Buying a home for the first time: Are you aware of the home buyers grant?

 

Buying a home for the first time is exciting. However, dealing with finances can turn out to be quite an ordeal. There is a huge amount of money involved in buying a house. As a first time home buyer you must be aware of the financial nuances of purchasing a home. Today, however, we will be speaking exclusively about the first time home buyers grants. Kindly read on to know more.

What is a first time home buyers grant?

The first time home buyers grants have become very popular. The Homes and Communities Program of the Federal Government under the Department of Housing and Urban Development is aimed at helping first time buyers. The first time home buyers grants are actually meant for low income earners. If you are buying a home for the first time, then you should make yourself aware of what these grants are.

Home Buyers Grant and the Federal Government

The first time home buyers grants were introduced by the Federal Government to encourage more people to buy homes. This entire program was initially introduced (in the year 2008) as a credit scheme for interested house buyers. Later on, the new government had developed it into a grant. The first time home owners were entitled to get up to $7,000 as grant. Now, the amount has been increased. If you would like to know more about this grant, you can check out  Homestart, first home buyers grant information are available by request.

The amount approved as grant is secured by a property collateral. Home buyers are not required to pay this amount back. The introduction of this grant has acted as a boon for both the buyers and the real estate agents. Post recession, it had become real difficult for people to buy houses owing to the frequent cases of job loss or pay cuts. The real estate sector was also running losses as a result. The introduction of these grants helped home buyers to finance their homes partly and the real estate industry also started to generate profits steadily.

How can you qualify for the grant?

If you are interested in applying for a grant, make sure you are acquainting yourself with its criteria. In order to be considered for these grants, you need to be above 18 years of age, a taxpayer and must be interested in real estate. You are free to buy established homes or new homes and even have your home constructed.

It doesn’t matter which kind of house you are buying. However, it is very important to adhere to the criteria in a bid to qualify. You can check out further details of these grants (qualifying criteria, rules and regulations, limitations among other details) from the Federal sites. That would be a prudent move on your part.

 


Categories: Real Estate

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September 15, 2015 Buying a home for the first time: Are you aware of the home buyers grant?