The South Carolina State Housing Authority loan program can benefit you in many ways. Here’s how.Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home searchSelling a home? *Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation*

Today I’m joined by Matt Mieras with Atlantic Bay Mortgage to talk about and review the South Carolina State Housing Authority loan program.The state housing loan program is a third-party agency that provides down payment assistance for homebuyers in our area. There are income restrictions for targeted and non-targeted counties, but it’s a huge niche for first-time homebuyers in our market. The reason why is because state housing, depending on the time of year, will give up to $10,000 for a purchase. If you’re looking at a $150,000 purchase price, in theory you wouldn’t have to bring any money to buy the home—you can use that $10,000 for your down payment.What’s unique is Berkeley and Dorchester are considered targeted counties. Charleston County is a non-targeted county but is still eligible for the program. The only difference is how much your income can be in your household. There’s a non-repayable category where you can receive the money as a true gift. There’s no repayment on it—you just have to stay in the house for 10 years. The other option is a repayable category, where you would typically pay around $45 to $50 a month.

This is a great program to get buyers into homes sooner rather than later. In the payable category, you’re also required pay back the entire loan, but it’s really income-specific. People below the median area income typically receive that money as a true gift, and that’s not repayable. For people in a higher-bracketed income, it is repayable. The sales price maximum of the house is $250,000, but that will probably change in March or April. There will also be income restrictions for next year. Palmetto Heroes is another important loan program you should know about. This one is more specific to state housing. The niche with this program is that they give more down payment assistance and a better interest rate. That money typically rolls out in April and is gone in about three months. This program applies primarily to those who work in the public service industry, but others can qualify as long as they meet the income restrictions and they’re a first-time homebuyer.
If either of these programs interest you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us so we can put you in touch with Matt.