Tax- Exempt Bonds.
One aspect of the financial crisis that never received much attention was the detrimental impact on state and local housing finance agencies (HFAs), which make low-costmortgage money available to working households that have trouble qualifying for conventional financing.
Since the credit crunch hit a couple of years ago, investors have been shying away from
tax-exempt bonds. And it is these tax-exempt bonds are how housing finance agencies generate their low-cost money for making loans to eligible home buyers.
The recent return of the HFA programs could be one of the reasons the low-end of the housing market has been coming back. The fact that HFAs have money to lend again is playing a role in improving market stability.
Help for Homeowners
Like FHA, VA, and the Rural Housing Service (the old Farmer’s Home Administration), these state and local HFAs help working households that have trouble qualifying for conventional financing and make homeownership possible in a responsible way.
Loans are structured in ways that take into account the household’s ability to pay. Households earning fairly reasonable income relative to their area’s median income are typically eligible.
If you are having trouble getting financing, you might consider contacting your state or local HFA (not all localities have an HFA, but all states have one) to see if one of their homeownership programs are the way to go.
Helpful Links
Housing Assistance Council
http://216.92.48.246/infoObligations.php
USDA Rural Development Programs
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RHS/sfh/indiv_sfh.htm
USDA Home Page
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/
USDA 502 Programs
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RHS/sfh/brief_rhguar.htm
USDA Programs For Arkansas
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ar/programs.htm