Are you thinking of buying your first home in Iowa? Would you like a free gift of money to help you purchase that first home? If you answered yes to these two questions, there is great news for you. The state of Iowa provides free grant money for its residents who are buying a home first time and need help with the down payment and closing costs. This money comes in the form of state grants. This is free grant money that shouldn’t be passed up! The grant awards can be in the thousands of dollars. It will be well worth your time to educate yourself about the grant programs that the State of Iowa provides.
Iowa Grants
The agency in Iowa that provides assistance to home buyers is the Iowa Finance Authority. There are a couple of home buyer grants available, depending upon the program and your income. To find out which grant programs you may qualify for and how much is available with each, please visit the Iowa Finance Authority website page specifically describing all the grant programs.
FirstHome Program
The Iowa Finance Authority’s FirstHome program offers first-time home buyers state-sponsored, affordable, fixed rate mortgages and the convenience of working with a local lender.
FirstHome Plus Program
The Iowa Finance Authority’s FirstHome Plus grant provides cash assistance to help eligible borrowers with closing costs, down payment or minor repairs. The grant must be used in conjunction with the FirstHome program and the same income limits apply.
The contact information for the Iowa Finance Authority is:
Iowa Finance Authority
2015 Grand Ave.
Des Moines, Iowa 50312
Phone: 515.725.4900
Toll-free: 800.432.7230
Fax: 515.725.4901
800.735.2942 (TTY)
Federal Grants for Iowa Residents
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available to the home buyers in Iowa through the Homes and Communities program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. On their website you’ll find complete grant information, application forms, description of available funds, as well as many other helpful tools.
Every potential home buyer should investigate what they have to offer. You can visit the website by going here: US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Also, there is a website that has a complete list of all grant programs available through the United States Federal Government: Grants.gov. You should plan to spend the required time investigating to determine how many individual grants they may qualify for. You can visit the website by going to Grants.gov and use their form to do a search here.
Other Grants for Iowans
In addition to the grant programs described above, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides home buyer assistance and grants in every state. There are multiple grant programs designed specifically for people that meet certain requirements, such as grants for people with disabilities so they can continue to live independently at home. It is worth visiting HUD’s website to see what assistance is currently available. For your convenience, simply go to this website.
Here is the contact information for the HUD office in Iowa:
Des Moines Field Office
210 Walnut Street
Room 239
Des Moines, IA 50309-2155
Phone: (515) 284-4512
Fax: (515) 284-4743
There are also these local programs in Iowa:
Benton County Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP) (319) 472-2365
Council Bluffs Heritage of Council Bluffs Program (HCBP) (712) 320-4616
Davenport United Neighbors, Inc. DREAM Home Buyer’s Program (DREAM) (319) 322-7363
Des Moines New Construction Program (NCP) (515) 283-4512
Fort Dodge Homebuyers Assistance Program (HAP) (515) 576-8191
Hawarden Iowa Lamb Corporation Employer Down Payment Gift Program (GIFT) (712) 551-1126
Iowa Individual Development Account Gift Program (IDA) (515) 283-0940
Iowa State RHI Local Housing Assistance Program (LHAP) (319) 732-5555
Iowa Winterhaven Inc Down Payment/Closing Cost Assistance Program (GIFT) (515) 327-1911
Multi-Counties Homeward, Inc. Home Buyer Program (ABP) (515) 825-3947
Northwood Housing Assistance Program Down Payment Assistance (DPA) (641) 324-1075
Polk County Housing Trust Fund Gap Subsidize Program (GSP) (515) 282-6222
Sioux City Affordable Home Ownership Program (712) 279-6276
Wright County First Time Home Owners Program (FTHP) (515) 532-6422
