DCHFA Closes First HPAP Loan for Home Purchase Assistance

Washington, D.C. –- (RealEstateRama) — June is National Homeownership Month and the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) is announcing its first closing of the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP). On June 12, Leonidas Saturria Rosario and Lurden Martinez de Saturria became homeowners with the assistance of the HPAP program. “We are happy and satisfied that our prayers of being homeowners have been answered. We are not priced out of the market and can afford to stay in D.C. thanks to HPAP.”

stated Lurden Martinez de Saturria. After more than five years of living in a small apartment with their three children, Lurden and Leonidas are now the proud owners of a four level townhome in Ward 7’s Deanwood neighborhood.

“Congratulations to Lurden and Leonidas. Their home purchase is a true representation of one of DCHFA’s goals of expanding homeownership in the District,” stated Todd A. Lee, DCHFA’s Executive Director, “DCHFA’s service as a co-administrator of HPAP allows the Agency to gladly serve more firsttime homebuyers.”

HPAP is the DC Department of Housing and Community Development’s (DHCD) first-time homebuyer program. DCHFA’s first HPAP closing is its latest announcement to take place during Mayor Muriel Bowser’s June Housing Bloom celebration. On June 20, DCHFA will begin offering Freddie Mac’s super conforming mortgages. The Agency’s maximum conforming loan is limited to $424,100. Freddie Mac’s super conforming mortgages are mortgages originated using higher maximum loan limits, currently up to $636,150, that are permitted in designated high-cost areas, such as D.C. These higher loan limits, lower mortgage financing costs for borrowers located in high-cost areas by decreasing the minimum down payment requirement, thus assisting more of our moderate income (up to 120 percent Area Median Income (AMI) households purchase a home located within the District.

During the June 1 kick off of June Housing Bloom, the Agency launched its Closing Cost Grants Giveaway. Grants are available to qualifying borrowers in the amount of $1,500. Qualifications include income at 80 percent ($86,880) or less of AMI, buyers must close between June 1st and September 1st, 2017 and must use one of the DC Open Doors HFA Preferred loan programs (with or without Down Payment Assistance). Closing Cost Grants are not available for use with any other DC Open Doors loan programs. Potential buyers that are interested in receiving a closing cost grant should visit www.DCOpenDoors.com and contact one of the participating lenders. The maximum borrower income for all DC Open Doors loan programs is now $132,360 widening the range of buyers that may qualify for the DC Open Doors loan program.

Mayor Bowser named DCHFA as the HPAP co-administrator in December 2016. The Agency joined the Greater Washington Urban League and began operations as HPAP co-administrator on March 1, 2017.

HPAP provides down payment and closing cost assistance in the form of interest free loans to qualified applicants for the purchase of their primary residence, to include single family homes, condominiums, or cooperative units in the District. The loan amount is based upon a combination of factors, including household income and size. The loan is subordinate to a first trust mortgage provided by a lender. In late 2016, Mayor Bowser announced several enhancements to HPAP, including increased financial assistance and longer loan payback periods, giving District residents who are first-time homebuyers more purchasing power and a greater pathway to homeownership.

The administration of HPAP applications for very low to low income households is managed by DCHFA’s Single Family Programs division.

“As we beefed up HPAP, we knew that by adding a respected partner like DCHFA as an HPAP administrator, we would be able to better serve District residents,” said DHCD Director Polly Donaldson.

“We are already seeing the pay off as a result of DCHFA’s first HPAP closing, and we congratulate them on this achievement.”

DCHFA’s Single Family Programs division also administers the DC Open Doors program offering 1st trust mortgage programs and down payment assistance, the HomeSaver program, which is a foreclosure prevention program and the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program that provides qualified borrowers the ability to claim a Federal Tax Credit of 20 percent of the mortgage interest paid during each calendar year. HPAP is the fourth addition to DCHFA’s slate of homeownership programs.

The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency was established in 1979 to stimulate and expand homeownership and rental housing opportunities in Washington, D.C. We accomplish our mission by offering below market rate mortgage loans to lower the homebuyers’ costs of purchasing homes and by issuing mortgage revenue bonds to lower the developers’ costs of acquiring, constructing and rehabilitating rental housing.

Contact:
Yolanda McCutchen
(202) 777-1650