In April and May, Howell County suffered from natural disasters including heavy rains, straight line winds, flooding and tornados.
Through federal funding awarded by the Missouri Department of Economic Development to Howell County and the cities of West Plains and Willow Springs, the South Central Ozark Council of Governments is offering to help applicants secure a down payment for a home through a down payment assistance program.
Available funding up to 100% of the down payment will be awarded to eligible clients through Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Relief funding, SCOCOG officials explained.
SCOCOG said it will work with the clients throughout the process to get them into a new home.
The grant will be secured with a lien on the property for the amount of CDBG-DR assistance through a Deed of Mortgage and Restrictive Covenants for a five-year affordability period. Customary and reasonable closing costs – up to 6% of the total loan and no more than the equivalent of the total down payment – will be covered, officials added.
The household annual total adjusted gross income of the applicant must be under 120% of the Subrecipients Area Median Income: $59,300 for a household of one; $67,800, household of two; $75,250, household of three; $84,700, household of four; $91,500, household of five; or $98,300, household of six.
A SCOCOG representative will be available to meet with applicants, at a time that works for them, to discuss the down payment assistance program.
Some restrictions will apply and applicants must meet income eligibility guidelines.
The applicant will select a lender and get a preapproval letter for their home loan, then make an appointment with SCOCOG to complete an application and provide required documents. The representative will provide a list of documents to bring to the appointment.
Completed applications will be reviewed for eligibility.
The client will receive a determination letter from their respective local government entity.
Next, the client should begin searching for a single family home within the 65775 ZIP code and not in a floodway or floodplain. Area realtors will have information to share on the program with applicants.
Once the home has been chosen and the client is deemed eligible, the home will undergo an environmental review performed by SCOCOG, lead screening, termite and Department of Social Service inspections.
Clients must complete an eight-hour home ownership course provided by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development certified housing counselor, then submit a copy of the certificate of completion to the SCOCOG representative.
Finally, the client will work with their lender to finalize mortgage documents and the grant award will be provided to the lender as the down payment.
For more information contact SCOCOG representative Melanie Barnett: mbarnett@scocog.org.
