Is HUD Standing in Way of Home Buyers?

I’m currently working with a great young couple trying to buy their first home. They both work full time, have good credit and are being financially responsible in terms of not over-extending themselves with a mortgage payment, not wanting it to be a hardship for them to make each month.
Like many young couples recently married and graduated from college, they were hoping to take advantage of one of several Down-payment assistance programs which have been available for years to FHA qualified home buyers. The programs enable home buyers to receive their down-payment funds in the form of a gift from a charitable organization such as Nehemiah, Ameridream or HART. The only difference between these purchases and any other FHA home purchase, is the source of the down-payment. The buyers must otherwise qualify in terms of income, credit and employment just as if they were supplying their own down-payment.
HUD has long been trying to eliminate the down-payment assistance programs and this Summer, when the Housing Bill was signed into law by president Bush, the opportunity for this assistance was wiped out, effective October 1. The reasoning is that the foreclosure rate on these loans is approximately 80% higher than other FHA loans and there was concern about inflated appraisals. It seems to me that standards could be put into place to address both of these issues. How about a higher credit score requirement for a down-payment assistance loan?
Back to the young couple. They’ve found a property in their price range, but like the majority of listings on the market right now, it is a short sale. They must wait for the seller’s lender to approve the offer. We’ve been waiting almost a month and still no word. In the mean time, the clock is ticking and October 1 is just around the corner.
I found this video on the Ameridream website and thought I’d share. Things that make you go hmmmmmm

Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved Colleen Fischesser, no part may be republished without prior permission