Conflict of Interest:

No member of the governing bodies of any cities, towns or counties in our 13 county area and no other official, employee or agent of SIRHA who exercises policy decision-making functions or responsibilities in connection with the planning and implementation of the Homeownership Program shall directly or indirectly benefit from this program and are not eligible to participate in the Homeownership Program.

Relative Clause:

We will also not allow purchases from related family members.  Relatives are defined as:  parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sister or brother of any member of the family.

We will use the following system to make homes more affordable:

We will have limited the price of the homes to a maximum of $65,000.  This amount should allow the family to purchase a decent house in our 13 county area.

We will grant funds to “buy down” the purchase price and provide some closing costs in an amount equal to 25% of the lesser of the appraised value or purchase price of the house.  The participant will be required to provide one thousand dollars ($1,000) of their own money toward the closing costs/down payment expenses.

We will have a “Windfall Profit” clause in the contract that will be recorded as a 2nd mortgage.  Windfall Profit in this case refers to the 25% grant funds.  If the owner sells the property during the first five (5) years, they will be required to reimburse SIRHA for the 25% grant funds.

Qualifications and Requirements:

1. Participant’s income must be at or below the low income guidelines to qualify and be eligible to participate in the Homeownership Program.
2. The house that is purchased must be a Single Family dwelling unit purchased in our 13 county jurisdiction, the only dwelling unit owned by the purchaser and must be occupied by the purchaser as their primary residence for the first 5 years.  The purchased unit may be an acreage but it can not exceed 5 acres total area.
3. The dwelling unit must pass the SIRHA Housing Quality Standards inspection and any other housing standards required by the lender.  We will require a termite inspection of all units before purchase.
4. The purchaser must certify that they are not related to the seller of the property.  Relatives are defined as parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, sister or brother of any member of the family.
5. The potential purchaser will be required to attend training on skills and techniques involved in Homeownership.  The workshop will be offered to all selected participants and these must be completed before they will be considered for financial assistance by this program.  We will be offering classes with local trainers presenting the workshops.
6. The participant will be required to have a financial commitment letter from a bank before we can proceed with the Homeownership process.

Verification Process:

1. All participant’s income will be verified using the same verification process as we use to determine income eligibility for the Section 8 and Public Housing Programs.
2. Participants will be required to sign release forms and provide any other information necessary to determine eligibility and to determine they have complied with all the requirements related to this program.