Are you thinking of buying your first property in Tennessee? 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 Tennessee 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 for closing costs and down payments from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. 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 Tennessee provides.
Tennessee First Time Home Buyer Grants
The agency in Tennessee that provides assistance to first time home buyers is The Tennessee Housing Development Agency. There is currently one such grant program available, depending upon your income. First time home buyers can receive a grant of up to 4% or the purchase price to use toward the down payment and closing costs. To keep the grant, you are required to remain in your home for 5 years. To find out more about this program, please visit the Tennessee Housing Development Agency website page specifically describing the grant program. You can find it by going to this website.
THDA’s Homeownership programs are designed for low- and moderate-income borrowers. The Great Advantage program offers a slightly higher interest rate loan secured by a first mortgage offering downpayment and closing cost assistance of 2%. The Great Start program offers a loan at a slightly higher interest rate, secured by a first mortgage, but offers assistance with down payment and closing costs of 4%.
Here is the contact information for the Tennessee Housing Development Agency:
THDA
404 James Robertson Parkway
Suite 1200
Nashville, TN 37243-0900
Phone: 615-815-2200
Toll-free Number: 800-228-THDA
FAX: 615-564-2700
TTY: 615-532-2894
Community Grant Programs: 615-815-2030
First-Time Homebuyers: 615-815-2100
Homebuyer Education: 615-815-2085
Federal First Time Home Buyer Grants
Besides the state down payment and closing cost programs, there are federal funds and grants available to first time home buyers in Tennessee 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 you may qualify for. You can visit the website by going to Grants.gov and searching for more details.
Other Grants in Tennessee
In addition to the variety of 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 Tennessee:
Nashville Field Office
235 Cumberland Bend
Suite 200
Nashville, TN 37228-1803
Phone: (615) 736-5600
Fax: (615) 736-7848
There are also these local programs:
Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise Inc. Affordable Housing Assistance Program (423) 756-6201
Davidson County Home Ownership Metro Employee Program (HOME) (615) 780-7000
Hamblen County Area Housing Opportunities Committee Gift Program (GIFT) (423) 586-8421
Jackson Affordable Housing Community Development Corporations SMART To Live in Jackson Program (SMART) (731) 422-1366
Knoxville Community Development Corporation Home Ownership HOPE VI Program (HOPEVI) (865) 594-8800
Knoxville County Knox Housing Partnership Down Home (865) 637-1679
Memphis City-Wide Down Payment Assistance Program (CWDPA) (901) 576-7424
