Financial Assistance -- Buying Homes in Northern Virginia & DC

Virginia Housing Development Authority

Phone: 877-VHDA-123

Web site: http://www.vhda.com

Sponsoring Partnerships and Revitalizing Communities: Provides below-market-rate funding to home buyers through local governments and housing organizations.

HomeStride: Provides a second mortgage of up to $25,000 to help with the purchase of a home in an identified high-cost market. The 30-year loan has no interest and no payments for the first three years and 5 percent interest for the remainder of the loan term.

Conventional fixed loan: Offers a below-market loan with fixed payments to first-time home buyers with good credit and employment histories. A no-down-payment option is available.

Federal Housing Administration-insured loans: Offers a below-market, fixed-rate loan with low fixed payments and liberal credit qualifications to first-time home buyers.

FHA Plus: Offers first-time buyers a fixed-rate loan with a second loan to assist with down payment and closing costs.

Flexible Alternative programs: Offer first-time and repeat home buyers a variety of flexible, low- or no-down-payment loan options.

VA loans: Offer low, fixed-rate and no-down-payment loans to eligible veterans.

Step Rate Program: Assist home buyers who expect their incomes to increase. Payments gradually increase in the second and third years of the loan.

Alexandria Home Buying Assistance

Office of Housing

Phone: 703-838-4622

Web site: http://alexandriava.gov/city/housing/programs.html

Homeownership Assistance: Provides a loan of up to $50,000 for down payment and closing costs to low-income home buyers. Loan repayment is deferred for 99 years or until the property is sold, whichever comes first. Home buyers must have lived or worked in Alexandria for at least six months.

Moderate Income Homeownership: Provides moderate-income home buyers with loans of up to $30,000 for down payment and closing costs. Home buyers must have lived or worked in Alexandria for at least six months and must contribute at least $3,000 of their own money toward the down payment or settlement costs.

Law Enforcement Moderate Income Homeownership: Provides moderate-income City of Alexandria law enforcement officers with loans of up to $50,000 for down payment and closing costs. Homes must be purchased in designated areas of the city, and buyers must contribute at least $3,000 of their own money toward the down payment or settlement costs.

Arlington County Home Buying Assistance

Arlington Homeowner Grant

You could qualify for a $600 grant from Arlington County if your home is your primary residence, your household adjusted gross income on a federal tax return does not exceed $77,407 and your household assets do not exceed $340,000 (excluding your home and retirement accounts).  Visit the following site for an application. http://arlingtonva.us/grant

Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development

Phone: 703-228-3786

Web site: http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/CPHD/CPHDMain.aspx

Moderate Income Purchase Assistance Program: Provides first-time home buyers with a loan of up to $25,000 for down payment and closing costs.

Fairfax County and Fairfax City Home Buying Assistance

Department of Housing and Community Development

Phone: 703-246-5100

Web site: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/rha/homeownership

First-Time Homebuyers Program: Offers affordably priced ($70,000-$160,000) townhouses and condominiums.

Falls Church Home Buying Assistance

Housing and Human Services Division

Phone: 703-248-5005

Web site: http://www.fallschurchva.gov/services/hhs/index.html

Affordable Dwelling Units: Provides low- and moderate-income, first-time home buyers the chance to purchase homes for $105,000 to $150,000.

Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance: Provides up to $20,000 in the form of a deferred second mortgage.

Loudoun County Home Buying Assistance

Department of Family Services

Phone: 703-737-8043

Web site: http://www.loudoun.gov/housing

Homebuyers Opportunity Sales Program: Opportunities to purchase new condominiums and townhouses at below-market cost.

Down Payment/Closing Cost Assistance Program: First-time home buyers can borrow up to $10,000 at 3 percent.

Prince William County Home Buying Assistance

Office of Housing and Community Development

Phone: 703-792-7535

Web site: http://www.pwcgov.org/housing

Homeownership Assistance Program: Provides up to $75,000 for a down payment and up to 6 percent of the sale price for closing costs as a 30-year, interest-free, deferred loan.

American Dream Down Payment Initiative: Provides a 30-year, interest-free, deferred loan of up to 6 percent of the sale price (up to $10,000) for the down payment on a single-family housing unit.

Rehabilitation Acquisition Program: Provides assistance to purchase and fix up a home. The property must require a minimum of $2,000 worth of repairs. Maximum loans are $25,000 for a down payment and $50,000 for rehabilitation costs.

HomeStride: Provides 5 percent, fixed-interest loans of 10 percent of the sales price (up to $25,000) for buyers who work in the county.

Department of Housing and Community Development

Phone: 202-442-7200

Web site: http://www.dhcd.dc.gov

Home Purchase Assistance Program: Provides up to $70,000 to help with down payment and up to $7,000 or 4 percent of the home's purchase price, whichever is less, for closing costs.

Employer Assisted Housing Program: Provides eligible employees of D.C. government agencies who are buying their first home in the District with matching funds of up to $1,500 for a down payment, and deferred loans of up to $10,000.

Metropolitan Police Housing Assistance Program: Provides D.C. police officers with assistance in becoming a first-time homeowner in the city -- up to $1,500 matching down-payment funds, deferred-payment loans of up to $10,000, an income tax credit of $2,000 a year for five years, and a property tax credit for five years based on a sliding scale.

First Right Purchase Assistance Program: Provides low- and moderate-income District residents and tenant groups with low-interest loans to help them exercise their rights under the District's right of first refusal law.

Other organizations with housing programs in the District:

Greater Washington Urban League: 202-265-8200, Ext. 228, http://www.gwul.org

Housing Counseling Services: 202-667-7006, http://www.housingetc.org

Latino Economic Development Corp.: 202-588-5102, http://www.ledcdc.org

Lydia's House: 202-373-1052, http://www.lydiashousendc.org

Marshall Heights Community Development Organization: 202-396-1200, http://www.mhcdo.org

University Legal Services: 202-547-4747 (Northeast), 202-645-7175 (Southeast), http://www.uls-dc.org

**All information on this page is deemed to be accurate but can not be guaranteed.