Stamford housing fund gets $250K grant from
state
May 24, 2005 ; As originally appeared in Stamford Advocate,
by By Tobin A. Coleman
HARTFORD
-- First-time home buyers in the Stamford area are in line
for a $250,000 boost from the state in the form of a down
payment assistance grant to the Stamford-based Housing Development
Fund.
Gov.
M. Jodi Rell, who sets the commission agenda, announced the
funding yesterday. The State Bond Commission is scheduled
to vote on the grant Friday.
"My
goal is to make it possible for more people in Connecticut
to realize their dream of buying a house," Rell said
in a statement. "Many people can afford monthly mortgage
payments but have difficulty saving for down payment and closing
costs. This money will help to alleviate the financial burden
that many first-time purchasers face."
First-time
home buyers can earn no more than 80 percent of the average
median income to qualify for the program, which helps with
down payments and some other costs needed to qualify for a
conventional mortgage.
Home
buyers in towns near Danbury and Bridgeport are also eligible
for the funds.
Joan
Carty, executive director of the Housing Development Fund,
said the new state funding would allow the agency to help
20 to 25 more families to become first-time home buyers.
"Funds
from the state government from the bonding commission are
going to leverage a lot of first-time home buyer activity
and allow a lot of people to buy into the American dream,"
Carty said in a telephone interview. "It can really transform
the lives of middle- and low-income homeowners and we're thrilled
to have the governor as part of our efforts."
Depending
upon how the grant is structured, it could be incorporated
into the development fund's revolving first-time home buyer's
program. There, the funds from program participants who are
paying back their assistance is used to fund down payment
assistance to new recipients.
Carty
said the Housing Development Fund, which has a separate program
that helps developers build or renovate multifamily projects,
is helping about 100 first-time home buyers a year under the
down payment program.
The
state Department of Economic and Community Development will
administer the grant and monitor compliance with its guidelines,
departmentspokesman Jim Watson said in a telephone interview.
The
Housing Development Fund has three service areas. To be eligible
for assistance, a family must not exceed the income guidelines
in the area in which they hope to buy.
According
to the department, in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien,
Wilton, Norwalk, Weston and Westport, that income limit is
$62,496 for a single person and $89,280 for a family of four.
In
Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Bridgeport, Shelton,
Stratford, Milford, Oxford, Beacon Falls, Seymour, Ansonia
and Derby, the limits are $42,896 for a single person and
$61,280 for a family of four. In Ridgefield, Redding, Danbury,
Bethel, New Fairfield, Sherman, New Milford, Bridgewater,
Brookfield, Newtown, Washington and Roxbury, the limits are
$50,040 for a single person and $77,200 for a family of four.
There
are income guidelines for families of any size. They can be
viewed at the Housing Development Fund Web site at http://housingdevelopmentfund.org
and clicking on first-time home buyers.
For
this program, a first-time home buyer is someone who has not
owned property in the past three years.
The
Housing Development Fund has also been picked as the Fairfield
County administrator of a similar federal down payment program.
Those funds are expected to be released later this year.
"Home
ownership is the foundation for building stronger communities
and neighborhoods," Rell said. "State and federal
funding can greatly enhance the quality of life for families
that never thought they could afford a home of their own." |
