[topaz420]

This came up in another thread but I thought it deserved its own space, because it was life-changing for me and my wife.

Wells Fargo in association with the federal government have given $6 million for down payment assistance in Las Vegas.

Important Info:

- Each gift is $15,000 and must be used for either initial down payment or additional down payment.
- The home must be in the Las Vegas City limits (no Henderson, North Las Vegas, or unincorporated areas)
- Can be HUD or conventional financing
- Does not have to be financed through Wells Fargo, though it is a lot easier if you do because their loan agents are experts on the program
- Buyer must fall within (very reasonable) income guidelines - (roughly 50k for 1 person household, 55k for 2, etc)
- Buyer cannot be left with more than $7,500 in liquid assets after all home buying costs (closing costs, down payment, and any required reserves)
- Buyer must attend free 8-hour homebuyer education course at NHSSN office in NLV (actually a very helpful and informative class)
- Can be used for new construction
- First come, first serve -- when the money's gone, it's gone. As of June 15, 2012 (1 month after program's announcement) there were still 399 out of 400 gifts available.

What's the catch?

- It's meant for people really trying to find a home to live in, not investors, so to prevent "hit and runs" it is structured as a "silent second" lien on the property. It is in essence a 5-year "loan" with zero interest, and for each year you stay in the house, 20% of the loan is forgiven.

If I left anything out, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.

For more info:
Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada - Building better neighborhoods block by block

Or ask your neighborhood Wells Fargo loan agent (all Las Vegas area ones have been trained on this program)

[soccerscotty21]

It says you have to be a first time homebuyer. I was super excited about this program until i saw that.

[ElleTea]

Does first time buyer really mean just that or is there a stipulation that you can also not have owner for x amount of years? Some programs are like that.

[topaz420]

Originally Posted by soccerscotty21

It says you have to be a first time homebuyer. I was super excited about this program until i saw that.

You don't have to buy a first time buyer -- here's the official brochure about the Las Vegas program:

https://www.wfhmconsumerevents.com/U...egas_FINAL.pdf

go for it!
it brought our mortage payment from 450/mo to 300/mo

[nfapps]

Originally Posted by topaz420

This came up in another thread but I thought it deserved its own space, because it was life-changing for me and my wife.

Wells Fargo in association with the federal government have given $6 million for down payment assistance in Las Vegas.

I'm very happy this was a positive thing for you and wish you the best.

Originally Posted by topaz420

What's the catch?

- It's meant for people really trying to find a home to live in, not investors, so to prevent "hit and runs" it is structured as a "silent second" lien on the property. It is in essence a 5-year "loan" with zero interest, and for each year you stay in the house, 20% of the loan is forgiven.

The catch is this another government program funded on the backs of the taxpayer and leads to more government dependency. Let's say after 2 years the recipient needs to move due to work, family, illness, whatever. Now they are on the hook to the government for the 60% left in addition to any other debts they have.

I'm not trying to bash, but I'm not a fan of government handouts. My wife and I qualified for the previous first time home buyer tax credit and after reading all of the details and fine print we decided not to participate. There is also a thread somewhere on this forum about a military guy who did participate, had to move due to duties and rented out the place so he wouldn't default. During his next tax return the government wanted full reimbursement for the tax credit because he was not living in the residence, but he had already used the money on the house. There is always a catch to government handouts.

I truly do wish the OP the best and hope this benefits them. Anyone that fully evaluates the program and finds it to benefit them also has my best wishes.

[soccerscotty21]

Thanks for the brochure, it looks like we would qualify, except we will be renting out our home in Utah for at least a year, so that would probably exclude us from this program. Major bummer.

[SoCalCpl2]

Originally Posted by topaz420

This came up in another thread but I thought it deserved its own space, because it was life-changing for me and my wife.

Wells Fargo in association with the federal government have given $6 million for down payment assistance in Las Vegas.

Important Info:

- Each gift is $15,000 and must be used for either initial down payment or additional down payment.
- The home must be in the Las Vegas City limits (no Henderson, North Las Vegas, or unincorporated areas)
- Can be HUD or conventional financing
- Does not have to be financed through Wells Fargo, though it is a lot easier if you do because their loan agents are experts on the program
- Buyer must fall within (very reasonable) income guidelines - (roughly 50k for 1 person household, 55k for 2, etc)
- Buyer cannot be left with more than $7,500 in liquid assets after all home buying costs (closing costs, down payment, and any required reserves)
- Buyer must attend free 8-hour homebuyer education course at NHSSN office in NLV (actually a very helpful and informative class)
- Can be used for new construction
- First come, first serve -- when the money's gone, it's gone. As of June 15, 2012 (1 month after program's announcement) there were still 399 out of 400 gifts available.

What's the catch?

- It's meant for people really trying to find a home to live in, not investors, so to prevent "hit and runs" it is structured as a "silent second" lien on the property. It is in essence a 5-year "loan" with zero interest, and for each year you stay in the house, 20% of the loan is forgiven.

If I left anything out, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.

For more info:
Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada - Building better neighborhoods block by block

Or ask your neighborhood Wells Fargo loan agent (all Las Vegas area ones have been trained on this program)

When I went onto the website it stated Unincorporated Clark county or North Las Vegas..... Isn't North Las Vegas is dire straits?????

[clutchcargo777]

I missed where it said you had be nearly broke ($7500 in assets) when the dust settled. If this is trying to help people be responsible homeowners I think they missed the boat there...

[topaz420]

Originally Posted by clutchcargo777

I missed where it said you had be nearly broke ($7500 in assets) when the dust settled. If this is trying to help people be responsible homeowners I think they missed the boat there...

Liquid, so just cash and stocks. Personal property, cars, etc, dont count.

The Wells Fargo underwriters on my loan asked for 6 months of reserves, so i was able to keep that in my bank account without it counting towards the 7500 either.

Another option is, say you have 9,500 left after all of that -- then you can just put an additional 2,000 down payment to meet threshold.

I guess their reasoning if after all of that you still have more than 7,500 in cash, then you probably dont need help with your down payment

[topaz420]

Originally Posted by SoCalCpl2

When I went onto the website it stated Unincorporated Clark county or North Las Vegas..... Isn't North Las Vegas is dire straits?????

The NHSSN have *many* down payment assistance programs that come and go. I believe there are currently 5 or 6 active ones, including one exclusively for North Las Vegas (i believe there is another thread here at CD on that one).

If you visit NHSSN's office in NLV they have brochures on all currently active programs, and they're so friendly and helpful and will give you any help you need in determining which is right for you

Also during the 8-hour free class, they have a realtor with 15 years experience in down payment assistance programs, and a loan agent from Wells visit the class, and you can ask them every question you've ever had about LV real estate.