Are you thinking of buying your first home in Louisiana? Would you like a free gift of money to help you purchase that first home? Unfortunately, the state of Louisiana does not provide free grant money for its residents who are buying home first time and need help with the down payment and closing costs as some other states do. However, there is still Federal Grant money available as well as grants from private foundations. 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 are available in Louisiana.
Louisiana Housing Corporation offers a number of opportunities for low and moderate income Louisiana families to realize their dreams of owning a home through this program.
The program offers a variety of 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages, some at below market interest rates to potential homebuyers. LHC’s current 2012A Program offers a four-tiered interest rate structure.
Federal Grants
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available in Louisiana 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 and program amounts, 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 using their search page to find more information.
Other Grants in Louisiana
In addition to the grant programs described above, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides 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 Louisiana:
New Orleans Field Office
Hale Boggs Federal Building
500 Poydras Street
9th Floor
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 671-3000
Fax: (504) 671-3751
There are also these local programs:
Jefferson Parish First Time Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP) (504) 736-6267
Lafayette First Time Home Buyer & Closing Costs Revolving Loan Fund Program (FTHBP) (337) 291-8433
New Orleans Neighborhood Housing Services Down payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program (DCCA) (504) 899-5900
New Orleans PRIDE Down Payment & Closing Cost Assistance Program (504) 524-5533
Orleans Parish Central City Housing Development Corporation TANF Home Ownership Assistance Program (TANF) (504) 522-4273
Shreveport Homebuyers Assistance Program Participation Initiative (HAPPI) (318) 673-7503