The My Home My Coast grant program has been getting a lot of attention lately, and unfortunately a lot of wrong information. If you are a current approved recipient of the My Home My Coast assistance, please contact us to have us go to work helping you find your new home.
Who is eligible?
- A person/family who is not a current homeowner in the 6 eligible counties
- A renter who wishes to own a home and has not owned a home in the past 6 months
- A person displaced by Hurricane Katrina who wishes to buy a home in the 6 eligible counties
- A new resident to the 6 eligible counties
- An individual whose income is not more than 120% of median income as defined by HUD (see Chart)
What about participant support?
As part of the My Home My Coast program, participants will go through a class on home ownership, and counseling both before and after the purchase of their home. The My Home My Coast program is designed in a manner to help people own homes long term and provide counseling to help mitigate the possibilities of foreclosure. This counseling is also designed to help participants with credit repair and is individually catered to each person to achieve the highest possible results.
How much money can you get?
The program is determined by each participants needs but offers up to a 40/60 value loan program. Local approved lending institutions fund as little as 40% of the loan while the remaining (up to) 60% is provided through block grants as a 0% loan. Closing costs and downpayment assistance is also provided. Down payment assistance is determined based on participant’s income to the Average Median Income (AMI) – See Chart.
Are there any other requirements?
The My Home My Coast program does require that you use specified lending institutions and closing agents when you buy your home. This list of “acceptable” suppliers is used to create a more seamless transaction as these suppliers are familiar with the unique way the program is handled.
Where do I go from here?
If you have already received My Home My Coast approval, contact us to help you find your new home. If you still need to apply, you can view the My Home My Coast website at MSGCRC.com. At the time of this writing, the My Home My Coast program is not taking additional applicants. I am in contact with the MSGCRC staff to get updated when this occurs. You can also call 1-888-49-Coast (888.492.6278).
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
The official response on when they will be reopening programs is:
“We do not have any identified date of when we might reopen for applications. We have over 3000 applicants at this point in time.”
That program is okay, but why go through all of that hassle dealing with the classes and so forth. When the Obama plan is if you put 3.5% down on a FHA loan, you get it back on taxes up to $8,000. So basically your down payment is free. Plus with the rates that I get for all of my clients are wholesale rates, fixed for 30 years.
hello — i am trying to buy my first house and have been trying to get into the program for sometime now. i was told i was put on the “wait list”
does anyone have a number i can call to see if applications are reopened yet or not?
Thanks
Basically, you have make very little money OR be single to qualify for this program. I initially qualified, but after all the hassle of meeting with my counselor many times and going through the classes they require, I was then sent a letter (not contacted by my counselor) that I was not in the correct percentage of income for the program. You now have to have an income of less than 80% of the average income for Mississippi. So tell me, how are these people going to qualify for a mortgage??? And why was I not told I did not qualify from the get go???
Sorry you had a bad experience Laurie. We do not know all the answers on this or why you were not told in the beginning. We simply help people find homes once they are qualified.
I do know that the requirements are strict because they have to be based on the terms that MHMC gets the money under to support the program. I also know that there are a lot of people that would never have been able to buy a home without this program so it is working.
Laurie is correct, the program is aimed more to get low income people into homes such as Habitat homes, not fringe income people who could afford a regular home. Not only are the buyer regulations strict, they are very strict on the homes that you can purchase as well. This program is a wonderful idea, but we are on our second attempt at a home, which will most likely fall through because we are in the 86% income area. Our sellers have extended 3 more times past the ORIGINAL 60 days of our sales contract. They simply won’t go again and with things “on hold” for an unspecified period because of our “HIGH” income, our contract is set to expire and we will AGAIN be without a home. We were one of the FIRST to put in a contract. We were in the first “graduating” homebuyers classes of the program and the day we received our certificate, we put in an offer. That was August 18th. We’re now told that it may be after Christmas IF our sellers decide to RENEW for a fifth time, which they have specified the are not interested in doing. They have begun re-marketing the home that we are contracted in because they have no faith that the program is going to come through any time soon.
Really, it is a terribly unfair program which should not have gotten so many people involved. We have taken off days of work, put so much money into trying to get finished, and here we are, losing out. If we fall through this time, we aren’t even sure if we get to put in for a third try, because as it stands, we are already on hold for our income. Our credit is great. We have been “extremely diligent” according to our mortgage department. Our credit is in the excellent bracket, we have the closing cost/insurance money in pocket. We have paid for ANOTHER appraisal and inspection and because the program is so unsteady, we just may be AGAIN without a home.
