Florida Housing Finance Corporation

Lender Portal

Agency and Working Group Portal

2013 Bridge Program

First Time Homebuyer 2011 Series C

PROGRAM FUNDS	Continuous funding
ELIGIBLE AREAS	Statewide Florida
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA	First Time Homebuyer, applies to all borrower(s) and Spouses.
TIME LINE REQUIREMENTS	The Lock starts at Reservation. Do not reserve early: Must Underwrite Certify by 45th day. Reservation to UW Certification – 45 Days Reservation to Loan Purchase – 115 Days
ELIGIBLE LOAN TYPES	FHA, VA Guaranteed, RHS & Conventional (Fannie Mae Standard)
DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE	HAMI –Loan up to $5,000 at 5.00%. Term: 10 Year Florida Assist – Loan up to $7,500 at 0%, 30 year Deferred NEW! DPA Funds are now requested prior to closing for ALL Loan Types. Cash back is not allowed, the DPA must be lowered prior to closing, the cure is NOT a Principal reduction to the first mortgage, you must reduce the amount of the second.
INCOME LIMITS	Household Income Limits are defined by household size and County. For additional information, see the program guidelines. First Mortgage Limits and HAMI Second Limits (effective 5/7/2012). Click to View. FL Assist Limits (increased to 120% AMI, effective 4/1/2013). Click to View. NEW! INCOME LIMITS FOR FL ASSIST EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2013!
ACQUISITION LIMITS	For acquisition limits, please see Lender Guide
HOME BUYER EDUCATION	Required for ALL first time home borrowers. Must be from Florida Housing’s Approved List of Homebuyer Counseling Agencies.
CREDIT REQUIREMENTS	All loans must have FICO scores greater than or equal to 640 for all borrowers on the application. All Loans have must have a maximum DTI (debt to income) of 45%
CO-SIGNERS	Not permitted
GUIDELINES & SAMPLE FORMS	Lender Guide and Sample of Program Forms
FACT SHEET	HFA Preferred – Click to view
LENDER PARTICIPATION	Lenders are approved by Florida Housing to participate in their programs. Florida Housing’s Loan Officer Recognition is provided via the FHFC Wizard. Click to view.
AGENCY WEB	Florida Housing Finance Corporation.

Current Rates

2013 Bridge

4.00% – FL First Government Loans (eff 6/12)
4.50% - FL First Conventional Loans

eff 6/12 – 4.00 FL First Govt, 3.75 FL Military, 4.50 Conv
eff 5/29 – 3.75% FL First Govt, 3.50 FL Military, 4.25 Conv
eff 9/10/12 – 3.50% FL First Govt, 4.25 Conv
eff 5/01/12 – 4.50% FL First Govt, 4.75 Conv, 4.00 FL Military
eff 5/24/12 – 4.25% FL First Govt, 4.50 Conv
eff 6/28/12 – 4.00% FL First Govt, 4.25 Conv

DPA

HAMI –Loan up to $5,000 at 5.00%. Term: 10 Year
Florida Assist – Loan up to $7,500 at 0%, 30 year Deferred

NEW! Downpayment Assistance is now requested prior to closing for ALL Loan Types.

The Following Lenders have been approved to originate loans in this Program:

Academy Mortgage
American Eagle Mortgage Corp
Branch Banking and Trust Company
Capital City Bank
Citibank, N.A.
DHI Mortgage
Embrace Home Loans
Everbank
Fairway Independent Mortgage
FBC Mortgage, LLC
FEMBI
First Federal Bank
First Option Mortgage
Guaranty Bank
Hancock Bank of Florida
Home Financing Center
Hometrust Mortgage
IBERIABANK Mortgage Company
Mainstreet Financial
Nationstar Mortagage
NOLA
PHH
PrimeLending
Pulte Mortgage LLC
Real Estate Mortgage Network, Inc.
Regions Bank
RMC Mortgage
Shelter Mortgage
SunTrust Mortgage
Trustmark National Bank
Universal American Mortgage Company
Waterstone Mortgage Corporation
Watson Mortgage Corp.
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.

Interested in becoming a participating lender? Contact us.

Program Updates

5/12- Memorial Day Funding Schedule - Please read
Effective April 1, 2013 there are new Income Limits for the Florida Assist DPA. Please review
Effective 1/28/2013 Downpayment Assistance funds must be requested a minimum of 2 business days prior to closing.
- Lenders must execute Form on line and email request after the loan has been UW Certified.
- Funds will be wired by Trustee Bank of New York Mellon to closing agent/title company for all loan-types closing.
Effective for loans reserved on or after October 1, 2012
DTI RATIO – All Loans must have a maximum DTI (debt to income) of 45%

TIMELINE TIPS:

Reservation locks expire on the 45th day. Please do not reserve early.
Please make sure you are not printing all your documents prior to your underwriter certifying the loan.
Loan Time line Requirements Update: Loans NOT certified by the 45th day are canceled automatically. Loans NOT purchased by the 115th day (by U S Bank) will have a 25 bps late fee imposed. The lender will be given 30 additional calendar days to get the loan without further notice and files returned to lender.
All loans must meet the final time line of 115 days from Reservation to Purchase.

