USDA's Guaranteed Rural Housing Loan Program, low- and moderate- income people can qualify for mortgages without a down payment.
VA loans are available only to eligible veterans and to the veteran's unmarried surviving spouse if the veteran died of a service connected disability. The primary advantage of VA loans is that they offer no down payment financing to the veteran. VA loans are almost always the best way for a veteran to buy a home.