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OVERVIEW
Until now, the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program could only be used to assist families with the cost of a rental unit. Integrated Community Services is now proud to introduce the new Brown County Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Option.
If you are currently receiving Housing Choice Voucher Rental Assistance or are eligible to receive it, you can now use your Voucher subsidy toward the mortgage on your own home.
By working with NeighborWorks Green Bay and your local lender, it's now possible for families to move from rental housing into an affordable home of their own.
First, attend one of the monthly Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Informational Seminars to learn more about the program.
You will then attend homeownership counseling through NeighborWorks Green Bay. After you complete your home buying education, you will be ready to seek financing from the lender of your choice. If you pre-qualify for a mortgage, you can then start looking for a home to buy!
PROGRAM QUALIFICATIONS
To qualify for the Brown County Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership program you must:
- Be a current Voucher rental assistance participant or be selected from the waiting list for Voucher assistance.
- Be consistently employed for at least one year (elderly and disabled families are exempt from this requirement).
- Earn a minimum annual income of $10,300 or $7,644 if you are elderly or disabled.
- Be in compliance with your current lease (you must not break your lease or owe your landlord any money, not leave your unit with damages or past rent or utilities due).
- Be able to secure a mortgage loan from a lender.
- Be a first time homeowner (must not have owned a home in the past 3 years, unless you are a single parent or displaced homemaker who owned a home with your spouse) An exemption may be granted for families which have a disabled family member.
STEPS TO HOMEOWNERSHIP
1. If you think you meet the program qualifications, but are not yet on the Housing Choice Voucher Program, you must first submit an application and be selected from the waiting list. When your name is selected from the waiting list, we will contact you for an eligibility interview.
2. Next, attend one of ICS's Homeownership Informational Seminars. Then, you should call NeighborWorks Green Bay (448-3075), located at 437 S Jackson St, Green Bay for an initial consultation and scheduling of pre-purchase counseling, where you will learn everything you need to know about the homebuying process.
3. Talk to lender or two for a free consultation to see if you can be pre-approved for a loan and to discuss home purchase programs to help with down-payment and closing costs. At this time you will find out if you are able to get a mortgage and how much of a home you can afford to buy, or if you need to work on your credit first.
4. When you are mortgage ready, contact ICS’s Homeownership Coordinator for an eligibility assessment (Robyn Hallet, (920) 432-3055). Then, you're ready to start shopping for a home. We recommend you work with a realtor who's an accredited buyer's representative, but this is not required.
5. When you find a home you’d like to buy, it will need to pass ICS’s Housing Quality Standards evaluation. You will also need to hire a private inspector to inspect the house. ICS will then help you decide if, in light of any necessary repairs, this house would be a good investment for you.
6. If you meet all eligibility & financing requirements you can close on your home and start packing!
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HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM
INCOME GUIDELINES
To qualify for the Brown County Housing Choice Voucher Homeownership Program your gross yearly income must be at least $10,300 a year (or $7,644 of you are elderly or disabled), but not more than the maximum income limits for your family size.
Please be aware that even if you meet the criteria for the program, it does not guarantee that you will receive a subsidy from ICS.
Attend one of our monthly Homeownership Informational Seminars to learn more about the porgram, or contact the Homeownership Coordinator,
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