Are you thinking of buying your first home in Kentucky? 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 Kentucky provides free grant money for its residents who are first time home buyers and need help with the down payment and closing costs. This money comes in the form of state grants. This is free 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 Kentucky provides.
Kentucky Grants
The agency in Kentucky that provides assistance to the home buyers is The Kentucky Housing Corporation. There are several programs available, depending upon your income. These programs are loans to help with the down payment and closing costs. Some of these loans are “forgiven” after five years, meaning the amount borrowed becomes a gift to you. You can receive up to $10,000 depending upon which program you qualify for. To find out about these programs, please visit the Kentucky Housing Corporation website page specifically describing what is available. You can visit it by going to this website.
Kentucky Housing recognizes that down payments, closing costs and prepaids are stumbling blocks for many potential home buyers. Here are several loan programs to help. Your KHC-approved lender can help you apply for the program that meets your needs.
Neighborhood Down payment Assistance Program (DAP)
Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) received $3 million from the National Mortgage Foreclosure Settlement Fund to offer a new mortgage program for down payment and closing costs assistance. This program is only available until all funds are gone.
Repayable second mortgage up to $10,000
1 percent interest rate for 30 years.
Income must be less than $124,775 (terms and conditions apply).
To be eligible for the Neighborhood DAP, either:
The property must be in the process of disposition option (i.e., deed-in-lieu, short sale) or foreclosed upon.
The newly-constructed or existing property has been for sale for at least six months.
The home buyer has experienced a foreclosure and credit qualifies to purchase another home.
Regular DAP
Purchase price up to $243,000.
Assistance in the form of a loan up to $6,000 in $100 increments.
Repayable over a ten-year term at 6 percent. A DAP of $6,000 over ten years at 6 percent interest would equal a payment of $66.61.
Available to all KHC first-mortgage loan recipients.
HOME-DAP
Purchase price up to $195,700.
Assistance up to $4,500
No monthly repayment; forgiven over five years.
Existing homes only.
Borrowers must meet HOME-income guidelines.
The contact information for Kentucky Housing is:
Kentucky Housing Corporation
1231 Louisville Road
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-6191
Phone: (800) 633-8896 (in-state only)
Phone: (502) 564-7630 (TTY/Voice 711)
Fax: (502) 564-5708
Federal Grants
Besides the various state programs, there are federal funds and grants available to the home buyers in Kentucky 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 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. First time home buyers 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 performing a search on this page.
Other Grants in Kentucky
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 Kentucky:
Louisville Field Office
Gene Snyder Courthouse
601 West Broadway
Room 110
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 582-5251
Fax: (502) 582-6074
There are also these local programs:
Covington Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP) (859) 292-2188
Fayette County Local Development Corporation First Time Homeowners Assistance Program (FTHAP) (606) 254-6212
Jefferson County Home Ownership Assistance Program (HOAP) (502) 574-5144
Louisville New Construction Home Ownership Program (502) 574-3107
Multi Counties REACH Inc First Key Down payment Assistance Program (DAP) (859) 258-3535
Multi Counties- The Center For Women and Families, Inc. Common Wealth Individual Development Account Program (CWIDA) (502) 581-7200
