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What Are the Basic Requirements?
To see if your household may qualify for down
payment and closing cost assistance, click here
Program Income Limits.
To see if your household may qualify for a first
mortgage loan, click here
Qualifying for a Mortgage Loan.
All
applicants are expected to attend a Homebuyer Education Class. For more
information, click
Homebuyer Education Program.
Plan to attend our
Homebuyer Education Class
anyway, even if you do not think that you are qualified to obtain a first
mortgage loan due to credit problems or other situations!
Many of the clients that have been
assisted by Keystone have experienced difficulties, such as problems with credit.
We have worked with some clients for a period of 2-3 years after they have
attended a class before they purchased a home.
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Does It Matter if I am
Very Low, Low or Moderate Income?
Depending on the
local assistance
programs, the amount of assistance available for you may
vary depending on whether you are very low, low, or moderate income.
Keystone provides the down payment assistance
through two programs, our
Gap Lender Program and
our
Consortium Lender Program.
All homebuyers are eligible
for the Gap Program. The Gap Program is where you obtain an affordable first
mortgage loan, on your own, from a lender, usually an
FHA loan, a conventional loan, or other
affordable
If you would like Keystone to help you obtain a
first mortgage loan, we can do that too through our Consortium Lender Program.
But generally, only very low or low income homebuyers are eligible for the Consortium Lender
Program.
- What If I have already
found a home and a lender?
If you are just now finding out about Keystone,
and have already started the process of buying your new home, that's okay. Talk
to your lender and make sure they have information about our Gap Lender Program
and will reserve down payment /closing cost assistance funds for you, and
register for a Homebuyer
Education Class as soon as possible.
- Are Keystone's
programs just for first-time homebuyers?
No, but you cannot currently own a home.
- Do you always have funds
available to assist people?
No. The SHIP funds are received in a
yearly cycle that begins in July of each year. Only a limited amount of
funds are available for the down payment / closing cost assistance. Funds
are provided to clients on a first-come, first-ready, first-served basis.
Depending on the volume of requests for assistance, it is possible that one
year's funds may be fully expended prior to the receipt of the following year's
funds. To see what programs currently have funds available,
click here.
- You say you work with the
City of Lakeland, the City of Winter Haven, and Polk County. Which one
will help me?
The location of the home you want to purchase
will determine which local government will provide the actual money to assist
you. If you are purchasing a home located in the city limits of Lakeland,
then the Lakeland government provides the money. If the home is in the
city limits of Winter Haven, the Winter Haven government helps you. Any
other location in Polk County falls under the jurisdiction of the Polk County
program.
- Do I have to buy a home in
a certain area?
No, the program is county-wide depending on the
availability of assistance funds. Please see the answer to the question
above. You choose your own home! Between the three local governments
we work with, all areas in Polk County are included. However, should funds
no longer be available through one of the three local governments, you would not
be able to purchase in their service location. To see what programs
currently have funds available,
click here.
Buying the right home for your household is one
of the most important decisions you will make. Because the terms of the
down payment assistance programs we work with are substantially similar, we
recommend that you base your decision about where to purchase on your household's
personal needs and desires, and not on any differences that may exist between
the down payment assistance programs.
- Do I have to pay back the
down payment/closing cost assistance?
Not while you remain the owner and the full-time
occupant of the home.
But, you do need to know that you will be
asked to sign a promissory note for the assistance you receive, and there will
be a second mortgage or lien on your property for the assistance. However,
unlike borrowing money from a traditional lender, you do not have to make
monthly payments and you are not charged interest. The terms of the note you
will sign are deferred repayment terms. All this means is that repayment
is put off until a future time.
The deferred repayment terms will require you to
occupy the property as your primary residence and that if you fail to do so, (in
other words - rent or sell the property) during the specified time period, you have to
pay back the assistance.
The City of Lakeland program requires payment in
full if you sell or rent your home for 30 years. At the end of 30 years,
you owe nothing.
The current program terms for the Polk County
program requires payment in full when you are no longer the owner-occupant of
the home, regardless of when that occurs.
You also need to know that a refinance of your
first mortgage can cause the assistance to become due in full, even though you
are still the owner and occupant of the home.
- If I have to sell the
property, choose to refinance later, or rent it, how will I be able to pay the
assistance back?
If you sell, you should be able to pay it back from the value
in your home. When you first purchase your property, the assistance is
secured by the value to begin with. For example, if you purchase a
$100,000 home, borrow $80,000 for your first mortgage, and receive $20,000 in
down payment assistance, the mortgages are fully secured by the value in your
home.
As homes rarely decrease in value (and yours
will hopefully increase!), you will be able to pay the assistance back from the
proceeds of the sale of your home. A word of caution, it does cost money
to sell a home - you may need to pay a real estate sales commission and incur
other expenses related to property sales - so, if you find that you need to sell
your home after a few years, be sure to check on the amounts owed to your first
mortgage lender and for the assistance. Chances are, your property will
have increased in value anyway so it will not be an issue.
Also, if you later find your home has increased
in value, and you wish to refinance to borrow from your equity (for example; to get money to pay
off bills or buy a car) you would most likely be required to pay back the
assistance at that time from the equity.
Another word of caution - if you rent your property, and do not pay back
the assistance amount, you would be considered to have defaulted on the terms of
your agreement and the assistance program could pursue legal remedies to recover
the funds.
- What if I buy a home, and
then my income increases?
You only have to meet the program income
eligibility guidelines for low and moderate income households at the time you
purchase your home. This is one of the things we really like about our programs!
If your household members change, or you have an increase in your income during
the time you live in the home, it is okay!
- Does Keystone build homes?
Yes, we are a Community Housing Development
Organization and develop about 12-20 homes annually. The homes we develop
are available for sale to low income households only. To see what
properties are available for sale
click here.
- How much does Keystone
charge me for their services?
Nothing. Keystone is a non-profit corporation
and we are supported by government and private funding that enables us to offer
our services to you free of charge.
- How can I buy a home if I
make too much money for your programs?
If you make too much money for our assistance
programs, you still may be able to buy a home with an affordable mortgage.
Many local lending institutions and mortgage companies have very affordable
mortgage programs, including
FHA
financing. You may want to contact your own bank first to see what
they have available, and can contact other lenders and mortgage companies by
looking in your yellow pages or on-line.
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our Homebuyer Education Program Brochure
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