by Mike Plambeck
There’s no denying that finding a home is a difficult task. Simply finding a good property for sale is hard enough. Then there’s the long process of applying for a mortgage and the expense of all the initial payments and fees.
Get Help Pre Qualifying for a Texas Single Mother Home Loan – Click Here!
Every state helps local single moms because they do the equivalent of 2.5 full-time jobs for free! + actual jobs on top of that!
It can be a real challenge, especially if you’re already dealing with the stresses of being a single mother in Texas.
But finding the perfect home loan doesn’t have to turn your homeownership dream into a homeownership nightmare.
In this article, we’ve compiled the best home loans for single mothers in Texas – mortgage programs that have expanded eligibility requirements and good interest rates that you can find anywhere in the state.
We also have additional resources for single mothers in Texas who have bad credit, because we know that credit is the number one thing that mortgage brokers look for. Having bad credit can make the process of getting a loan much more difficult.
Best home loans for single mothers in Texas
The standard home loans for single mothers in Texas option is what is known as a “conventional mortgage”. Conventional mortgages require you to pay 20 percent of the total loan amount in an upfront down payment. Also, it requires you to have a certain amount of income, and a minimum credit score of 660-700 in most cases.
You might save a little more on the monthly payments with these types of loans (depending on the interest rates in your area). However, if you’re looking for help and reading this article there’s a good chance that you are ineligible for the conventional option.
Balancing work and raising a family as a single mother in Texas doesn’t always leave a lot of time to save up. So, the down payment of 20 percent might not be what you are looking for. We also understand that bad credit score excludes conventional loans.
The following three loans are programs offered by the federal government that are more accessible to those with bad credit, low income, or other financial concerns that might turn you off of conventional mortgages. They are, in our opinion, are the best home loans for single mothers in Texas.
Texas FHA home loans for single moms
FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees a certain portion of the loan’s value. Because these loans are less risky for the lender, Texas mortgage brokers will accept applications for FHA loans. The requirements of FHA are so lenient, the conventional mortgages do not even consider such applications.
The expanded eligibility requirements for FHA loans include much lower income requirements that basically anyone should be able to meet, higher maximum debt-to-income ratios. Usually, DTI requirements are 50% instead of 40% or lower. So, here is advantage #2 of FHA vs. Conventional Loan.
If you have a credit score of 580 or higher, you will only have to make a 3.5 percent down payment on an FHA home loan for single mothers in Texas.
If your credit is lower than 580, you may have to make a down payment of 10 percent, which is still only half of a conventional down payment.
Moreover, providing alternative credit (usually proof of bill payments to organizations not factored into your FICO credit score) may lower the down payment for single mothers in Texas with low credit.
Texas USDA home loans for single moms
It’s great that Texas has so much land!
USDA loans (also called “Rural Development Loans”) are loans that the US Department of Agriculture gives out to encourage Texans to move into more rural areas. This means that this type of loan is inaccessible to those living in Houston, Austin, or Dallas proper; however, property in most of the rest of the state should be eligible. If you’re not sure, it never hurts to call up a USDA representative or HUD counseling agency and ask!
USDA home loans for single mothers in Texas are a little less accessible than FHA loans. They require higher income and credit score (though still slightly lower than the requirements of most conventional loans).
However, they have low-interest rates and longer payback periods. This means that your individual payments will likely be lower if you get a 38-year USDA home loan. A typical FHA loan would take less time, like 30 years.
In some cases, USDA loans will cover 100 percent financing, which means that they will require no money down whatsoever. This is not always the case, so be sure to “shop around” with different lenders to see what their terms look like.
Texas VA home loans for single moms
VA loans are similar to FHA loans in that they are home loans for single mothers in Texas that the Federal Government insures. These are the cheapest single mom Texas mortgages around if you can get them because they require no down payment and no private mortgage insurance.
They also have very generous income and credit requirements – usually about the same as an FHA loan.
What’s the catch? obviously, VA loans are only available to members of the armed services or veterans who have acquired a Certificate Of Eligibility, or COE, from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
If you’re a single mother in Texas who served our country in the past, you should definitely consider applying for one of these great affordable mortgages.
