Staff report
RALEIGH ó Rowan County is among North Carolina communities hit hard by foreclosures that may now have help filling vacant, foreclosed properties and preserving local property values thanks to a federal program that helps families purchase their first home.
The federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program targets 23 North Carolina counties identified as having the “greatest need” based on foreclosure starts and other housing-related statistics.
The N.C. Housing Finance Agency will use program funds to provide down-payment and closing-cost assistance up to $14,900 to qualified buyers to purchase a foreclosed property using its FirstHome Mortgage, which is available to first-time buyers with low-to-moderate incomes. Buyers must invest $1,000 of their own funds when purchasing the foreclosed home, and program funds can be used in conjunction with the $8,000 federal tax credit until the credit expires Nov. 30.
“These funds will help communities stabilize neighborhoods that have experienced foreclosures,” said Bob Kucab, executive director of the N.C. Housing Finance Agency. “Because foreclosures can be detrimental to surrounding property values, these funds will benefit the entire community.”
In 2009, Rowan County residents started 499 foreclosure filings, according to the Rowan County Clerk of Court’s office.
The Neighborhood Stabilization Program was authorized by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The N.C. Department of Commerce Division of Community Assistance is administering the $48.85 million that was provided to the state and has awarded the funds to 20 local governments, nonprofits and other organizations. The N.C. Housing Finance Agency received $4.2 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.
The funds can be used to purchase foreclosed homes in 23 counties: Alamance, Brunswick, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Catawba, Cumberland, Dare, Davidson, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Pitt, Randolph, Rowan, Union, Vance and Wake.
The funds are offered as five-year, zero-percent-interest, deferred mortgages that may be forgiven at the rate of 20 percent per year for each full year the buyer owns and lives in the home. Homeowners must be current on their mortgage when the five-year period ends.
Home prices cannot exceed $210,000. To qualify for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program loan, buyers must meet the agency’s FirstHome Mortgage guidelines, including income limits. Maximum qualifying income limits vary by county from $41,900 to $73,800 for one-to-two-person households; limits are higher for larger households. In addition, borrowers must obtain eight hours of in-person home buyer counseling from a HUD-approved housing counselor.
Buyers apply for the FirstHome Mortgage and Neighborhood Stabilization Program assistance through participating local lenders.
Participating lenders in Rowan County are:
– Bank of America, 500 W. Innes St., 704-637-5332;
– Citizens South Bank, 401 West Innes St., 704-633-2341;
– First Bank, 215 West Innes St., 704-647-3300;
– First Bank, 1525 Jake Alexander Blvd. S., 704-633-3209;
– Granite Mortgage, 315 North Main Street, 704-633-8007;
– State Employees Credit Union, 1030 Mooresville Road, 704-633-7005;
– Suntrust Mortgage, 507 W. Innes St., 704-647-3123;
– Community Bank of Rowan, 313 E. Centerview St., China Grove, 704-216-2900.
In Kannapolis, participating lenders are:
– First Bank, 421 South Main St., 704-938-5126;
– State Employees Credit Union, 2312 Coldwater Ridge Drive 704-932-1111.
To learn more about the N.C. Housing Finance Agency’s home buyer assistance and how to apply, call 1-800-393-0988 or go to www.nchfa.com.