The mortgage would be forgiven after homeowner has lived in the home for five years, and met other requirements
St. Bernard Parish, in a move to draw people to its population-drained parish, is taking applications for a program offering prospective home buyers up to $30,000. The soft-second mortgage program is being paid for through U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department Community Development Block Grant funds.
View full sizeThe 2010 population of St. Bernard Parish was 47 percent below the 2000 figure of 67,229. Homes and nearby wetlands in Chalmette photographed in 2011. St. Bernard, where nearly 80 percent of housing units had severe damage from Hurricane Katrina's storm surge and levee breaches, has since experienced the most dramatic population decline of any parish in the state, according to the 2010 census. Its population fell by 47 percent from its 2000 figure of 67,229.
The mortgage is for 20 percent of a home's purchase price - up to $30,000 - and is available only for first-time homeowners purchasing a principal residence in St. Bernard. It would be a no-interest loan, with no monthly payments, and could include a grant of up to $5,000 for closing costs and down payment assistance on a need basis.
The soft-second mortgage would be forgiven after the homeowner has met certain requirements of the program and has lived in the home for five years.
To qualify, prospective buyers must have annual household incomes at or below 120 percent of the area median income - about $51,360 for a single person, $58,800 for a couple and $73,440 for a family of four.
According to the program, a first-time home buyer is a person who has had no ownership in a principal residence during the 3-year period ending on the date of sale.
Only homes valued at $200,000 or lower are eligible for the program, and homebuyers must invest at least 1 percent, or $1,000, whichever is greater.
Exceptions to the first-time homebuyer provision include people who have only owned a home with a former spouse while married.
St. Bernard Parish officials are asking interested individuals to contact the lenders for more details. The representatives handling the mortgage program are Pam McLaurin at Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Co., 504.561.1307; Bernadette Johnson and Patty Daigle at First NBC Bank, 504.671.3452 and 504.671.3466 respectively; or Connye M. Bauer at FBT Mortgage, LLC., 504.579.2363.