Are you thinking of buying your first home in Ohio? 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 Ohio 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 Ohio provides.
Ohio First Time Home Buyer Grants
The agency in Ohio that provides assistance to the home buyers is the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. There are a variety of such programs available, depending upon your income, but only one is an outright cash grant. To find out more about the grant and the various other programs you may qualify for, please visit the Ohio Housing Finance Agency website page specifically describing all the grant programs. You can visit it by going to this website.
If paying for a down payment and closing costs have kept you from getting into a home of your own, OHFA’s Down Payment Assistance Grant may be able to help. Eligible borrowers participating in the Program, Target Area Loan Program, and Ohio Heroes Program can use the grant to greatly reduce the out-of-pocket expenses associated with buying a home.
If you qualify for one of OHFA’s home loan programs, you can choose to take advantage of the Down Payment Assistance Grant.
OHFA will issue a grant in an amount for 2.5% of your home’s purchase price.
You can use the grant to pay for the down payment, closing costs, or other prepaid expenses incurred prior to closing. Keep in mind that while the grant will greatly reduce your expenses, you may still be required to pay for some costs out of pocket.
If you take advantage of the grant, your mortgage interest rate will be .5% higher than OHFA’s current mortgage rates.
Here is the contact information for the Ohio Housing Finance Agency:
Ohio Housing Finance Agency
57 East Main Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Toll-free: 888-362-6432
Phone: 614-466-7970
Fax: 614-644-5393
TDD: 614-466-1940
Federal First Time Home Buyer Grants
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available to the home buyers in Ohio 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 perform a search for more details.
Other Grants in Ohio
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 Ohio:
Cincinnati Field Office
Provident Building
632 Vine Street
5th Floor
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 684-3451
Fax: (513) 684-6224
There are also these local programs:
Ashtabula County Community Housing Improvement First Time Homebuyers Assistance Program (FTHB) (440) 576-3853
Athens Home Ownership Made Easier Program (HOME) (740) 592-3342
Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority Hope VI Subsidy (513) 977-5729
Cincinnati The Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati Inc Empowerment Zone Down payment Assistance Program (DAP) (513) 961-2800
Cleveland Neighborhood Housing Services of Cleveland Inc Down payment Closing Cost Assistance Loan (DPCCAL) (216) 361-0516
Cleveland, Action to Support Housing Second Mortgage Assistance Program (SMAP) (216) 621-7350
Columbus School District Columbus Neighborhood Housing Servies Inc. Down payment Assistance Program (DAP) (614) 224-3603
Dayton Citywide Building Finance Corporation Neighborhood Lending Down Payment Assistance Program (NLDPAP) (937) 226-0457
East Cleveland Home Ownership Program (HOP) (216) 681-2404
Franklin County Columbus Housing Partnership Down Payment Assistance Program (614) 221-8889
Franklin County Down Payment Assistance Program (DPAP) (614) 221-8889
Hamilton County Greater Cincinnati Mortgage Counseling Service American Dream Accounts Programs (ADAP) (513) 948-8820
Hancock County First Time Home Buyer Grants Program (419) 424-7094
Kettering First Time Homebuyers Program (FTHP) (937) 296-2401
Lancaster Homebuyer Acquisition Assistance Program (HAAP) (740) 687-6663
Madison County Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) (614) 445-8373
Mansfield Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP) (419) 755-9793
Massillon Homebuyer’s Assistance Program (HAP) (330) 830-1717
Montgomery County – County Corp Lease Purchase Program (LPP) (937) 225-6328
Montgomery County – County Corp. Down payment Plus Program (DPP) (937) 225-6328
Morgan / Washington Counties Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) (740) 373-6623
Multi Counties Better Housing League of Greater Cincinnati/Ohio Trust Fund Gift Program (GIFT) (513) 721-6855
Multi Counties Rural Opportunities Inc First Time Homebuyer Program (FTHP) (330) 821-4740
Multi County Greater Cincinnati Mortgage Counseling Service Down payment Assistance Program (DAP) (513) 948-8820
Ohio North Fairmont Community Center Grant Program (513) 921-5842
Ohio Three Rivers Housing Corporation Down payment Assistance Program (DAP) (740) 797-7139
Shaker Heights Neighborhood Revitalization Department Funds for the Future of Shaker Heights Program (FFF) (216) 491-1330
Sidney Community Housing and Improvement Program (CHIP) (419) 352-7537
Springfield Home Purchase & Rehabilitation Incentive Program (937) 324-7368
Springfield Redevelopment Corp. Down payment Assistance Program (937) 322-4623
Van Wert County Homebuyer Assistance Program (419) 238-4544
Warren County First Time Homebuyers Assistance – Deferred Loan Program (DLP) (513) 695-1259
Youngstown Homebuyer Program (HP) (330) 744-0854