Home loans for single mothers with bad credit in Texas: only a few options
Your FICO credit score is the number one thing that a mortgage broker’s going to look at when they decide whether or not to accept your application for a home loan. Your credit score is largely a measure of how regularly you’re paying your bills. This makes sense – the higher your score, the better you are at paying your bills, the more likely you are to make the regular payments on your mortgage.
However, we know as well as anyone that sometimes bad credit happens to good people. Maybe you just haven’t had time to build up your credit or don’t have that many lines of credit available to you.
Maybe something happened that was beyond your control. Here are some things you can do to find home loans for single mothers with bad credit in Texas.
Firstly
If your credit was damaged by a major life change that was out of your control, you may be able to get the lender to manually underwrite the credit requirements on a mortgage.
This is not a common occurrence, but it is possible if you have sufficient proof of need, it’s worth bringing up with any Texas mortgage broker you’re considering applying with.
Secondly
You can find someone to co-sign the loan with you. The lender will consider the co-signer’s credit in addition to yours. So, if you have a friend or close family member with credit of 700 or higher, you will likely be able to pay for a conventional mortgage even if your own credit is somewhere in the 500s.
Note: when someone co-signs a loan with you, they are directly tying their credit to your property and your ability to make payments. In some circumstances, they may have to pay up if you miss a month or two.
So, make sure they understand the risks of co-signing and that you are ready to make all of the payments on your home loans for single mothers with bad credit in Texas.
Finally
Down payment assistance for single mothers in Texas may be able to help you afford a bad credit home loan. You see, if a loan has low credit requirements or gets underwritten, the lender will usually require a much higher down payment upfront to justify the risk.
If you need help paying this down payment, the state of Texas offers the Homes Sweet Texas Home Loan Program.
Home Sweet Texas Home Loans are 30 year fixed rate mortgage loans that operate very similar to FHA loans, but which will also cover three to five percent of the value of the total loan amount in down payment assistance that you never have to pay back. These home loans for single mothers in Texas are available statewide at most lenders.
Conclusion
We hope that this list of the best home loans for single mothers in Texas has helped you as you begin home buying journey. Now that you understand what mortgages and mortgage resources are available to you in the state of Texas, you can make the most informed decisions.
Get Pre Qualified For a Texas Home Loan For Single Moms Today – Click Here!
by Mike Plambeck
There’s no denying that finding a home in South Carolina can often be a difficult task. If you’re looking for a conventional mortgage, you have to start saving up for the down payment well in advance.
You have to spend a lot of time shopping around for lenders who are willing to work with your credit and your income – and since credit is the first thing a mortgage broker looks at, having bad credit can turn your dreams of home ownership into a nightmare of endless rejections. And that’s to say nothing of the effort it takes to actually find an eligible property in a good location!
These stresses only get more, well, stressful when you’re a single mother. Balancing work with taking care of your child/children is difficult enough without also having to deal with finding a place to live. But there is good news, which is that we at Home Loans For All are here to help.
Get Help Pre Qualifying for an SC Home Loan For Single Moms – Click Here!
We have compiled this list of some of the best SC home loans for single moms – loans that you should be able to find at most lenders in the state, and loans which have easy eligibility requirements. We’ve also talked about the SC single mother home assistance offered by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government.
Even the most strapped-for-cash mom deserves to find a great home!
Best SC Home Loans For Single Moms
When you’re looking for a home loan, the default option is usually the mortgage program outline by the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines, which is known as a “conventional mortgage.”
The problem with conventional mortgages is that they’re usually designed with an upper-middle-class buyer in mind. They require you to pay 20 percent of the value of the home as an up-front down payment and to have a minimum credit score between 660 and 700 in almost all cases. The income requirements are also higher than many South Carolina single moms can afford.
If you’re reading this site, we assume that you’ve already considered the conventional mortgage option and, like many home buyers, found it lacking. Here’s some other SC home loans for single moms that you might be able to apply for instead:
FHA loans for SC single mothers
FHA loans are one of the best SC home loans for single moms available. Most loans make you pick between low credit requirements and low down payments. With an FHA loan, as long as you have a credit score of 580 or higher you only have to make a 3.5 percent down payment up front.
And if you have a credit score of 500 to 579, you’ll only have to pay a 10 percent down payment at most, which is still half of what you have to pay on a conventional mortgage.
