State, Realtors work to get people into homes 

To date, the Idaho Housing and Finance Association has closed 632 loans to homebuyers who can’t wait until after a home purchase is final to receive $8,000 from the federal government.

With the IHFA’s Tax Credit 2nd Loan, Idaho buyers can use the federal money in the purchase of their first home.

The loan program was initiated in April of 2009, and it was recently extended in response to the federal government’s extension of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. Both programs were also recently expanded to offer money to non-first-time buyers.

Idaho is one of a few states to extend the money to buyers in anticipation of the tax return. IHFA’s business development officer Cindy Bengal said whether the federal money was intended to be used that way (as part of a down payment instead of as a bonus upon purchase) is up to individual interpretation.

“We’re here to help people get into homes,” she said. “We help low- to moderate-income families, and whenever we find the opportunity to help them get over [obstacles to getting a loan], we take it. We help them get over the stumbling block of the fact that most borrowers don’t have the money for a down payment – we’re really excited about the opportunity to lend it.”

The Realtor associations of Idaho are anxious to knock down stumbling blocks, too. So they instituted a program that reimburses the money it takes to get one of these IHFA loans.

The IHFA charges a $250 fee for the loan, $150 of which is refunded when the loan is repayed. The loan also incurs 3 percent interest. The Realtor program reimburses that money, which usually totals about $250.

Funding comes from a $60,000 grant from the National Association of Realtors to the Idaho Association of Realtors, along with a $10,000 donation from the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. The money was in turn passed along to the Realtors Community Foundation, which is a subsidiary of the Ada County Association of Realtors. The foundation has given out $1.5 million in grants, mostly to other nonprofits, since it was founded in about 1985.

So far, 79 of the 632 IHFA second loans have been repaid, so 79 checks from the fund are going out around Idaho.

Miguel Legarreta of ACAR, who was responsible for obtaining the $60,000 Ira Gribin grant from the NAR, said the Realtor checks should help change the minds of those who hesitated to get the IHFA loan because of interest and fees.

But he said the program isn’t designed to facilitate loans for buyers who can’t afford them.

“This program is meant to go out to qualified buyers and give them additional opportunities,” he said. “We want to see folks not exceed their budget limitations, but get into houses they can afford.”

Because these loans can help buyers receive 100-percent financing, the IHFA established a maximum debt ratio – the first time the agency has ever done that for a second loan. Agency officials wanted to make sure buyers are able to afford the loans.

To qualify for the Tax Credit 2nd Loan, a buyer’s debt ratio must be 45 percent or under, and the credit score must be at least 640. And like the IHFA has always done, it requires employment verification and two years of W2s.

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