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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Michael McGeehan |
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In rocky home financing market, McGeehan says PHFA may be the answer
HARRISBURG, Feb. 27 – At a time when many homeowners face foreclosure due to ill-advised risks regarding interest rates and mortgages, state Rep. Mike McGeehan, D-Phila., is urging potential homebuyers to look into the programs offered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency as a reliable means to finance their purchase.
The agency was created in 1972 to assist Pennsylvanians in obtaining quality, affordable homes and to provide capital for the purchase of rental housing for senior citizens, people with disabilities and lower-income working families.
McGeehan said PHFA has more than a dozen programs to assist with home and rental property purchase or construction, with below-market or no-interest rate loans and many other options.
PHFA programs include:
- Homeowners’ Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program: For eligible recipients, this program provides funding for up to 24 months to give an owner time to rectify a mortgage delinquency. A lien is placed on the property until repayment of the assistance loan is complete.
- Keystone Home Loan Program: Provides below-market interest rates and origination fees for qualifying homebuyers for the purchase of new or existing housing.
- Keystone Home Loan PLUS Program: Provides even lower income and purchase price limits for families with children or people with disabilities who are purchasing their first home.
- Keystone PLUS Assistance Loan: For people who qualify for the Keystone Home Loan PLUS Program, this program can provide a deferred-payment, no-interest loan of up to $2,000 to help with closing costs and down payment.
- Keystone HOMEstead Downpayment and Closing Cost Assistance Loan Program:
Provides noninterest-bearing second mortgages for down payments and closing costs to qualified homebuyers who make 80 percent or less of an area's median income. It features loan forgiveness periods and applies to property that meets federal housing quality standards.
- Keystone Access Home Modification Program: Provides no-interest loans of up to $10,000 for people with disabilities or households with a disabled family member for use with first mortgage financing to make modifications to a home to accommodate a disability. Repayment is forgiven for as long as the borrower resides in the dwelling.
- Keystone Access Downpayment and Closing Cost Assistance Loan Program:
Available to qualified borrowers with a disability or disabled family member who are not qualified for the Keystone Access Home Modification Program, this program provides no-interest deferred payment loans of up to $15,000 to assist with down payment and closing costs.
- Keystone Purchase-Improvement Program: Allows PHFA first-time borrowers to make up to $15,000 in improvements upon purchase of a home to enhance energy efficiency, safety and general quality.
- PENNVEST-On-lot Sewage System Loan: Provides a very low-interest loan up to $25,000 to repair or upgrade failing on-lot septic systems.
- Homeownership Choice Programs: Offer a variety of features to promote new home construction or rehabilitation of existing housing in core communities and urban areas.
“Homeownership is an essential part of the American dream for many people and
families and certainly promotes stability, safety and a higher overall quality
of life in our neighborhoods,” McGeehan said. “I’m pleased that Pennsylvania provides
such affordable options to fulfill those dreams and maintain our
neighborhoods.”
More information on PHFA programs is available through the agency’s Web site at www.phfa.org or toll-free by phone at 1-800-822-1174.
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