E179: FREE 1st Time Home Buyer Money - Too Good to be True?

Is there free money out there to help first time home buyers with their down payments? Um, YES. You just have to know where to look. So, stop looking at the clickbait-y headlines and listen to David Sidoni because he’s going to tell you all about it. 

Here are some takeaways from today’s conversation:

• What’s in the news isn’t always true
• Tax credit vs. free money
• Loan modifications only help existing loan holders
• If a program sounds too good to be true, it probably is 

Episode Highlights:

[2:46] An Analysis of the “News”

Headlines have been popping up all over the news featuring some great programs that will finally give first-time home owners the break they need… except the programs aren’t really all that great. David has some bad news: this is really just clickbait. 

[5:05] Biden’s Not-so-great Bill

In April 2021, the Biden administration announced a bill that would give a $15,000 credit to first-time home buyers. But, now it’s two years later and it’s still a bill and not a law, so, no money yet. But, this wasn’t even money that would help you buy - it was a tax credit that would help you AFTER you already purchased the home. 

[8:23] What HUD Had To Say

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the Federal Housing Administration was going to increase 40-year terms for some loan modifications in an attempt to offer some post-COVID recession relief. Okay, pretty good, right? Well, somehow the headline got morphed into “FHA Approves 40-year Mortgage For Certain Home Buyers in May!” Well, isn’t that NOT the truth? This was not for home buyers, this was for loan modifications for existing homeowners. 

 

[10:39] CA’s Empty Pockets

The state of California announced a program that was giving away free money to home buyers. Crazy! So this was actually true, but the catch is that the loan program ran out of money in just two weeks and now it’s on hold again. Also, it sounded amazing, but there were so many catches that it applied to only a very certain number of people and may cost homeowners in the long run. 

Resources

https://smartasset.com/taxes/first-time-homebuyer-tax-credit 

https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/hud_no_22_070