Great News - 1st Time Home Buyer Interest Rates Dropped! (Texas)

From the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs:

Effective Nov. 1, 2010, the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs reduced its interest rate on mortgage loans offered through its Texas First Time Homebuyer Program to its lowest levels ever, further opening the door to safe and responsible homeownership for qualifying low- to moderate-income Texans.

Interest rates on these 30-year, fixed rate mortgage loans have been set at either 4.20% (unassisted) or 4.95% (assisted), depending on which of two types of loans the borrower selects. Assisted loans offer downpayment and closing-cost assistance up to 5% of the mortgage amount.

To learn more about the program and eligibility requirements, please visit www.myfirsttexashome.com.

Thinking of buying your first home? Contact Brooke LeMond at 512-284-0799 for a free Home Buyer's Book or to get home listings. Or email at brooke@brookelemond.com

Credit Score Got you Down? A few Easy Tips that might help improve your Credit Score.

Poor credit can keep you from buying your first home. Obviously we can't all pay cash for everything all the time - using credit cards and getting loans is necessary for most of us. But, you can protect your hard-earned credit score and keep it....you'll be glad you did!

Buying your own home is a great investment in your future, keep your credit in check and you'll have a much easier time of getting a loan when you are ready.

• Don't use all of your available credit on a credit account - try not to use more than 10% on any particular account and try to keep it to 10% total maximum on all of your accounts.
  
• Don't close your old accounts. The longer you have had accounts, the better it looks. You might consider using it for a small amount from time to time and paying it off again in a timely fashion.
  
• It's good to have different types of credit, including gas cards, retail store cards, credit cards, car or motorcycle loan, home mortgage, student loans and personal loans. All can be reported to the credit bureaus.
  
• Don't be lured by offers that say, "No payments until...." These are often high interest rate loans. Plus, it's easy to forget that a year from now you will have to start paying for them. If you forget and then you don't have the money, you will be in trouble.
  
• Don't apply for a lot of credit/credit cards within any 6 month period. Every time you apply, the credit card or loan company will check your credit and an "inquiry" is posted to your account. A lot of inquiries with a short period of time can cause your score to drop.
• Check your credit periodically for mistakes. If you find any, report them immediately. It may take some time for these corrections to be posted, so keep that in mind if you are looking at getting that new home loan.
• www.annualcreditreport.com - you can check your credit for free once every 12 months.

And, if you are thinking of buying your first home in the greater Austin or Highland Lakes areas, give us a call or send us an email, we can help. We are certified Texas Affordable Housing Specialists, too, and can help you get a great deal on a home, help you find a lender to pre-qualify you and get you into your very first home.

It's a great time to buy.....

We'll even send you a free booklet on Buying versus Renting and one on First Time Home Buying.

Contact Brooke LeMond at 512-284-0799 or email brooke@brookelemond.com for more information.


Sue Ellett, Broker Associate

Search for Texas First Time Buyer Programs now that the Tax Credit is gone....

Check out this website for programs in the State of Texas.

Contact Brooke LeMond at 512-284-0799 for assistance with being pre-qualified to purchase a home in the Austin and Highland Lakes Areas. It's a great time to buy....

http://txhomeprograms.org/

For more information or to get pre-qualified to buy your own home in our area, give us a call at 866-693-7741 or email brooke@brookelemond.com Brooke is a Texas Affordable Housing Specialist, TAHS

Some Available Programs in our Area of Austin, the Highland Lakes & Central Texas:

Austin Downpayment Assistance Program

Austin Homeowner Rehabilitation Loan Program

HomeChoice

Section 502 Rural Housing Direct Loans

Special Housing Adaptations

Specially Adapted Housing Grants

Start-Up

Texas First Time Homebuyer Mortgage Program

Texas First Time Homebuyer Program (Bond Program 74)

Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation Home Loan Programs

US Veterans Administration Home Loan

Veterans Home Improvement Loans

Veterans Housing Assistance