Expert: Jessica Bryan - 10/18/2010

Question
Are you familiar with a grant that matches the buyer 2-3 dollars for each dollar they save towards the down payment of a home. I am sure you have seen all forms of down payment over the years with all you experience. Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Answer
Dear Jan;
Regardless of how much experience I have had, there are always new laws,changes and plans to assist first time homebuyers.  These not only change from year to year but from state the state and region to region.  There are matched grants and cash assistance programs in all sizes and varieties.  If you have heard about a matched grant then I suggest that you contact a local lender to discuss this. No one knows more than the lenders who plug into hundreds of programs to deliver a variety of choices to you, the Buyer.  I do know that there have been variations of what you are talking about in our local market but only in rural areas.  Then there have been other assistance programs that were only available in some of the cities but not in outside zones.  You see what I mean?  It can be quite confusing. I have often found that the best starting point is to go on a government website and search under housing assistance and first time buyer assistance.  I have spent many hours on phone calls to these agencies and offices that come up on Google searches asking lots of questions to find out about the most current programs only to have them change overnight and/or get discontinued.  If you happen to find something; I suggest that you act quickly to take advantage.

Best wishes,
Jessica Bryan