Program offers closing costs assistance to Washington County residents
WASHINGTON – Qualified residents seeking to buy homes in most parts of Washington County can now get assistance with their closing costs. The new program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program is offering as much as $4,500 toward closing costs to individuals and families purchasing single-family homes in the rural areas of the county. Excluded from the program are the city of Washington, Charleroi and Donora boroughs and all of Peters Township because they are not considered rural under the USDA program guidelines.
“One of our goals through Community Action Southwest is to increase the number of homeowners among low and very low income families,” said Connie Ferris of Community Action Southwest.
Community Action Southwest assists very low and low-income families with housing program applications.
Lambert Rosenbaum of the USDA noted that the USDA provides funding for housing, for community facilities and for public water and sewer projects in rural areas.
“Most of Washington County is eligible. It’s for the rural areas,” Rosenbaum said.
The closing costs program is connected to a Rural Housing loan program that can provide 100 percent of the market value or the acquisition cost, whichever is lower for applicants unable to secure adequate housing through other sources of credit.
According to program literature, to be eligible, applicants must meet income guidelines, have adequate and dependable source of income and have the ability to repay the loan based on their total debt ratio and other factors.
Applicants in Washington County can have an income as high as $31,000 for one person, 35,450 for two, with the amount going up by $4,500 for each additional family member up to a level of $58,500 for a family of eight.
According to a county news release, loans will provided at a rate of 5.16 percent for 33 years. No down payment is required and funds for repairs can be included in the mortgage.
More information about the USDA Rural Development Housing loans is available through the USDA Butler Area office, which serves Washington County, at 724-482-4800, ext. 100.