Welcome Home! Program PRE-APPLICATION PACKAGE Note: We cannot process your Homeownership Application if required documentation is missing. 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 qualifying firsttime homebuyers who purchase affordable homes in Gwinnett County. The amount of assistance is not preset and depends on the purchase price of the home and the amount of rehabilitation work required to bring the home up to code. The program participant benefits by purchasing a house that is 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. The mortgage assistance comes 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 five year affordability requirement is not met, or when the home is no longer owneroccupied. No scheduled payments are required on the LHC Welcome Home! Program during the five year loan period. If the homebuyer occupies the home purchased with HOME funds as their principal residence for at least five years following the date of the home purchase, 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, gross household income CANNOT exceed program income limits:
Household Size Income Limit Household Size Income Limit 1 $37,150 5 $57,300 2 $42,450 6 $61,550 3 $47,750 7 $65,800 4 $53,050 8 $70,050 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 HUD-approved 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 downpayment towards the purchase of the house. The downpayment will be required when the house is identified and prior to the purchase and rehabilitation by LHC. 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. What is the maximum purchase price? The purchase price of a home receiving mortgage assistance cannot exceed $200,000. However, the amount that each applicant can afford to spend on a home purchase will vary based on household income, mortgage interest rates, and other variables at the time of purchase. How do I apply? The application involves (1) being placed on a pre-application waiting list and the submission of pre-application documents; and (2) submission of a formal application that is taken, by appointment, at the LHC office.
WELCOME HOME! PROGRAM DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE 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 LHC has partnered with The Impact Group to provide counseling for its program participants. While the homebuyers are encouraged to attend the classes offered by The Impact Group, home buyers are free to choose from any agency listed on the HUD s website above. 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). 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. Applicants should be aware that the Welcome Home! Program requires the use of Gwinnett County closing attorneys who hold all closings in Gwinnett County. 3. Complete and sign the attached Pre-application checklist. 4. Fax: one copy, each, of the following to: LHC, (770) 338-8447, Attention: LHC Welcome Home! Program 1. Certificate of class completion from a HUD-approved housing counseling agency 2. Loan Commitment Letter and three bureau Credit Report score sheet from mortgage lender, 3. The completed signed Pre-application checklist; OR Scan: the documents in Item 4, attach them to a single e-mail and send to lejla@lhainfo.com
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. Return the signed and completed Pre-Application Checklist (This Page) to: Lawrenceville Housing Corporation 502 Glenn Edge Drive Suite B Lawrenceville, Ga 30046 Email: lejla@lhainfo.com Fax: 770-338-8447 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. LHC Welcome Home! Program Maximum Income Limits Household Size Household Size 1 $37,150 5 $57,300 2 $42,450 6 $61,550 3 $47,750 7 $65,800 4 $53,050 8 70,050 4. Number of ALL persons living in your household. 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). Response Initials Yes No Initials 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. 8. I/We understand that we must put a down payment of 1% of the purchase price or $1,000 (whichever is greater) prior to LHC purchasing and rehabilitating the identified house. The down payment is NOT refundable if the homebuyer chooses to walk away from the property once LHC purchases it. 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.
Applicant Signature Applicant Printed Name Co-Applicant Signature Co-Applicant Printed Name Current Address Email Home Phone No Daytime Phone No Cell Phone No WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU SUBMIT YOUR PRE-APPLICATION? After a review of the pre-application has been performed by the Lawrenceville Housing Corporation Welcome Home! Program staff, you will be contacted to set up an appointment to submit a formal application. The appointment location is:
Lawrenceville Housing Corporation 502 Glenn Edge Drive Suite B Lawrenceville, GA 30046 You will be given a formal application and a list of documents you need to bring to your appointment. Appointments are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, after the applicant has notified LHC staff that all required documents have been gathered. Upon completion of the appointment, LHC staff will obtain third-party verification of the documentation provided by homebuyers. Once the application is complete and information verified, the homebuyer will receive a letter from LHC notifying them that they are eligible for LHC s Welcome Home! Program assistance. Applicants will be ready to start looking for a home. After the applicant identifies a home, LHC staff will inspect the home to determine the amount of repairs needed. If the amount of required repairs is acceptable, LHC and the applicant will execute an agreement where the applicant commits to purchase the rehabilitated home from LHC and pays the downpayment/earnest money to LHC. Once the home is rehabilitated, the homebuyer will purchase the house from LHC, at a discount, using a Gwinnett County closing attorney. The downpayment/earnest money paid by the applicant will be applied towards the purchase price.