Arizona down payment assistance can cover up to 5% down, and pairing it with a seller-paid rate buydown can get you into a Flagstaff home sooner.

 

Finding something in Flagstaff at $450,000 or $500,000 is hard right now, and plenty of buyers end up pushing their range toward $600,000 just to have options worth looking at. For most people, that's where the conversation stops, because the down payment on a number like that feels out of reach.

Down payment assistance does the heavy lifting. There are down payment assistance programs that will give you up to 5% toward your down payment, and 3.5% to 5% down is all you need on a conventional, FHA, or VA loan. Most buyers assume they have to spend years saving for that piece.

DPA can combine with a rate buydown. In many cases, depending on the program, you can pair the assistance with a 3-2-1 rate buydown, and that's the part I find so exciting. Your seller can contribute on top of the assistance, and those seller concessions can cover your closing costs and pay for the buydown. In some situations, the combination covers so much of the cash to close that a buyer brings very little of their own money to the table.

"If you thought you couldn't buy a home, now is the time to explore the possibility."

These are fixed loans, not adjustable. It reminds me a little of the loans we were seeing a few years ago, though these work differently, because the underlying loan is fixed rate rather than adjustable. With a 3-2-1 buydown, your rate starts 3% below the note rate in the first year, 2% below in the second, and 1% below in the third, then settles at the full fixed rate in year four. The note rate itself never changes; the buydown just lowers your payment in those early years.

Decent credit and a job are the bar. If you thought you couldn't buy a home, now is the time to explore the possibility. The only things you truly need are decent credit and a job. I know that part is hard for some people, so if credit is what's standing in the way, we have credit repair programs that can get you on the path toward good credit and toward buying a home.

If any of this sounds like your situation, call me at (928) 606-6749, email me at Kelly.Broaddus@exprealty.com, or visit kellybroaddus.exprealty.com. I'll connect you with one of the agents on my team and with our preferred lender so we can map out what a path to homeownership actually looks like for you. I would love to talk with you.