Published: April 08, 2009 02:01 am      

Program to assist families, builders

Sharp downturn in construction leads Housing Development Fund to take action

FAIRMONT — The West Virginia Housing Development Fund has started a new program to assist families and the home building industry in the state.

The Housing Development Fund provides financing for the creation of housing in West Virginia, executive director Joe Hatfield said. The organization has a lender base across the state.

Since its creation around 1970, the fund has financed about 106,000 housing units, he said.

“We’re able to serve any family in West Virginia with a low-cost mortgage with very attractive terms,” Hatfield said.

He said the Housing Development Fund has two primary programs for single families who want to buy a home: A first-time homebuyer program and a program where loans are sold into the secondary market.

The organization recently announced the development of a builders-homebuyer financing program, Hatfield said.

According to Hatfield, this 3-2-1 buy-down program was started because of the sharp downturn in the construction of homes in the past year. It was time to do something to give the whole building economy a boost and encourage families to buy homes, he said.

“Essentially, there’s been a pulling away from commercial loans or loans to small businesses by the lending institutions across the country,” he said. “It’s made it harder and harder for builders and contractors to get financing where there’s not a contract or a sale already in place.”

Hatfield said the Housing Development Fund will offer $40 million under the builders-homebuyer financing program.

If a family wants to buy a new home or a home that’s never been lived in, they can apply for a loan from a Housing Development Fund lender. Virtually every major bank or lending institution in West Virginia particulates in this program, he said.

During the first three years of the mortgage loan, the interest rate is lowered to below market to provide substantial savings to the family up front, Hatfield said.

“This will encourage the customers to apply and get into the housing market and be able to work with the lender to get a contract in place,” he said. “We think this will help encourage families to buy, and if they’re buying, this will help lenders be able to raise the capital that’s needed to build.”

For more information or to obtain a list of lenders, call the Housing Development Fund at 1-877-WVADREAM or visit www.wvhdf.com online.

“I think we will hopefully see a strong comeback for our housing industry and be able to preserve the good jobs that home building in West Virginia provides,” Hatfield said. “It’s a large part of our economy in West Virginia.”

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.