Are you thinking of buying your first home in New York? Would you like a free gift of money to help you purchase that first home? The state of New York currently does not provide free grant money directly to its residents who are first time home buyers and need help with the down payment and closing costs. However, there are local first time buyer grants programs as well as Federal grant money available. 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 first time home buyer grant programs available to New York residents.
New York Grants
The agency in New York that provides assistance to first time home buyers is The New York State Housing Finance Agency. The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) offers five mortgage programs to assist first-time homebuyers with the purchase of a home in New York State.
Their five mortgage programs feature competitive interest rates, low down payment requirements, flexible underwriting guidelines, no prepayment penalties and down payment assistance. Each of these features is designed to make your home purchase more affordable. All SONYMA loans are financed through the sale of tax exempt bonds. To find out more about this program, please visit the New York State Housing Finance Agency website page specifically describing the loan/grant program. You can get there by visiting this website.
Here is the information to contact SONYMA:
SONYMA
641 Lexington Avenue
4th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Telephone: (212) 688-4000
Fax: (212) 872-0789
Federal Grants
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available to the home buyers in New York 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 searching specifically for relevant information.
Other Grants in New York
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 New York:
New York Regional Office
Jacob K. Javits Federal Building
26 Federal Plaza
Suite 3541
New York, NY 10278-0068
Phone: (212) 264-8000
Fax: (212) 264-0246
There are also these local programs:
Albany Home Acquisition Program (HAP) (518) 434-5273
Binghamton First Ward Action Council Affordable HOME Program (AHP) (607) 231-2850
Buffalo Home Front Inc Down Payment & Closing Cost Assistance Program (DPCC) (716) 856-2952
Chautauqua County Federal Home Loan Bank of New York Affordable Housing Program (AHP) (716) 841-1603
Chemung, Schuyler & Steuben Counties – Tri County Housing Council HOME Program (607) 562-2477
Glens Falls First Time Homebuyer Program (FTHB) (518) 761-3833
Hamburg Hometown Housing Program Existing Home (716) 648-6216
Multi Counties Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation Inc First Time Homebuyer HOME Program (FTHHP) (716) 461-4263
Multi Townships M-ARK Project Inc First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHB) (845) 586-3500
New York Bishop Sheen Ecumenical Housing Foundation Home Ownership Loan Program (716) 461-4263
Rochester Home Expo Program (HOME) (716) 325-4663
Rochester Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) (716) 325-4663
Rochester, HOME Rochester (HR) (716) 325-4663
Suffolk County First Time Home Buyers Down Payment Assistance Program (DPAP) (516) 853-5705
Syracuse University Neighborhood Preservation Association Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP) (315) 476-5228
Ulster County Rural Ulster Preservation Company Direct Homeownership Assistance Program (DHAP) (845) 331-2140
Yates County Keuka Housing Council Inc Home Ownership Program (HOP) (315) 536-8707
Yates County New Construction Program (NCP) (315) 536-8707
You might also find this video of New York first time home buyers to be helpful:
