Topics:
National Programs
State Programs
Advocacy Groups & Reosources:

NATIONAL PROGRAMS:

Fannie Mae
Mortgages Products for People With Disabilities
Fannie Mae offers a number of mortgage products and initiatives to provide homeownership opportunities for people with disabilities or with family members who have disabilities. Programs available include:

• Community HomeChoice
  For low- to moderate-income people with disabilities or who have a family member with a disability, this program offers flexibility in the areas of loan-to-value ratios (LTVs), downpayment sources, qualifying ratios, and the establishment of credit.

• Community Living
  This loan is designed to provide financing for small, community-based group homes for children and adults with disabilities who are unable to live independently. Community Living mortgage loans differ from traditional mortgages in that the qualifying borrowers don’t need to be individuals. Borrowers also can be legal entities, including nonprofit and for-profit corporations, limited partnerships, and government agencies serving adults and children with disabilities.

• Community Lending
  A variety of low- and no-downpayment mortgage options help people with disabilities overcome the two primary barriers to homeownership: downpayment funds and qualifying income. These mortgage products and options have lower cash requirements for downpayment and closing costs; reduced income requirements to qualify; and a higher debt allowance and loan-to-value ratio than required for conventional mortgages.

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STATE PROGRAMS:

HOME-New Mexico, Inc. (HNM) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities by offering them the necessary information and resources to obtain safe, affordable and accessible housing. We provide extensive homebuyer counseling and facilitate access to down payment assistance funds. HNM is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and provides services statewide. [see: http://www.homenewmexico.org/]

 The New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) Offers Helping Hand:

The Helping Hand Program basically is a down payment and closing cost assistance program for people with disablities.

Program Summary:
The Helping Hand program is a statewide program designed to assist first-time homebuyers with disabilities in the purchase of a home. The program is a second mortgage loan program, similar to the HELP program, in which all or part of the down payment and closing costs can be borrowed. Additional funds may be borrowed for pre-paids, cash reserves or to rehabilitate the home for accessibility. It is a zero-percent interest rate, non-amortizing loan, which will be due on sale, refinance or transfer. After five years, this loan may be forgiven at a rate of 20 percent per year. The program will be funded from available HOME monies and may only be used in conjunction with NMFA’s Mortgage$aver under the FNMA Home Choice or FHA loan programs.

Eligible Borrowers
The program is targeted for families at or below 70% or 80% of area median income limits (depending on where the borrower wishes to purchase) in which at least one family member has a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition. Borrowers must be counseled and certified by HOME New Mexico prior to application with the eligible lender.

Loan term
Soft second mortgage, due upon a full repayment of the Mortgage, cash-out refinance, sale or transfer of the property, or change of owner-occupied status.

Interest rate
No interest will be charged in conjunction with the Helping Hand program.

Maximum loan amount:
Maximum loan amount under the Helping Hand program is $8,000.00 at 0% interest (- may vary by area).

Property Type:
Can include mobile or manufactured homes on permanent foundations, also town homes, condos, or PUDs

Property Price Limits in the Greater Albuquerque Metropolitan Area: $271,050

Maximum Income Limits:

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ADVOCACY GROUPS / RESOURCES

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD created this page as a one-stop resource for people with disabilities. It includes a directory of links from its own site as well as outside Web sites. You can find a state-by-state listing of homebuying programs, learn about homebuying counseling, and access resources on accessible housing designs.

The World Institute on Disability
This non-profit research, public policy, and advocacy center is dedicated to promoting the civil rights and full societal inclusion of people with disabilities. The center offers information on Individual Development Accounts, which provide an opportunity for low-income people to receive saving matches for education, homeownership, or starting up a small business.

ABILITY House
Created in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, the ABILITY House is an affordable, accessible home built for a low-income family where one or more members have disabilities. The unique aspect of the ABILITY House program is the use of volunteers with disabilities during all phases of construction, emphasizing their abilities and talents.

Homes for Our Troops
The organization is committed to helping those who have given to their country and have returned home with serious disabilities and injuries. Homes for Our Troops assists injured veterans and their immediate families by building new or adapting existing homes for handicapped accessibility.

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