The Florida Housing Finance Agency last week launched the Hurricane Andrew Relief Program, which makes available to Dade County residents up to $60 million of home mortgages at eye-catching interest rates of 3.5% to 3.75%.
Agency executive director Mark Hendrickson said the authority's program was inspired by the need for housing in the Miami area county following the devastating storm that struck South Florida in August 1992.
"It is just an incredible deal for eligible home buyers, and it serves a very clear need," Hendrickson said. "We expect this money to move very quickly."
Hendrickson said the 30-year mortgage loans - offering fixed rates about four percentage points lower than any previously offered through the housing authority - were made possible by a combination of two programs.
Proceeds of $42 million of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds issued last month at a rate below 6% were combined with about $17 million of no-interest federal funding available through the HOME Disaster Relief Program, he said.
In addition, the Hurricane Andrew Relief Program was able to take advantage of $1.5 million in cash from present value savings generated by a taxable mortgage revenue refunding issue that the housing authority sold in May, Hendrickson said.
The housing official noted that eligibility under the program is limited to first-time, low-income home buyers in Dade County. Annual income for a one-person household cannot exceed $18,000. Families of two or three are not eligible if they earn more than $23,000, and the limit for a family of four or more is $28,500.
Further, the home must be within Dade County and not exceed $90,000 in price for a new home or $80,000 for a resale home. Home buyers need only provide a 3% down payment, Hendrickson said.
He said a home buyer purchasing a $70,000 home under the program would be required to make a $2,100 down payment and monthly mortgage payments of $281.83. By comparison, he said, ordinary bank financing of a $70,000 loan would currently require a $6,000 down payment and a $441.83 monthly mortgage payment.
