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SC State Housing lowers rates for home buyers

If a home purchase is in your plans for the new year, the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority's (SC State Housing) new low interest rates and down payment assistance may be just the break you have been waiting for.
 
As of Monday, January 4, 2010, SC State Housing set its rates at 5.25% in Categories I and II, which include borrowers earning 50.01% and above of median income, and 5% for those in Category III, covering borrowers earning 50% and below of the median income as well as disabled borrowers (rate sheet attached). All categories offer up to $5000 down payment assistance. Down payment assistance is repayable for borrowers in Category I and forgivable in Categories II and III.
 
First-time home buyers may also take advantage of up to $8000 in federal tax credits if they purchase a home before April 30, 2010, with a 60-day extension if a binding contract is in place prior to that deadline. Members of the Armed Forces, Military Intelligence and Foreign Service who are on extended overseas duty or who have been on active duty for more than 90 days in 2008 and 2009 have another year to use the tax credit (through June, 30, 2011).
 
SC State Housing recognizes both "targeted" and "non-targeted" counties. In the non-targeted counties (Aiken, Anderson, Charleston, Greenwood, Greenville, Lancaster, Lexington, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, York) a first time homebuyer is someone who has never owned a home or who has not owned a home in the last three years. In targeted counties (Abbeville, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston*, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lee, McCormick, Marion, Marlboro, Newberry, Orangeburg, Saluda, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg *County Census Division #53, Ravenel Division) a first-time home buyer may not own a home at the time of closing. Also, buyers moving from a non-targeted area into a targeted area may qualify so long as they do not own a home at time of closing and meet the other qualifications for home price and family income.
 
"This is great news for potential home buyers and sellers in South Carolina," said Valarie M. Williams, SC State Housing's Executive Director. "Selection is good and prices are right for first-time buyers. With our new lower rates and down payment assistance, many more South Carolinians will be able to purchase their own home in 2010."
 
Williams encourages anyone who is considering buying a home to ask their lender or real estate agent if they qualify for a loan under the SC State Housing program. Since the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) Program's inception, SC State Housing has made more than 37,000 first mortgages, for a total investment of well over $2.2 billion. Nearly 13,000 Down Payment Assistance Loans have been made, accounting for more than $29 million.
 
Moody's Investors Service, a major municipal bond rating agency, recently gave its highest rating of Triple A (Aaa) to SC State Housing's MRB Program.
 
For more information and detail on qualifications visit the SC State Housing website: www.schousing.com. The South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority is a self-supporting agency of State Government, operating at no cost to the taxpayers of South Carolina.