Revisions to Step Up HFA Advantage Income Limits 
AHFA announces the following upcoming revisions to the Step-Up HFA Advantage income limits and AIS grant calculations:

Effective for new loan reservations 1/2/20 or later:
  • Borrower(s) qualifying income converted to an annual basis cannot exceed 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for property’s location or, $97,300 annual income (whichever is less).
  • Borrowers at or below 50% of the AMI limits as published by Freddie Mac are eligible for an AIS grant in the amount of 100 BPS of the loan amount.
  • Borrowers at or below 80% of the AMI limits as published by Freddie Mac are eligible for an AIS grant in the amount of 50 BPS of the loan amount. 

Former guidelines effective for loan reservations 12/31/19 and prior:
The borrower’s total annual qualifying income could not exceed $97,300. Borrowers at or below 50% of the AMI are eligible for an AIS Grant of $2,500. Borrowers at or below 80% of the AMI are eligible for an AIS Grant of $1,500. 

Purchase Timeline Requirements for loans reserved 12/31/19 and prior:
To remain eligible for purchase as previous guidelines allowed Step Up HFA Advantage loans reserved on or before 12/31/19 must be purchased by AHFA no later than 3/27/20. Any loan not purchased by this date must conform to the new program guidelines. To meet this timeline the lender must allow enough time for the loan to close, and be delivered and cleared for purchase by AHFA. It is recommended that lenders submit all loans subject to former guidelines to AFHA no later than 2/28/20.  
If you have any questions about this information, contact Cathy James at cjames@ahfa.com or Tony Lee at tlee@ahfa.com .