The reason FHA loans can get away with having low credit requirements, low income requirements, and a low down payment is because the federal government guarantees a portion of the loans, agreeing to pay back the lender if you default on your mortgage.
FHA loans are among the most accessible and most affordable home loans for single mothers in South Carolina, so consider applying for one today!
USDA loans for SC single mothers
USDA loans are loans paid out by the Department of Agriculture in order to encourage people to move to rural areas. These loans are great for South Carolina single mothers, because over 97% of land in the state is considered “rural enough” to apply for these loans!
USDA loans have higher requirements in terms of income and credit than FHA loans do, although those can be manually underwritten by the lender if you have proof of sufficient financial need.
They also tend to have higher down payments (although in some cases these loans actually require no down payment at all, so be sure to consult with your local lender and find out what terms they are offering.)
However, USDA loans do have two advantages over FHA mortgages if you’re looking for South Carolina home loans for single moms. The first is that they usually have a longer payback period (38 years as opposed to 30 years.) The second is that they do not require you to pay private mortgage insurance, which FHA loans require for the duration of the loan period.
In short, USDA loans will have lower individual monthly payments, even though they won’t be as accessible to South Carolina single mothers as the FHA mortgage is.
VA loans for SC single mothers
VA loans are insured by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which means that they are only available to single mothers in South Carolina who are also ex-service members. However, these are the very best no money down home loans in South Carolina for single mothers who meet the eligibility requirements.
With low income requirements, low interest rates, no private mortgage insurance, and credit requirements at least as low as the FHA mortgage in most areas, VA loans combine (most of) the best parts of USDA loans with the best parts of FHA loans to create perhaps the single most affordable widely-available SC home loans for single moms.
SC single mother home assistance
Different people have different needs when they’re looking for a home loan, and that’s just as true for South Carolina single mothers as it is for anyone else. Fortunately, there’s lots of SC single mother home assistance available if you know where to look.
If you need advice, a HUD-approved housing counseling agency is a good place to start. They can answer any questions you have about the home buying process or about your situation in particular.
The South Carolina Housing Agency, or SCHA, also holds regular seminars and public Q&As that are good places to learn more about the specific challenges faced by a home buyer in South Carolina.
If you need help with the initial payment, you should seek out down payment SC single mother home assistance. The main down payment assistance program offered in South Carolina is the SC Housing Homebuyer Program.
If you are accepted by this program, you will receive a 30-year bad credit home loan with low, fixed interest rates and the SCHA will pay up to $6,000 of the down payment and closing costs on your house via a second deferred loan that you don’t have to pay back until the house has been completely paid off. Many South Carolina single mothers have difficulty saving up for the initial down payment, so this program can be very useful!
If you need help finding a home loan with bad credit, you might consider finding someone to co-sign the loan with you. A co-signer is someone with a higher credit score – usually a trusted family member or close friend – who agrees to tie their credit score directly to your property.
They let you apply for the loan as though you had the same credit they did, giving you better terms on your mortgage and a better chance of getting accepted in the first place. However, the co-signer will take the fall if you fail to make your mortgage payments, so make sure all parties involved understand what they’re getting into.
If you need help affording the loan after you’ve already been accepted, the homestead tax credit is a useful resource for anyone who’s living in a home that they’re still paying off.
This exemption limits the amount that a property you are currently paying off can be taxed during increases each year, saving you thousands of dollars each tax season.In South Carolina, the Homestead Exemption is a complete exemption of taxes on the first $50,000 of the mortgage.
Conclusion
We hope that you have learned a bit about finding SC home loans for single moms and that you are on your way to finding a great home loan of your own! Remember that no matter how stressful the process becomes, everyone deserves to live safely and securely in a beautiful house of their own. YOU are no exception to that rule!
by Leslie Rowberry
Looking for California teacher home loans with no money down? At Home Loans For All, we can help you find what you need.
The state of California has a number of programs that are useful for teachers and other professionals who are looking for a permanent place to live.
In this article, we’ll look at the most widely-available California teacher home loans with no money down, some low-money-down alternatives and how to find them for even cheaper, down payment assistance that can make it easier to make the initial mortgage payment, and options for teachers who have bad credit.
