Free Money, Yes, Free Down Payment Assistance from Guild Mortgage

In the land of no such thing as a free lunch, you can actually get free money through a 1% down payment assistance program from Guild Mortgage. OK, the catch is you have to buy a home and get a loan through Guild Mortgage. But even so, it is still free money if you’re a home buyer. You don’t have to be a first-time home buyer. The trick, if there is such a thing, is to buy in an area where there are no income restrictions. Especially if you make too much money for most other down payment assistance programs.

Many of my listings do not qualify without income restrictions but I have a couple of listings that do qualify for the 1% down payment assistance programs. Our preferred mortgage lender, Dan Tharp, at Guild Mortgage, checks my new listings to see if they qualify. When they do, I include a line in the confidential agent remarks to let other agents know about this great program. It is in conjunction with Fannie Mae.

But agents don’t know what it means. Sometimes I receive offers in which the buyer’s agents ask the seller to give a 2% credit to the buyer. I have to explain, no, it is the lender, not the seller. Why is this so difficult to understand? Probably because we’re used to no free lunch. We wonder what’s going on.

There is no catch, though. No downside. Buyers do not have to pay back the money. It is not a loan. It is a gift. Instead of putting down 3% to get a conventional loan, buyers can put down 1% and Guild Mortgage, alongside Fannie Mae, will give buyers the other 2% absolutely free. Or you can use the 2% as a credit toward closing costs. Buyers need a fairly decent FICO score, at least 680 minimum, but that’s about it. Oh, there is a quick online class to take. Easy peasy qualifying.

Click here to fill out a loan application at Guild Mortgage. What kind of home can you buy with the Guild 1% downpayment assistance program? How about a mid-century, 3 bedroom, 3 bath with hardwood floors and more than 2,100 square feet at $349K? The address is 10829 Glenhaven Way in Rancho Cordova, CA. Call Dan Tharp at 916.257.1470 for more information.