December 1st, 2008 by Michael Oliver

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If you’re a first (1st) time home buyer (homebuyer) in Tucson you most likely would like to know about what programs or incentives are out there to help you buy a home. Buying your first (1st) home in Tucson Arizona is not as hard as a lot of people make it out to be, and there are a lot of programs designed to help first (1st) time homebuyers (home buyer) be able to purchase a home here in Tucson. What are some of the first time home buyer programs for home ownership here in the Tucson Arizona area?

Well the first, although everyone seems to forget the program was directly designed to enable first time buyers to be able to purchase a home is an FHA Home Loan. An FHA home loan while now everyone takes them for granted was specifically designed to allow first time buyers (home buying) who typically don’t have large down payments, and long credit histories be able to actually purchase a home and get a good interest rate that made that home affordable. FHA Loans are designed to truly help the first time buyer in ways no other loan still could. Now it is true currently an FHA loan requires a 3.5% down payment that cannot be given to the buyer from the seller. However that down payment can be gifted to the buyer from a family member, or non-profit/grant. (However the definition of this “grant or non-profit” has been scaled back buyers will need to verify with their loan officer what grants do and do not qualify to meet the FHA guidelines.) Buyer’s looking to obtain an FHA loan typically only need a minimum of a 580 FICO (Credit score) sometimes a lower score will work depending upon circumstances. Also borrowers need to have at least 2 previous years of clean credit. (No major delinquencies or judgments against them) The last requirement is a borrower should not have a debt ratio in excess of 43% with the mortgage payment calculated in. Other then those basic guidelines a buyer should be able to borrow money to purchase a home using a FHA loan.

Need 100% financing? If you need 100% financing here in Tucson there is still money available to you as a first time home buyer. For first time home buyers (buying) (or those who haven’t owned a home in the previous 3 years.) The Pima County Bond Program only has is a limited supply of money available for buyers in Pima County. The Pima County Bond Program will essentially finance the 3.5% down payment AND your closing costs as the buyer so that you can get an FHA loan without putting any money down. This program as mentioned previously does only have a limited amount of funds within it, if you’re in need of 100% financing I would suggest you speak with a loan officer very familiar with the program and get all its details. Generally speaking the Pima County Bond Program is available to all buyers. (As long as they purchase a home within Pima County) Interest rates for this borrowed money is also very cheap making it a very viable and easy place to borrow from if your in need of 100% (up to actually 103%) financing. A lot of first time buyers in the Tucson area are taking full advantage of the Pima County Bond Money Program.

What other programs are available for the first (1st) time home buyer (home buying) in Tucson? Some homebuilders are also offering different first time buyer programs. I have seen everything from special appliance packages included in the purchase of a home for first time homebuyers, to all closing costs paid for by the builder for buying a home of theirs in a certain weekend. The sky is really the limit when working with homebuilders. ALL new home builders in Tucson want your business and are willing to go pretty far to earn it. I would personally strongly recommend you enlist the assistance of a Realtor (real estate agent) who is very familiar with new homes and working with the builders here in Tucson. By working with a well educated and experienced Realtor (real estate agent) who represents YOUR interests not the builders you will roughly 95% of the time come away with much more in incentive money from the builder then you would of otherwise! The home builders do have “blanket” incentives which everyone gets regardless of whether or not they have a Realtor working for them. HOWEVER if your agent is familiar with the new home industry they will also know how much more money in incentives a homebuilder will give you to make a deal and for them to sell a home. This fact cannot be underestimated especially if you are a first time buyer, buying a new home may seem like no big deal until you find out that in addition to the 5k incentive “you got” all your new neighbors received 10k in free upgrade/ option money, and 5k towards closing costs…..These kind of stories happen all the time, make sure you have someone who is very experienced and knows the new home market well otherwise the homebuilders sales representative can easily make you pay way more for a home then you should. In fact in most situations that new home builder’s sales rep will receive bonuses from the builder they work for. The “bonus” money they receive would be paid to them FOR WITH HOLDING INCENTIVES FROM YOU!

Since first (1st) time home buyer programs and incentives are always changing in Tucson, if you are a first time home buyer and would like to know exactly what programs are available to you at the present moment please call or send us an email. Certain incentives are always available however they change frequently some weekends a certain homebuilder is offering mega-incentives for first (1st) time home buyers and other times not. Also sometimes special financing packages are available to first time home buyers and other times they are not, it really just depends upon what is going on in the marketplace as to how much or what kind of first (1st) time home buying programs you as a buyer can receive. As Realtors who specialize in first (1st) time home buyer (buying) programs we stay ahead of the curve so that our clients know of all options available to them. If you would like to know what incentives/ programs are available let us know and we will get you up to speed on the latest first (1st) time home buyer (buying) incentives and programs for the Tucson Arizona area.