HPAP in 2022 (Home Purchase Assistance Program) Down Payment Assistance Programs Washington DC

Are you looking to get free money when you buy a house in DC? Let's talk about H Pap.

Welcome back to another Coffee with Coleman. We'd love to discuss Washington DC business, real estate, all that. My name is John Coleman. I'm a real estate agent here in Washington, DC with the Jason Martin Group.

So HP or the Home Purchase Assistance Program is a very popular program when people start their search of buying their first home. I've worked with many buyers. That have used the program before, and so I thought it might be helpful to make a one stop shop to understand the program, how to qualify for it, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of actually using it.

So what is it? HP is a program that provides interest free loans and closing cost assistance to qualified applicants to purchase, whether it be a house or a condo. The actual loan amount you end up is based on a combination of the factors of like income, household size, and how much money you plan on actually using in your purchase.

If you are eligible, you could receive in a maximum, and this is brand new of 200 and. Thousand dollars in gap assistance, an additional $4,000 in closing cost assistance calculating up to a total of $206,000, folks. Whew. So here are the qualifications of the program. First, you gotta beat a first time buyer.

Second, you gotta be a very low to moderate income resident based on this. Third, you can't have any ownership interest in any other real estate. Fourth, the home has to be in dc And lastly, you need a good credit rating, usually around at least six 40. But that can vary depending on what your specific situation is.

So the amount of money for gap financing you are eligible for all can be found on this chart. And it's pretty straightforward. You just look at your household. What your salary is, and then you go to the left and see what you might actually qualify for. This chart can change, so feel free to email me to make sure that this is the most up-to-date information as you get going.

In essence, this is added to your loan amount, so you can afford a little bit more house. And let's be honest, DC is pretty fricking expensive, so it might be helpful in your. To have these extra funds to own that house. That makes sense. And as for the closing cost assistance, that 4K we talked about, that's also on a little bit of a chart for you, but that goes towards some of the items of like how much it costs to get a loan, some of the costs it is to actually procure a loan or buy property in DC it defrays some of those costs to make your out of pocket even less than a typical.

Might have, and here's how the timeline would shake out for you. So the borrower must apply for the program, which I've included links below to doar. Then the buyer must take an orientation session and I'm told that takes about two hours. I haven't attended myself, but that's what people have told me.

Once you attend the session, you can officially submit your application and wait for your notice of eligibility. We call that an OE for short. This can take a little while, so be patient. After you get your oe, you have to attend one of their eight hour Saturday. Sounds fun, but hey, they're giving you money.

It's worth it. There's things you should probably know and they're gonna teach you some of the ins and outs of home buying, but since you're watching my channel, you're gonna know above and beyond what they're gonna talk about anyways. Once you submit your Noe and your certificate says you finish the class, you'll be officially approved for financing, and that's where I come in.

Then we get to go shopping for your first house. That's the fun thing, like that's why HGTV is so popular. People love looking at houses. Once you've located a home, You can plan on the closing, taking about 60 days from when your offer's actually accepted, although it's not abnormal for those be delays with HPA financing, and we'll get to that more in a second.

From there, we're gonna complete a home inspection and a termite inspection, and they both have to. Approved by H A P and then finally we would head to closing. And there's obviously a lot more to it than that, but this is a good starting point to get the ball rolling, to understand the basic concepts of what you need to be thinking about as you're moving forward with this process.

So what are my real feelings on the program? On paper, it's fantastic. It's great. This is an expensive city, and anytime we can encourage our residents to invest in our communities, it's a good thing for everyone. There are certain people I help buy. That it would not be possible for them to purchase the home they got if it weren't for the program.

So it's a wonderful tool to have in our tool palette. One of the realities of the program though, is it's tougher. Even going through the process to get approved for it takes a lot of effort and it's no big deal. Like during that process, you have to prove that you really want it and it's free money.

So again, you want to make this happen, but one of the biggest obstacles for H Pap is actually the market itself. H Pap is a fairly slower program. For instance, I mentioned earlier that we typically aim to close in about 60 days, and there might be. A more traditional load closes in 30 days, and it's much more rare that doesn't close on time, which means a seller would have to wait twice as long to get that money and they might have to be a little bit more nimble.

So if they need that money now, it's less ideal in the competitive situation. I tend to see more traditional financing get selected over something like H A P for these reasons. Additionally, h p creates longer timelines for the other portions of the contract. Like your inspection's gonna take longer, getting your financing approved from your lender.

Might take a little bit longer. Getting the appraisal done might take a little longer. I've even seen a scenario where h a ran outta money right before closing, and it's not a huge deal because they get a check, like they keep financing it and it's there. But it meant that the closing had to get extended over two weeks.

And if that seller needed that money to buy holiday presents for their family, it just makes it more stressful for everyone included buyers and sellers. So what I recommend hpac. I do recommend exploring all possible financing options and wing the pluses and minus of it. But emphatically, yes, having options is a good thing, and if H app is the best option for you to go with it, do it.

Don't look back, but you're just gonna have to have your eyes wide open for the advantage and disadvantage. Of using the program. I specialize in working with first time home buyers, and I have experience in coaching people through the H PAT process, along with tons of other loan options. If you're interested in learning more or just want to talk someone and try to get this all figured out, don't be afraid to reach out.

I'm a teacher at heart. I would love to help you get pointed in the right direction. Alright, that's it for this week. Was there something I missed? Did you have any questions? Have you had experience with h a good, bad and different? Go ahead and put it in the comments below. I'd love to hear what you have to do.

And the more we all know about this together, the more since we can make of it and use these programs to invest in our awesome city. All right, so thanks again for stopping by another coffee with. Peace.