4 Powerful Federal Programs for Home Owners
According to the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), over 60 percent Americans own a home. Over 50 percent of these homeowners are under the age of 50 years old. Many Americans either dream of owning a home or are struggling with financially maintaining their current home. Luckily, the federal government offers excellent programs to help home buyers and owners.
U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers a variety of helpful federal programs for homeowners. For example, Treasury Dept. and HUD offer a joint program called Making Home Affordable that offers different programs for homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments (see http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov). The goal of this program is to provide mortgage relief, avoid
…show more content…
This useful website offers online prescreening eligibility tools to help find a loan through different government departments, including the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce. Other departments include the HUD, USDA and the SBA. Keep in mind that you cannot directly apply for loans or become eligible through the site, but must contact the federal department directly. Find a government loan here: http://www.govloans.gov.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
The FHA offers the Energy Efficient Mortgage program (EEM), which helps both home buyers and owners save money through adding an energy efficiency option to their home purchase or existing mortgage. That is, the EEM acts as a mortgage credit for home energy efficiency improvements. As an added benefit, the home buyer or owner will save money on utility costs, reduce pollution and be able to make improvements to their home. The FHA insures all EEM mortgages. The VA also offers veterans their own EEM mortgage.
The U.S. Dept. of Veteran Affairs