First Time Home Buyer Assistance

This first time home buyer assistance article will be the last in this series first time home buyer series. In that particular series we've published eight articles that address the needs of this segment of the real estate marketplace. We've covered just about every topic we could think of in this area. In this publication, we are going to bring it all together in one place.

First Time Home Buyer Series

We started down the first time home buyer path with our four part series on buying a home. In part one of this series we focused on helping you to find an affordable mortgage. We gave you some rules of thumb to use so that you can perform some quick calculations and get a rough idea of what you can really afford.

Additional Resources

In part two of this series, we talked about home locations and school systems and their affect on home values. We also reminded you of some of the very logistical things associated with home buying. In particular, the distance you will be traveling from home to work nearly every day which can affect your commuting time - which is time away from your family. We finished this article with a bulleted list of things a first time home buyer should consider when deciding on location.

In part three of this series, we talked about working with a local real estate agent. We talked about the responsibilities of the agent and some of the disclosure rules that you should be aware of such as the fiduciary responsibilities of a buyer's agent versus a seller's agent. In summary, you need to be careful about what you say to an agent and listen carefully for hints that there might be a problem with the home.

In our last part of this series we talked about the importance of pre-approvals and pre-qualifying for a mortgage. We also gave you some ideas concerning how you can estimate a home's value. And we finished that article by talking about how to figure out if there was a potentially expensive structural problem or merely a cosmetic problem with the home.

Home Buyer Programs

Our next article targeted to the first time home buyer talked about the different assistance programs that are available at the state and federal level. We talked about specialized programs such as the Officer Next Door and Teacher Next Door initiatives - and now the Good Neighbor Next Door. These programs are aimed at putting the police officers, teachers and other civil servants back into the communities where they work by offering them the chance to buy a home at a discounted rate.

We also mentioned the home ownership voucher system that HUD has established to help the first time home buyer to make their monthly mortgage payments. In addition, there are Money Smart programs that help adults to develop the financial management skills they need to keep their homes.

Home Buyer Grants

In our first time home buyer grants article, we talked about the federal grants that are available to help individuals get off to a good start. We gave a brief summary about grants that are available such as the American Dream Downpayment Assistance grant that helps qualified first time home buyers with down payments, closing costs and even some home rehabilitation expenses.

We also explained the fact that most home buyer grants are administered through state and local government agencies and told you where to go to find information in your area of the country.

First Time Home Buyer Loans

Our last article in the home buyer series talked about loans or mortgages that are supported by the federal government. We talked about the role that quasi governmental agencies such as Fannie Mae played in assuring a robust and affordable secondary market in mortgages exists here in the United States.

We mentioned the VA loan programs and USDA Rural Development Direct Loans that are available through the federal government and gave you links to additional information. We also covered the invaluable role that HUD plays in providing assistance and in keeping a database of state and local programs that are aimed at making home ownership a reality for many Americans.

Home Buyer Assistance

We think that all this information offers the first time home buyer enough assistance to get a good feel for what it takes to buy a new home. We've offered information on home location, valuation and even gave you some pointers on how to work with a real estate agent. We ran through all of the payment assistance programs that we could find - loans, grants and specialized programs.

Our last offering to all of the first time home buyers out there is our best wishes and some parting words to think about: