First-Time Buyers: Don't Miss Out!

Release Date: December 15, 2009

First-time buyers should be aware of special grant programs available through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) and the New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency.

Here are the details for each state, as provided by Celeste Spadaccini, a mortgage specialist with Gateway Funding Diversified Mortgage Services, L.P., who is the go-to loan expert for Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty’s two offices in Philadelphia and New Hope/Bucks County. By the way, if you’re thinking that “Sotheby’s” and first-time buyers don’t go together, you’re mistaken. In November alone, nearly 100% of our settlements were for properties costing $500,000 or less.

Pennsylvania: If you are a first-time home buyer who qualifies for the $8,000 tax credit provided by the federal government (see who qualifies), Pennsylvania has a program that may allow you to apply a portion of the tax credit toward the purchase of your home. “It’s really more of an advance in the form of a secondary loan but with no interest,” says Celeste. Buyers can use the money to cover closing costs or put it toward the down payment. The grant program is available on a first-come, first-serve basis as funding for it is limited. Read more about it here on the PHFA web site.

New Jersey: The Garden State’s program is similar to that of Pennsylvania. They call their program, “The First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit Loan Program (TCLP), and the money can be used toward a down payment and/or to help pay closing costs. As with Pennsylvania’s program, buyers must apply for the tax credit when filing their income taxes, and the tax refund they receive must be used to pay off the secondary loan. More information is available at the New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency web site.

To learn more about either of these programs, please email Celeste or phone her at 215.962.7735.

First-time buyers who wish to explore purchasing a home should call our Philadelphia office at 215.735.2225 or our Bucks County office at 215.794.3227.