Up To $20,000 Available Grant Money For Atlantic City NJ Home Buyers

Home buyers in Atlantic City may be eligible for up to $20,000 for down payment and closing costs.

Grant money is now available in Atlantic City for first time home buyers.  Grants are available from $10,000-$20,000.  It’s a great time to buy a home in Atlantic County.  And if you’re looking outside Atlantic City the Atlantic County Grant is also available now with up to $10,000 available.  So here are some more details on the Atlantic City Grant program.


ELIGIBLE PARTICPANTS:

  • Persons who have resided in the City of AC for the last 12 months.
  • Persons who have not owned a home for the past 3 years.
  • Persons with an acceptable credit history and ability to obtain an approved mortgage.
  • Persons with incomes below 80% of the median family income. Please contact me for HUD income limits.

ELIGIBLE PROPERTIES

  • Single family properties, condominiums in the city of Atlantic City. Exclude manufactured homes.
  • Sale price cannot exceed $250,000.
  • Property must meet all requirements for an approved mortgage.
  • Property acquired must meet all state and local housing quality standards and code requirements. Any findings are to be corrected, reinspected and certified prior to settlement.

PROGRAM FINANCING

  • The program will provide a maximum amount of $10,000 – $20,000 to eligible applicants to assist with down payment and closing costs, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the HOME Investment Partnership program.

If you think you would qualify for this program or know someone who could benefit from this.  Please contact us immediately.  Funds are available on a first come first serve basis and typically go quickly.

How Important is Your Credit Score for Buying an Atlantic County Home?

How Important is Your Credit Score for Buying an Atlantic County Home?

You’re ready to buy a home. You have stable employment, and make good money, so you should be able to easily get a loan, right? Not so fast. Lenders all use credit scores to help determine your ability to pay your debt before they take a risk on lending you money for a new home. Credit scores can vary from 300-850. That’s quite a range, so what should your credit score be to buy a house?

How Important is Your Credit Score for Buying an Atlantic County Home?

A credit score is calculated using a software program created by the Fair Isaac Corporation, or FICO. Understanding how your FICO score is used will help you understand the importance of a good score. Mortgage lenders use your score when determining your reliability towards making timely payments. This helps establish not only your approval or denial, but also what interest rate will be offered if approved.

According to Nerdwallet, excellent credit scores are considered to be 720 and up, and fair or “average credit” scores fall between 630-689. Credit scores falling below the average or fair range often result in the denial of credit to the borrower or credit offers at a much higher interest rate. Various things can impact your score, but most important is when you pay your bills, if they’re on time or not. Also, if you have a large number of late payment fees applied to your accounts or any of them in collections, your score will be lower.How Important is Your Credit Score for Buying an Atlantic County Home?

Credit scores are reported by three agencies, Equifax, Experian and Transunion. All three agency reports are pulled by lenders to help determine your overall credit score. These scores usually vary slightly from one another. Lenders will use the median score to determine a borrower’s overall FICO score. For example, if your reports come back with a 680, 705, and 720, the lender will use 705 as the number to determine your eligibility as a borrower.

FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loans require a minimum credit score of 580 to qualify for their 3.5% down payment option which is popular with first-time home buyers. You might be approved for an FHA loan with a score lower than 580 but the minimum down payment required will be 10% in those circumstances.

How Important is Your Credit Score for Buying an Atlantic County Home?Raising your score quickly can help you get approved for a loan or to get approved for a better interest rate. Even slight differences can greatly affect the rate you’re offered. According to MyFICO.com payment history contributes 35% to your credit score. In order to avoid paying late payments, set-up auto payments or reminders for yourself so everything is paid on time. Reducing the amount of debt owed is important as well, though not as simple to change. Pull your credit report to determine where the highest interest is being charged and focus on paying off those accounts first for the greatest impact. When reviewing your credit report make sure it is accurate. Dispute any discrepancies for debt you don’t owe or that you’ve already paid. If you make these changes you should see your score start improving each month.

Matt Haviland with The Haviland Group and Keller Williams Realty offers a complimentary credit score check and credit evaluation by filling out this form on the Mortgage Help page or their website. Complete the form for your evaluation today. If you would like more information, please give Matt a call today at 609-338-3773 or send him an e-mail. When you’re ready to buy your first home, Matt and his team are here to help from start to finish.