The mortgage revenue bond program can benefit realtors by widening
their market segment to include individuals who, with down payment
and closing cost assistance, can now afford to own a home where
previously this was not possible.
Realtors will likely have two main issues to deal with in order
to facilitate HFC assistance loans to their buyers: 1) Determining
if the property qualifies for Targeted vs. Non-target/ Designated
Area down payment assistance to the buyer and, 2) getting the buyer
to one of the participating lenders. For a list of lenders participating
in this program, see the “HFC Participating Lenders”
section and “Frequently Asked Questions” section.
Determining if the property qualifies for Targeted vs. Non-target/Designated
Area assistance
Because the location criterion for Targeted Area assistance
is based on census tract, it is necessary for both realtors
and lenders to convert a property address to census tract to
determine if the property is in a Targeted Area. To find out
what census tract a home is in, go to:
http://www.ffiec.gov/geocode/default.htm
and type in the address and zip code of the home. This site will
identify the census tract of the property. Then, check the following
table for a list of the census tracts that are eligible for targeted
assistance.
To find out what streets are in a census tract, just click on the census tract number in the table below and it will take you to the map. You can download each census tract map and zoom in to identify streets.
Download argeted Areas using Acrobat Reader (free software-click on logo below)
| Targeted Areas. |
| Census Tracts (2000) |
| 3.01 |
| 3.02 |
| 4.04 |
| 8 |
| 9 |
| 12.03 |
| 14 |
| 16 |
| 17 |
| 18 |
| 19 |
| 20 |
| 21 |
| 22.01 |
| 22.02 |
| 26 |
| 28 |
| 29 |
| 30 |
| 32 |
| 36.02 |
| 37.01 |
| 37.02 |
| 39.01 |
| 39.03 |
| 41.05 |
| 101.02 |
| 0102.08* |
| 0104.03* |
2005 Designated Areas
(**For 2005 program, borrowers eligible for 6% assistance,
but not for Target Area guidelines. Must meet guidelines for
Non-Targeted Areas)
For the 2006 Program, there are no Designated Areas, only
Targeted Areas
|
| 10.01 |
| 10.02 |
| 24 |
| 25 |
| 31 |
| 34.03 |
| 36.01 |
| * These census tracts cover land area that is both inside and outside city limits. All homes purchased through this program must be inside the city limits of El Paso. |
You will note that the table has two sections. The top section
comprises the census tracts that qualify under the Targeted Area
Guidelines.
The bottom section census tracts qualifies for the full
down payment assistance, but buyers must meet the Non-Targeted
Area income and purchase price limits.
Sorry if it’s confusing, but the City wants to make sure
that our core neighborhoods get all the help we can give them, even
if they do not actually fall within the Federal limits for an economically
distressed area! Also, the first time homebuyer provision is waived
if the buyer is purchasing in the Targeted Areas. So, buyers within
the stated income limits can take advantage of the program even
if they already own a home or recently owned one.
The participating lenders should be able to answer any questions
about how a property and a buyer qualify for assistance.
|
print-version