FHFC Sample Docs

Lender F.A.Q.

I am a lender and I have questions. Who can I contact?

If you have any questions, please refer to the Compliance Contact Directory.

I’m a new lender, with staff to be trained. Where can I sign up for training?

All participating lenders need to attend required training to participate in the program. Please contact an eHousingPlus representative for a schedule of upcoming trainings.

Are co-signors permitted?

Starting May 1st, co-signors are not allowed. Please see the Summary, Blackboard and Guidelines for additional information.

True or False, Borrower must contibute $1,000 of their own funds? TRUE

Borrower will need to have a minimum of $1000 to contribute to the transaction. Please see the Summary, Blackboard and Guidelines for additional information.

What compliance forms are required when I deliver a loan?

The Guidelines includes a Sample of the ‘required forms’. The forms are behind security and automatically generated within the SF Web system.

Is homebuyer counseling required?

Yes, homebuyer education is required. For more information, please visit Florida Housing’s Approved List of Homebuyer Counseling Agencies.

What is the Florida Assist Program?

Up to $7,500 is available through the HAP to assist first time homebuyers with the down payment and closing costs. HAP loans are 0% interest, non-amortizing second mortgage loans, which means the homebuyer does not make any monthly payments. Instead, the loan is repaid if the homebuyer sells the home, transfers ownership, satisfies or refinances the first mortgage, or ceases to occupy the home. This program targets applicants whose incomes are at or below 120% of the area median income (AMI), adjusted for family size.

What is the HAMI Program?

Up to $5,000 is available to assist first time homebuyers with down payment and closing costs through the HAMI program. This program enables borrowers with moderate incomes to receive down payment and closing cost assistance. Unlike the HAP, HAMI is an amortized loan that is offered at a low, fixed interest rate with level monthly payments for a 10-year term. First time homebuyers may be eligible for this loan if their incomes exceed the limits of the HAP, but do not exceed the maximum annual income limits for the FTHB program.

What is Down Payment Assistance?

In an effort to assist low- to moderate-income individuals achieve homeownership, the FTHB program offers borrowers an assortment of down payment assistance options. The assistance is a 0% interest fixed-rate, second mortgage. Only one Florida Housing down payment program can be used by the borrower and only in conjunction with the FTHB program first mortgage products.

How is the Credit Score Requirement determined?

Minimum credit score of 640. The score will apply to the ‘MID SCORE”. Florida Housing will still allow manual underwriting for non-traditional credit loans where there is no FICO score.

Documentary stamp tax and intangible tax

Documentary stamp tax and intangible tax may not be charged on the mortgages or notes to buyer or seller. Deeds are not exempt. Only seller may pay this charge. Under SECTIONS 199.183, 420.513(1), FLORIDA STATUTES, the Mortgage and Note are exempt from documentary and intangible taxes.

Are tax returns required?

Tax returns are required for all borrower(s) and spouses.

Who signs the Bond Documents?

Bond Documents are ONLY signed by whomever is listed on the warranty deed.

What is Veteran’s Exception?

In the Florida Housing program, any Honorably Discharged Military Personnel is eligible to receive an exemption of the First time Homebuyer Requirement. What this means is that if they are no longer active duty, and honorably discharged, the entire HH is eligible to receive this exemption which otherwise requires that no borrower have owned or occupied a home where they have had a homeownership interest in the past three years (from closing date).

If you are qualifying military personnel that is not yet discharged, the Florida Military Heroes options is otherwise available.

How long is a borrower’s homebuyer education course valid for?

In the Florida Housing programs, any borrower who has taken an approved course, and has a certificate that is a year or less old, can use it to qualify.

Homebuyer F.A.Q.

eHP Program Training and US Bank Loan Delivery Training are combined in the same presentation: To view click here

After you complete the online Program Training, information is provided as to what happens next. You are required to attend Program Training to participate in this program. To register for eHP System training, click here.

Should you have any questions, please contact jennifer@ehousing.cc or natalie.giuma@ehousingplus.com

Florida Housing Finance Corporation

Lender Portal

Agency and Working Group Portal

2013 Bridge Program

First Time Homebuyer 2011 Series C

Current Rates

DPA

Program Updates

FHFC Sample Docs

DPA Funds Request Form

HFA Preferred Fact Sheet

PreClosing-Notices and Recapture

Sample of ALL Documents- (8/28 Updating)

Sample of New HAMI Note and Key