How to Get Government Money (Grants) for the Down Payment on a Foreclosed Home
You've probably heard a lot of news about new federal government programs to help with the housing and foreclosure crisis. Well, the funds have started to flow into the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. NSP provides grants to help pay for the down payment on a foreclosed home, and is meant to prevent neighborhoods from deteriorating due to foreclosures. Here's how to take advantage of it.
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Instructions
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**Get the Basics**
If you're considering buying a foreclosed home, and you're working with a realtor, ask your agent about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. NPS is available in all states, but is not available everywhere in the state. It only operates in targeted areas where foreclosures are high. However, unlike many other grant programs, Neighborhood Stabilization grants are not restricted only to low income buyers -- medium income (middle class) families are also eligible to receive sizable assistance under this home-ownership program.
In a nutshell, the federal government, through the NSP, provides grants to state and local governments in order to help communities provide assistance in buying up foreclosed homes. Each community runs its NSP program differently. Some provide outright grants to home buyers for down payment assistance -- money that never has to be paid back -- while others provide very low interest loans.
Your real estate agent should be able to tell you if NSP funds are available in your community, and also fill you in on the details requirements for the program.
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**Check the NSP Basics**
A link to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Grants website is provided in the Resources section.
The link is a guide for local government officials, and is full of bureaucratic language, so don't be discouraged if it's hard to make sense of.
However, this page will provide the latest updates on the program. There are also links at this site to all the funding that is available. Look for 'Quick Links' to information on "NSP Local Government Allocations Summary" to see what funds have been provided in your community. Several files here are spreadsheets, so it helps to be familiar with these before trying to open the files.
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**Get Local Information**
Do a Google search for the term 'neighborhood stabilization program', along with the name of your state, county, or city.
If a program is active in your area, your search should turn up information about how to apply, how much grant funding is available, and what the requirements are.
For instance, a link to one of the NSP program pages is included in Resources, directly below. You can see that assistance of up to $125,000 is available to help homebuyers with down payments on foreclosure properties. Even families with incomes of $100,000 or more can be eligible to receive the money.
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Resources
- Photo Credit anaheiim.gov
