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- President Bush recently signed the much-anticipated Housing and Economic Recovery
Act of 2008, H.R. 3221. The legislation provides state Housing Finance Agencies
and their industry partners important new housing finance tools. In Iowa, a provision
in the bill allows IFA to add the counties that have been declared federal disaster
areas to the FirstHome and FirstHome Plus programs’ inventory of Targeted Areas.
This change means home buyers in these counties don’t need to be first-time home
buyers to take advantage of the low-cost mortgage programs; and the buyers can take
advantage of higher income and purchase price limits. Learn more
here.
- Another recent and important change to the FirstHome and FirstHome Plus programs
is that qualified veterans may take advantage it, even if they’ve owned a home previously.
Qualified veterans must apply for financing before 25 years has passed since the
last date of active duty and they may not have used a mortgage revenue bond program
such as FirstHome or FirstHome Plus to finance a previous home purchase. Get more
information
here.
- At its August meeting, the IFA Board of Directors approved a loan of up to $5 million
to rehabilitate The Roosevelt, a 97-unit affordable housing property in downtown
Cedar Rapids. Get more information
here.
- The
2009 Local Housing Trust Fund application is available now.
- All funds for IFA’s
RuralHome Program are currently allocated, and the program is temporarily suspended.
IFA is working on a grant application to acquire additional resources to maintain
this important initiative. Please contact Sharon
Murphy with questions or to inquire about funds that may become available
because of loan cancellations.
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- IFA recently updated is
Public Records Policy.
- IFA has created a Web site that provides housing-related information for victims
of Iowa’s recent natural disasters. Affordable housing providers in Iowa will also
find the site useful. Check it out
here.
- IFA administers www.HousingInIowa.org,
a web site that showcases available rental properties around the state. Property
mangers and owners are encouraged to upload information about their units to the
site. Iowans are welcome to use the site as a resource for temporary and permanent
rental housing.
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