No matter what kind of mortgage you’re looking for, no matter what kind of income or credit requirements you need, there’s always a way to find an affordable house in the location you’re looking for.
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California teacher home loans with NO money down
Saving up for a down payment is one of the most difficult parts of buying a home in California, especially if you’re on a teacher’s salary. There are only a few home loans in California that are available to teachers that truly require no money down whatsoever.
But if you’re not eligible for the following programs, don’t worry – we’ll discuss how to turn a low down payment loan into a NO down payment loan in the next section.
The only guaranteed no money down home loans for teachers in California are VA and CalVet mortgages. As you might be able to guess from the names, these home loans are sadly only available to teachers who have also served in the armed forces.
However, they have expanded eligibility requirements that will accept bad credit and low income, low interest rates that keep your monthly payments cheap, and no down payment requirement whatsoever.
CalVet loans usually end up costing a little less overall than federal VA loans, but either option will be very helpful to anyone who wants a California teacher home loan with no money down.
California teacher home loans with LOW money down
In most cases, you will have to put some money down on a home before you buy it. It helps lenders feel better about the risk of giving you money that they may not get back.
The greater the (perceived) risk of the loan, the higher the down payment, which is why many bad credit home loans or low income home loans have high down payments.
However, there are exceptions to the rule, which is why in this section we’ll highlight some California teacher home loans that anyone can take advantage of, no matter what their financial situation looks like.
Also: if you’re dead set on finding California teacher home loans with NO money down, most of the loans in this section can be manually underwritten by the lender to require no down payment.
This is usually done only if you have demonstrable proof that your credit or income isn’t your fault, or that you can afford the monthly payments and can’t afford the down payments.
If that’s the case for you, start talking to lenders in your area about manual underwriting today!
FHA home loans in California for teachers
FHA loans are our number one recommendation for California teachers looking for a home loan, especially if you’re buying a home for the first time.
FHA loans are one of the few mortgages on the market that have low credit requirements and very low down payments, both of which are combined with generous income requirements and low interest rates in most cases.
Here’s how credit works with an FHA loan. If you’re a California teacher with a credit score of 580 or higher, your down payment will be a mere 3.5 percent of the home’s overall value.
If you have a credit score between 500 and 579, you will need to provide alternative credit or make a 10 percent down payment. In any case, you’re likely saving a few thousand dollars up front.
USDA home loans in California for teachers
USDA loans are paid out by the US Department of Agriculture in order to convince American home buyers to move to rural areas. Admittedly, these loans are a little less useful in California than they are in other states, since most of our California readership probably lives in the big cities like LA and San Francisco.
However, these loans have low interest rates, expanded eligibility requirements, and fairly low down payments that can be underwritten even lower.
Down payment assistance for teachers in California
Down payment assistance can also turn a low down payment into no down payment (or, at least, into a down payment that you personally don’t have to pay.) The California Housing Finance Agency offers two different programs where the state will pay some of your down payment for you.
The first is called the MyHome Assistance Program, in which the CalHFA will pay up to 3.5 percent of the price of the home with a deferred zero-interest loan that you don’t have to pay off until your mortgage has ended.
As savvy readers have probably picked up on, if you get an FHA loan with a 3.5 percent down payment, this program means that you won’t have to put any money down at all when you buy your California home.
The second is the School Teacher and Employee Assistance Program. This program is special because it is only available to California teachers, as you no doubt guessed from the name. (Important note: this only applies to teachers in K-12 public schools, not private school, preschool, or university professors.)
If you’re eligible, the STEAP has much more lenient credit and income requirements than the MyHome program and pays up to 4 percent of the home’s value in down payments, so it’s one of the best ways to turn a loan with a down payment into a California teacher home loan with no money down.
Home loans for teachers with bad credit in California
If you have bad credit in California, looking for a home can be very frustrating because conventional mortgages usually require credit scores of somewhere around 640 to 700. But there are options.
The FHA and VA loans are going to be your two best bets for a mortgage. Both of these loans have good terms with very low credit requirements, and when combined with the School Teacher and Employee Assistance Program or some other down payment assistance, these loans will cost almost nothing up front.
If you’re not eligible for these programs, you can try to find someone to co-sign the mortgage with you. A co-signer is a close friend or family member who agrees to tie their credit score to the property.
In other words, the mortgage broker will consider their credit score in addition to yours when deciding to approve or reject a loan.
However, this can be a little risky for the co-signer, who will absorb some of the risk and may be expected to pay for you if you fail to make one of your monthly payments.
Make sure you and your co-signer both understand the risks and responsibilities involved before you sign the mortgage contract.
With these options in mind, you should have no trouble finding home loans for teachers with bad credit in California!
Conclusion
After reading this article, we hope you have gained a strong understanding of what California teacher home loans with no money down are available. We know that trying to buy a permanent home in this state can often be frustrating due to the high cost of living. And we know those frustrations only get worse when they’re compounded with a small teacher’s salary and bad credit. But with these resources and the help of intelligent counseling, we know you’ll be able to find the home of your dreams at an affordable price.
by Leslie Rowberry
A lot of states offer home loan programs specifically for certified first responders, but unfortunately, Indiana is not such a state. Fortunately, there are many great Indiana mortgages available if you know where to look.
In this article, we’ll go over some of the best Indiana mortgages for first responders and what you can do to find a mortgage if you have bad credit in Indiana.
Get Help Pre Qualifying for an Indiana First Responder Mortgage – Click Here!
Why should you buy a house if you’re an Indiana first responder? Isn’t it easier just to rent? Well, it is, but the easiest way of doing something is often not the best. A home is a long-term whose investment will appreciate over time. It also provides a sense of safety, security, and freedom that just isn’t available with a rental property.
After all, once you own the home, you can do whatever you want with it! So even if Indiana doesn’t do anything to help its first responder heroes, we’ll help you find the home loan of your dreams.
Best Indiana first responder mortgages
The basic option for an Indiana first responder mortgage is what is commonly known as a “conventional loan.” These loans usually require a 20 percent down payment, a debt-to-income ratio lower than or equal to 43 percent, and a minimum credit score of 640 to 700.
That’s a tall order for many home buyers, which is why the government and certain private moneylenders offer more affordable programs that will help fulfill the mission of getting home loans for all.
Here are the three programs we think will be the most useful for those seeking Indiana home loans for first responders.
VA loans for IN first responders
A lot of first responders were former members of the armed services. That makes them eligible for one of the loans insured by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, more commonly known as “VA loans.”
These Indiana home loans for first responders with bad credit have low interest rates, no private mortgage insurance, limited closing costs, and no required down payment. In short, they will save you thousands of dollars on the home of your dreams! What could be better than that?
The one downside of these loans is that they are only available to veterans and current members of the armed forces who also meet certain income requirements. You can learn more about the advantages these loans have over conventional loans by clicking here.
FHA loans for IN first responders
Since VA loans are insured by Veterans’ Affairs, you can probably guess that FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
Because the government is willing to pay back a certain percentage of these loans in the event of a default, lenders feel much more comfortable giving them out to applicants whose applications they might otherwise reject.
If you have a credit score of 580 or higher, you only have to pay a down payment equal to 3.5 percent of the home’s value. If you can afford a larger down payment of up to 10 percent, you can still get accepted with credit as low as 500.
FHA loans also have maximum debt-to-income ratios as high as 45 to 50 percent and are overall the easiest loan for anyone to attain.
And despite the popular misconception that FHA loans can only be secured by first-time home buyers, this great program is actually available to anyone, including first responders in the state of Indiana.
The one major downside of an FHA Indiana first responder mortgage is that you have to pay for private mortgage insurance for the entire duration of the loan period.
This means that while an FHA loan is more affordable in each individual payment and in terms of what you have to pay up front, it may cost more over time.
You will have to decide what is most important to you when you’re picking out a mortgage.
USDA loans for IN first responders
US Department of Agriculture loans are designed to promote more movement into rural areas, which includes about 97 percent of geographic locations in the state of Indiana. If you’re a first responder who’s willing to live outside of one of the big cities, this might be the loan for you!
IN home loans for first responders with bad credit
Your credit score is usually the first thing that a mortgage broker looks at when they’re deciding whether they should approve or reject your loan application. It’s seen as the primary measure of your financial responsibility and the likelihood that you will pay back the money that the bank lends you.
As a result, first responders (and other loan applicants) who have bad credit usually have a much more difficult time finding a mortgage than those with good credit.
