ATTENTION LENDERS!

SEE BELOW REGARDING FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER REQUIREMENT

NON-COMPLIANCE

Fannie Mae recently announced that, effective with updates to DU Version 12.0, first time buyers who qualify as a displaced homemaker or eligible single parent would be included in DU’s determination of a first-time homebuyer. 

Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may recognize a displaced homemaker or single parent as an eligible first-time buyer in their respective selling guides and automated underwriting systems, please note that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s definition of a first-time homebuyer is NOT recognized by FL Housing’s Homebuyer Loan Program (this includes Hometown Heroes).

FL Housing’s Homebuyer Loan Program is governed by the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and as such, recognizes and enforces the IRC’s definition of a first-time buyer. See our definition below.

• First Time Homebuyer means, except for borrowers purchasing in Federally Designated Targeted Areas and for certain veterans eligible for the Veterans Exemption, the borrower and spouse of a borrower, if applicable, must have had no present Ownership Interest in a principal residence at any time during the three-year period prior to the date on which the Mortgage Loan is executed.

• Ownership Interest means a person(s) who has owned and occupied a primary residence and appear on the deed to such property.

Non-compliance with the definition of First Time Homebuyer in our Homebuyer Loan Program is a fatal flaw and there are no exceptions. Failure to comply with the First Time Homebuyer requirement will result in the non-purchase of your loan. 

Validating eligibility as a First Time Homebuyer is a requirement for your borrower to participate in our Homebuyer Loan Program. This means that Lenders should be collecting the necessary documentation to support eligibility as a First Time Homebuyer (see below).

BOND (the Standard BOND Program and the HTH BOND Program) requires the las three years’ tax returns or transcripts or a combination of the two. Transcripts are preferred. If transcripts are not available, a copy of lease or VOR from a third party may be provided. If your borrower did not reside in the US at any time in the last three years, they must still qualify as a First Time Homebuyer which means they could not have owned and occupied their primary at any time within the last three years inside of the US or outside of the US. A letter of explanation is not acceptable. If documentation to support non-ownership cannot be obtained, then you may need to consider other financing options for your borrower.

TBA (the Standard TBA, HTH TBA and the Standard PLUS) requires that all occupying borrowers complete the Declarations Section of the 1003 accordingly. 

Guidelines and term sheets as well as our daily offerings and rates can be found on our landing page on eHousing’s website. Everything you need to know about our program offerings can be found on that web page.

Thanks for your continued support.

Charles “Chip” White

Homebuyer Loan Program Director

Charles.white@floridahousing.org

Sandy Smith

Homebuyer Loan Program Administrator

Sandy.smith@floridahousing.org

For program inquiries, contact us at dpa@floridahousing.org