Are you thinking of buying your first home in North Carolina? 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina provides.
North Carolina First Time Home Buyer Grants
The agency in North Carolina that provides assistance to the home buyers is The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. There are no outright grants available, but there is one program that is very close: The American Dream Downpayment Initiative. First time home buyers can get up to $8,000 for use toward the down payment and closing costs. This is actually a loan, but carries no payments and has a zero percent interest rate. The $8,000 doesn’t have to be paid back for 30 years. In effect, you are getting a grant of the value of interest on a $8,000 loan for 30 years, which at 7% interest rate, amounts to over $9,700 in interest that you would save. To find out more about this program, please visit the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency grant programs.
Home buyers who need help with the down payment and closing costs may qualify for interest-free, deferred second mortgages up to $8,000. You pay $1,000 from your own funds, and the loan pays up to $8,000 of the balance.
Payment on the principal isn’t due until 30 years from the date of the loan. Payment is due earlier if you sell, transfer, or refinance your home; if your loan goes into default; or if the home ceases to be your principal residence.
Here is the contact information for the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency:
North Carolina Housing Finance Agency
3508 Bush Street
Raleigh, NC 27609
Phone: 919-877-5700
Federal First Time Home Buyer Grants
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available to the home buyers in North Carolina 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 handy search tool to locate more information about the grants in North Carolina.
Other Grants in North Carolina
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 North Carolina:
Greensboro Field Office
Asheville Building
1500 Pinecroft Road
Suite 401
Greensboro, NC 27407-3838
Phone: (336) 547-4000
Fax: (336) 547-4138
There are also these local programs:
Asheville Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. of Asheville Single Family New Construction Program (SFNC) (828) 251-5054
Cumberland County First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHB) (910) 323-6112
Durham First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (919) 560-4570
Gaston County Homebuyers Assistance Program (704) 866-6756
Greensboro Affordable Home Loan Initiative Program (GAHLI) (336) 373-4146
Hickory 1st Time Homebuyer’s Program (FTHB) (828) 323-7414
High Point Homeownership Assistance Program (HAP) (336) 883-3347
Iredell Statesville Housing Authority HOME Program Funds (704) 872-9811
Orange County HOME Down payment Assistance Program (919) 644-3056
Pasquotank County, Community Homebuyers Assistance Program (HAP) (252) 335-3702
Wilson County Affordable Home Ownership Program (252) 399-2230