If you’re looking for IN home loans for first responders with bad credit, the VA and FHA loan options we recommended above are great choices that have low income and credit requirements.
Technically, the government doesn’t require ANY minimum credit score on these loans, but most lenders are looking for scores of 580 or higher.
That’s a hundred points lower than the usual credit requirement of a conventional mortgage. And for FHA loans in particular, lenders will often consider “alternative credit,” such as proof that you have a long and consistent history of paying your utility bills on time.
This is why you should always “shop around” to find lenders with the lowest credit requirements who are willing to work with alternative forms of credit and will take the reasons for your bad credit into account when they decide to approve or reject your application.
Now, IN home loans for first responders with bad credit are often seen as a risky investment for the lenders who pay them out. If you have bad credit, it is believed (fairly or unfairly) that you are more likely to default on your loan.
To make sure they don’t lose money, brokers who offer bad credit mortgages will usually require a higher down payment up front. For this reason, down payment assistance is often very useful to Indiana bad credit home buyers.
There are two major down payment assistance programs offered to Indiana first responders. The first is called the “Next Home” program and is available anywhere in the state. If you are accepted for a Next Home loan, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) will pay for up to 3 percent of the down payment on a conventional mortgage and 4 percent of the down payment on an FHA home loan.
The second down payment assistance program that will be useful in helping to pay off IN home loans for first responders with bad credit is sadly only available if you are buying a home within the city of Indianapolis.
The Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (INHP) will pay up to $5,000 of the down payment on your loan IF you apply for a loan through them and accept their terms.
This program is often more helpful than “Next Home,” but is also available to fewer buyers.
If you still can’t get a home loan even with the reduced down payment and lower credit requirements of these various government programs, you might need to seek the help of a co-signer.
A co-signer is someone – usually a close friend or trusted family member – who ties their credit score to your property in exchange for more favorable terms and conditions on the loan.
Basically, they absorb some of the risk, and lenders will consider your application as though you had the same credit score that the co-signer has.
Conclusion
Now that you know more about Indiana first responder mortgages, we hope that you’ll be able to use this information to purchase a beautiful home of your own. We know that there’s nothing quite like the comfort, security, and freedom of living in a place that you can truly call your own.
So even if there may be fewer resources for Indiana home loans for first responders than there are in other states, we hope we’ve helped you see that there are still many things you can do to find a home for an affordable price.
by Leslie Rowberry
We know that being a single mother can come with a lot of challenges. And every single mom deserves to face those challenges in a safe and secure place that they can call their own. No matter what your situation is – no matter if you have low income, bad credit, or any other concerns – we’re here to provide you with home help for single mothers in Ohio.
In this article we’ll go through help you can use to get a loan, help you can use to pay off a loan, and some of the best programs for finding OH mortgage loans for single mothers.
Get Help Pre Qualifying for a Single Mother Home Loan In Ohio – Click Here!
Home help for single mothers in Ohio
Here is some simple home help that every single mother in Ohio can take advantage of, whether they’re buying their first home or trying to pay off an existing property.
Homestead tax exemptions
Many states offer homestead tax exemptions for residents, and Ohio is no different! The Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s Mortgage Tax Credit lets you withhold property taxes on 40 percent of the value of the home you’re paying a mortgage on or $2,000 a year – whichever is less. This can save you quite a bit of money and is great if you’re looking for some home help for single mothers in Ohio.
However, note that the Mortgage Tax Credit is only available to those who are living in a home that they are currently paying off. You also have to meet certain (fairly lenient) income and purchase price limits and complete a free homebuyer education course. You can learn more about this Ohio home help program on its official website here.
Down Payment Assistance
If you need help paying for a mortgage, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency has some programs that can help you. The YourChoice! down payment assistance program combines 30-year, fixed-rate conventional, FHA, VA and USDA government loans with reasonable income and purchase price limits with an agreement from the state to pay for up to 5 percent of the total value of the home. This amount can be put towards the down payment, closing costs, or other pre-closing expenses. And if you own the home for at least seven years, the down payment assistance is “forgiven” and you don’t have to pay anything back!
