11/07/2011

US citizens to purchase homes with just $100 deposit

 US citizens will soon be able to purchase a home with just a $100 deposit thanks to a new Department of Housing program aimed at decreasing the inventory of foreclosed homes in America. Currently, 27 states are participating in the program, which carries the following rules: loans must be financed through the Federal Housing Administration, and buyers have to be buying a home to live in.

Buyers have until October 2012 to purchase a HUD-owned foreclosure home, and can find eligible properties on the HUD website. They will need to find a HUD registered Realtor and an FHA lender.

This scheme will also be available for those applying for the FHA 203 (K) loan program which gives borrowers access to loans for repairing and renovating rundown foreclosure homes, although the actual guidelines for what constitutes a rundown property don't appear particularly strict, so homeowners may get considerable latitude on this type of loan. 

It is expected that this new scheme will be especially helpful to first-time buyers, because it is aimed at them, and because the 100 dollar deposit is a lot less than the previous minimum of 3.5%.