Lawrenceville Housing Corporation Welcome HOME Program PRE-APPLICATION PACKAGE (PHASE I) ***Note: We cannot process your application if required documentation is missing.*** THIS PRE-APPLICATION MUST BE SUBMITTED BY YOUR AGENT ALONG WITH OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS.
Qualifying individuals and families purchasing homes in Gwinnett County may be eligible for the Lawrenceville Housing Corporation s (LHC) Welcome Home! Program. This Program is funded by the HUD HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME). How Can the Welcome Home! Program assist you? The Welcome Home! Program offers mortgage assistance in the form of a 0% interest loan to qualified first-time homebuyers who purchase affordable homes in Gwinnett County. The amount of assistance is dependent on household income and it ranges between $14,975 and $22,500. The program participant benefits by purchasing a house that is newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated. This process ensures that the homeowners may not face costly home repairs during their first years of ownership. The additional benefit is that LHC offers mortgage assistance in the form of a second soft loan that will be provided by Gwinnett County. The soft loan is interest free and is recaptured only if the Gwinnett County s affordability requirement is not met, or when the home is no longer owner-occupied. No scheduled payments are required on the LHC Welcome Home! Program during the affordability period. If the homebuyer occupies the home purchased with HOME funds as their principal residence for the duration of the pre-determined affordability period, the loan is satisfied and no repayment to Gwinnett County is required. Who is eligible? 1. Applicants must be first time homebuyers including homebuyers who have not owned a home in the past three years). 2. At the time of the application, the gross household income CANNOT exceed the following income limits: Household Size Income Limit Household Size Income Limit 1 $38,200 5 $58,950 2 $43,650 6 $63,300 3 $49,100 7 $67,650 4 $32,200 8 $72,050 3. Applicants who are credit worthy and can qualify for an FHA or VA fixed-rate mortgage. 4. Applicants who complete an 8-hour pre-purchase counseling class provided by any HUDapproved Housing Counseling Agency and receive a Certificate of Completion. 5. Applicants who can contribute 1% of the home s price or $1,000 (whichever is greater) as a down payment towards the purchase of the house.
Which properties are eligible? At the current time, only properties owned by LHC are available for this program. Please visit our website at www.lawrencevilleha.org for a list of available homes. How do I apply? If you have identified a property you are interested in purchasing, submit your best offer to our agent along with the following documents: Program Pre-application (attached to this packet) Earnest money Loan commitment letter Proof of 8 hours of home ownership counseling (or proof of registration) Credit scores from three credit-reporting agencies Offer on LHC s purchase and sales agreement form.once your realtor submits the offer and all of the required documents, LHC will review it along with any other offers that may have been submitted. ***Incomplete offers will NOT be reviewed*** If your offer is selected, LHC will contact you to schedule an appointment for income verification to ensure you are eligible for this program. You will be given a formal application packet to fill out and bring to your appointment, along with other requested documents. If it s determined that your household qualifies for our program, LHC will execute the contract and forward your file to Gwinnett County for the processing of the second soft loan. WELCOME HOME! PROGRAM PRE-APPLICATION PROCESS: 1. Complete an eight-hour (8) pre-purchase mortgage counseling class from a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. Be sure to obtain a Certificate of Class Completion stating this was an 8-hour class. Click this link for a complete list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm?weblistaction=search&searchstate=ga 2. Meet with a mortgage lender. Before you can apply for Welcome Home! Program assistance, you need a Loan Commitment Letter from a mortgage company showing the designated amount of mortgage and fixed-interest rate terms to be financed (home mortgages must be FHA or VA fixed loans). 3. Ask your mortgage lender to also provide to you the single page from your credit report showing the credit bureaus with your scores. This document is required as a support document. 4. Applicants should be aware that the Welcome Home! Program requires the use of Gwinnett County closing attorneys Russell, Stell, Smith and Mattison.
5. Complete and sign the attached Pre-application checklist. 6. Submit to LHC s realtor the following: a. Offer on LHC s PSA b. Certificate of class completion from a HUD-approved housing counseling agency c. Loan Commitment Letter and three bureau Credit Report score sheet from mortgage lender, d. The completed signed Pre-application checklist;
WELCOME HOME! PROGRAM DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PRE-APPLICATION CHECKLIST Pre-Application Instructions: Please carefully read the information below, complete each item, and place your initials in the space provided next to each response. APPLICANT(S) NAME: Declarations Yes No Initials 1. I/we are a first time homebuyer(s) or have not owned a home in 3 years. 2. I/we have completed an 8-hour pre-purchase counseling class conducted by a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency. 3. I/we have total annual household income, from all persons in our household, equal to or less than the maximum income limits for the size of our household as listed on this page. Household Size $22,500 mortgage assistance 50% AMI $14,975 mortgage assistance 80% AMI 1 $23,900 $38,200 2 $27,300 $43,650 3 $30,700 $49,100 4 $34,100 $54,550 5 $36,850 $58,950 6 $39,600 $63,300 7 $42,300 $67,650 8 $45,050 $72,050 4. Number of ALL persons living in your household. Response Initials 5. Number of persons (age 18 and older) who earn income in your household. 6. Total yearly household income (from all persons age 18 and older). 7. I/We understand that I/we must apply for/receive approval for a loan to purchase a new home from a mortgage lender; and, if the mortgage loan is not approved by the mortgage lender, assistance under the LHC Welcome Home! Program will not be approved. Yes No Initials 8. I/We understand that we must put a down payment of 1% of the purchase price or $1,000 (whichever is greater). Your lender may require a larger down payment. 9. I/We have attached a Loan Commitment Letter from a mortgage lender. 10. I/We have attached a 3-bureau Credit Score Report from a mortgage lender. 11. Name of Mortgage Lender 12. Loan Officer Name 13. Loan officer Phone and Email 14. Realtor Name, Phone and Email 15. I/We acknowledge that I/we must use a Gwinnett County Closing Attorney who will Close the purchase in Gwinnett County. {Signatures on next page}
SIGNATURE PAGE Applicant Signature Applicant Printed Name Co-Applicant Signature Co-Applicant Printed Name Current Address Email Home Phone No Daytime Phone No Cell Phone No