The Housing Assistance Grant Program from the Ohio Development Services Agency also provides some limited down payment assistance programs to low-income and moderate-income families. You must not have had ownership of a property in the last three years, be an honorably discharged veteran, or have a credit score below 640 in order to qualify for down payment assistance from the state of Ohio.
If you live in the city of Columbus, you can also apply for the American Dream Downpayment Initiative. The ADDI, as it’s most commonly abbreviated, is available only to first time homebuyers who meet certain income requirements. And much like the down payment assistance offered by the state, you’ll need to complete a free homebuyer education course from a Housing Division Certified Agency.
However, the ADDI has two benefits over the YourChoice! Program. Firstly, no credit requirements. And secondly, a flat $5,000 in down payment assistance, which may be more than the 5 percent offered by YourChoice!.
You can learn more about home help for single mothers in Columbus, Ohio by clicking here.
Foreclosure prevention for single moms in Ohio
If you’re looking for home help in the form of foreclosure prevention, the OHFA offers a voluntary mediation program that will help homeowners and their lender communicate with each other to solve the crisis and prevent the borrower from having to foreclose on the home. To get in touch with a mediator, you can all the agency at 888-362-6432.
Ohio home loans for single moms
The above home help for single mothers in Ohio is all well and good if you already own a home or at least have some idea of a mortgage lined up. But what if you’re just starting the home buying process? There are several programs offered by the federal government that are designed to help you find OH mortgage loans for single mothers.
First time home buyer? Click here if you need more help finding OH mortgage loans for you.
FHA loans for Ohio single mothers
FHA home loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (hence the name.) This organization guarantees a portion of the mortgage for private money lenders, essentially promising to pay back some of the money if you have to default on your payments. Hopefully that won’t ever become necessary, but the extra level of protection means that lenders feel more comfortable giving these loans out to even applicants who would otherwise be turned down outright. For example: single mothers with bad credit or low income in Ohio.
The benefits of an FHA loan are the lower requirements and less expensive down payment. If you have a credit score of 580 or higher, you will likely be able to get an FHA loan while only having to pay 3.5 percent of the value of the home up front. This is much lower than the 20 percent down payment required by most conventional Ohio home loans for single moms. If you have credit lower than 580, you may be able to make up for it with alternative forms of credit. At most, you will have to pay a 10 percent down payment, which is still extremely affordable.
The biggest downside of the FHA loan option is that you have to pay for Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI. Most home loans require you to pay PMI for part of the mortgage period, but FHA loans require you to make these payments until the loan has been completely paid off.
USDA loans for Ohio single mothers
US Department of Agriculture loans are offered to single mothers who are looking for a home in a rural area of Ohio. About 97 percent of the land in the state is geographically eligible for this kind of loan, so it can be very useful if you’re looking for home help for single mothers in Ohio.
The benefits of USDA loans are long payback periods, 100 percent financing that can be loan-guaranteed in many cases, and income and credit requirements that are geared more towards low income buyers. If you can’t work a full-time job because you’re raising children and you want the cheapest monthly payments around, the USDA loan may be able to help you.
The downsides of these loans are that you have to live in a rural area to apply and the fact that they still have higher credit requirements than FHA loans. However, the credit requirements can be manually underwritten by the lender if you can prove that your bad credit is due to circumstances beyond your control, as is the case for many single mothers in Ohio.
VA loans for Ohio single mothers
The benefits of VA loans are similar to the benefits of FHA loans, but slightly better in most cases. For example, instead of merely having low down payments, many VA loans require no down payment at all! These loans also don’t require you to pay Private Mortgage Insurance of any kind, which will save you thousands of dollars in payments over time. Combined with more lenient credit and income requirements, this is one of the most helpful options around for a home loan for single mothers in Ohio.
However, the big downside of the VA loan is that it’s only available to veterans and armed service members. This is because the “VA” in VA loan stands for the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, which is the organization that guarantees these loans.
If you are a single mother who previously served in the military, you should definitely apply for this program. If not, you’re more likely to find what you need from an FHA loan.
Conclusion
Now that you know more about the best home help for single mothers in Ohio, we hope we’ve made it easier for you to buy a new home or continue to make payments on an existing home. We at Home Loans For All know that there are often a lot of stresses associated with being a single mother in Ohio, and we know some of those stresses will be easier to deal with once you have the comfort and security of owning your own home.
