(Editors note: Reporter Richard Luken is a member of LaHarpe PRIDE, the primary organizer of the upcoming LaHarpe Home Fair.)
LAHARPE More affordable housing.
Its on pretty much every communitys wish list, but a confluence of factors have traditionally stood in the way.
Working class folks are often limited by what types of homes they can afford, particularly with exorbitant down payments needed just to get their feet in the door.
As such, builders are just as resistant to build houses on the mere speculation somebody may be in the market for a home months or years later.
The LaHarpe PRIDE Committee is hoping to tip the scales in both instances.
PRIDE is teaming up with the United States Department of Agriculture, city officials and area lenders and builders for the LaHarpe Home Fair at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at LaHarpe City Hall.
All are invited.
The Home Fairs centerpiece focuses on a pair of USDA initiatives, the Direct Rural Home Loans and the Guaranteed Rural Housing programs.
Each allows borrowers to finance new, energy-efficient homes with minimal interest rates hovering currently in the 3% range and with no down payment.
Combine those programs with incentives available in LaHarpe free utility extensions to within the foot of a new homes foundation, and property tax abatements for the first 10 years of owning the home and suddenly youve pared thousands of dollars off the cost of buying a new home.
How enticing is such a program?
Putting pen to paper, a Direct Rural Home Loan borrower can suddenly find himself in a $100,000-plus home with a monthly mortgage payment (including insurance costs and escrowed taxes) at a cost of under $600 a month.
THE PRIMARY difference between the Direct Rural Home Loan and Guaranteed Rural Housing Program lies in the borrowers income.
A family of fours household income must be $49,200 or less to qualify for the Direct loan, which comes straight from USDA. Other factors, such as current living conditions, also come into play.
Mortgage notes run for 33 years, or in special cases, as many as 38 years for some borrowers.
Kelli Kramer, a loan specialist with USDA, will be on hand as well to help walk folks through the application process.
The income limits are substantially higher $82,700 for a family of four; $109,150 for a household of eight or fewer for the The Guaranteed Rural Housing Program, which comes through USDA, but is financed through a local bank. Representatives from Community National, Landmark National and Piqua State banks will be on hand to discuss specifics for those programs.
Unlike the Direct Loan program, GRH borrowers are required to come up with a 1% upfront fee, but that fee also can be financed and incorporated into the mortgage.