I say this so people in the program know what to expect. Under 80% generally nets you a Habitat Home (not that there is anything wrong with that) but over 80% we don’t qualify. Just 6% difference….don’t count on this unless you have some very willing sellers, of which there are few who will wait four months on a contract….
My son and daughter-in-law are in the same predicament as April. This is outrageous! They too took off work several days to go through this process, filled out all of the necessary paperwork, were approved and told to go find their home. They put in a contract on a home on Sept. 4 and up until two weeks ago, they were told everything was going along just fine. They were told they should close by the end of November and then told it would be the first week of December. Then lo and behold, their mortgage officer calls them Monday, Nov. 17 and says that everything is on hold now. The sellers have agreed to wait until Dec. 15. If they can’t close by then, my son and daughter-in-law will lose the house and essentially no longer be in the program. This means that they will no longer be able to afford to purchase their first home. How can they be approving families like this and then jerking the rug out from underneath them when they have been waiting 3 months and anticipating moving into their first home? We are contacting our representatives in Congress and pleading for assistance. If they weren’t going to receive the funds, why were they approved and told to go and buy their first home. They were also told by their counselor that they were an ideal candidate for this program. Something is seriously wrong in Denmark!
Well i’m going through the same thing and I will probably loss my house 2/15/10. I wish I would have know this before I started the program! I’ve wasted time and a lot of money. I even got new furniture for a house I will never get.
I am a recipient of the program and it does work and it has helped some people to become homeowners that would not have normally been able to purchase. This program is not targeted to only low-income individuals; I make a good salary and I was able to purchase and the program helped me alot of ways. Of course there are requirements but that comes with any mortgage loan/program and you as a individual have to find the right loan for you. I was approved the previous year straight through the bank and the following year through MHMC so it does work. There was a indivudual that commented on putting down 3.5% on a FHA loan and getting it back through the tax credit; with MHMC the money they give you for down payment is free and you are still able to get the $8k tax credit and that is just extra money. I do feel that when the program first started that there was alot of misunderstandings and unknowns about the program. Some of the counselors were not fully knowledgable of information and would send clients to the banks when they were not completely qualified or ready to purchase. MHMC does the leg work but the banks are the ones who have the final say-so as to whether or not a person fully qualifies for a mortgage loan. I found out during my process that MHMC did not have a credit score requirement but the banks do and that disqualifies some people. I think that the individuals themselves need to do some homework when it comes to purchasing a home. I was very knowledgable of the process because I was approved and for several months looked for a home but was unable to find what I wanted. I do not think the program was fully ready to launch and alot of people were misled and within a few months the program was overwhelmed. If the programs launches again, I would recommend it to any one who wants to purchase a home and at least try it. I would also recommend having a lender (bank) in mind and also communicate with them and find out for sure if you will qualify for a loan. Remember that it’s not just MHMC that is providing funds for you; the banks are lending you the money as well. They will not give you a mortgage loan if you do not meet their requirements and it will not matter what MHMC says because in the end, the banks are the ones that are going to allow you to purchase a home. As I said before, the program worked for me and I was able to purchase a nice home and I make a good salary. My advice to anyone who is thinking about purchasing, you must have good credit and very little debts. My credit was good and my debts were small and within 3 weeks I had met with a counselor, taken the two classes, met and was approved by a lender, found a home and had a contract. The program does work.
good for you arlene that you got a loan and a home congradulations. I do not doubt that the program works but it also has a lot of draw backs. We were accepted and ready to take the classes and since our income was over 80% but was under 120% we have to wait until the people below 80% gets funds. I think that’s a load of crap. How can they do something so stupid when we were in the program since it opened up back in april of 2009 I still want to get help with buying a home but I do not think that its fair that we have to wait on people with lower incomes to go through the program it should be first come first serve because the program is not set up for low incomes its set up for people not over the 120% income. I am so upset with whats been going on.
totally worked for me and my family couldn't be happier this was a
miricale for us
That is Awesome Jennifer. I am so excited for you and your family!
I am glad to hear that it worked for you Arlene. What lender did you go with? Because my lender is giving me the run around right now. Did you have only a limited amount of subdivisions to choose from? Thanks in Advance!!
I have just became aware of the program. could you please send me more information on how the program works? I would love more than ever to finally own my own home, Thank you and Have a blessed and Glorious Day!
I am interested in the program and would like more information on how to go about things. If you could please send me information.
Thank you in advance!
Krystle
My husband and I are trying to buy a home right now and I'm very interested. If you could please give me information it would be greatly appreciated! -The Quintinis