First-time homebuyers may qualify for El Paso County’s “Single Family Mortgage Bond” program.The current interest rate for loans with down payment assistance is 5.9 percent; without a down payment, it will now be 5.3 percent.A down payment is often the biggest stumbling block to homeownership, so the county also offers a 4-percent grant with higher rate loans. On a $160,000 loan, for example, the $6,400 grant may be applied to a down payment, closing costs or principal reductions. Since it is a grant and not a loan, it doesn’t have to be paid back.The program, offered by El Paso County since 1979, has allowed thousands of county borrowers to achieve the American dream of homeownership. Loans are 30-year, fixed rate FHA, VA and conventional, and are made to first-time homebuyers (someone who has not owned a home during the past three years) throughout the county.There are eligibility requirements, such as income restrictions and purchase price limits. Visit http://adm.elpasoco.com/econdev/SFMortgageBond.asp or call the bond hotline 520-6474 for more information on eligibility.The program is possible because of a county “recycling” program initiated in 1998. Each year, the county receives principal payments and loan prepayments from previously issued single-family bonds. The monies are then reused for the next group of borrowers.In May, the county commissioners approved $75,000,000 for the recycling program, which allows the county to store funds up to that amount for the next three and a half years. Those proceeds won’t be used until the existing bond monies are used. Currently there is $15,000,000 available in the 2004 issue of bonds.
