*Please read and if you qualify, please click on the link to fill out the interest form at the bottom of this page.
Homeownership assistance offers a new option for qualified applicants and participants in the Section 8 tenant – based assistance of the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV). Section 8/HCV authorizes homeownership assistance for an eligible family in the purchase and ownership of a home instead of using voucher subsidy (government funding) to help the family with rent.
Families that are eligible for the Section 8 Homeownership Program will be eligible to receive housing assistance.
Eligibility Requirements
- The family has been admitted to the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
- The family satisfies any first-time homeownership requirements.
- The family satisfies the employment requirements.
- No Family member can have previously received assistance under this program and defaulted on the mortgage.
- The family must be able to put a minimum of 3% percent of the purchase price down on the property with at least 1% percent coming from their own personal resources.
- The family must not owe WMHA or any other Housing Authority an outstanding debt.
First-Time Homeownership Requirements
- No family member could have owned title to a principle residence in the last three years.
- The term “first-time homeowner”, includes a single parent or displace homemaker who, while married, owned a home with his or her spouse.
Income Requirements
- The family income must be equal to the HUD stated minimum of $16,692 annually.
- Income counted to meet this requirement must come from sources other than welfare assistance (except in disabled or elderly families welfare should be counted).
- Families in which the head or co-head are disabled or elderly are exempted from the income source the minimum income standard for disabled families will be equal to the monthly Federal Supplement Security Income (SSI) benefit for a single individual living alone, multiplied by 12.
- The family is currently employed on a full-time basis (average 30 hours per week).
- The family has been continuously employed during the year before commencement of homeownership assistance for the family.
- The employment requirement does not apply to an elderly family or disabled family.
Homeownership Counseling Requirements
A family participating in the homeownership program must attend and complete a homeownership and housing counseling program provided by the Housing Authority. The Counseling Program consists of 2 parts: the pre-assistance and post-purchase counseling.
Pre-Assistance Counseling training will consist of 15 hours of education and counseling on a variety of different topics.
Post-Purchase Counseling One-hour group meetings will be held over the course of 2 years and the family will have to complete the minimum of 8 hours.
Financing Requirements
- Families selected to participate in the Section 8 homeownership program must secure their own financing.
- Families must put at least 3 percent of the purchase price down on the property with at least 1 percent coming from their own resources.
The Housing Authority will review the lender qualifications, loan terms and other family debt and expenses to determine that the debt is affordable and reserves the right to disapprove the loan if it is unaffordable.
Maximum Term of Assistance
Section 8 homeownership assistance will only be provided for the months the family is in the residence in the home.
The maximum length of time a family may receive homeownership assistance:
- 15 years, if the initial mortgage incurred to finance purchase of the home has a term of 20 years or longer; or
- 10 years, in all other cases.
