Hollywood putting renovated home up for sale, will pitch in up to half the purchase price
FORT LAUDERDALE - It's a deal that sounds too good to be true, but it is.
The City of Hollywood is selling a recently renovated, remodeled home and will contribute substantial purchase assistance as part of its Home Buyer Purchase Assistance Program.
The price of the 922 square foot two bedroom, one bath house on Cleveland Street, near Downtown Hollywood, is $350,000.
The city will kick in up to $170,000 for a qualified, eligible homebuyer.
The home features exterior impact doors and windows, central A/C and heat, completely updated kitchen cabinets with stainless steel appliances, a completely renovated bathroom, and a tankless water heater. Plus it has brand new paint inside and out.
According to the city's website:
"The purchase assistance in the amount up to $50,000 is a conditional grant (15-year term) to be applied toward the cost of purchasing this home.
The purchase assistance in the amount up to $120,000 will be a second mortgage loan, zero percent (0%) interest, no monthly payments, 30-year term, and payable in full at term maturity or property sale, whichever occurs first."
Whoever gets the home will have to pay at least three percent of the first loan amount, and the purchase assistance amount will fill the "gap" after the first mortgage loan and buyer's contribution are applied to the purchase and closing costs.
So who is eligible?
The buyer must be pre-approved for a residential mortgage from a first mortgage lender and the loan terms must meet the city's guidelines.
The buyer's gross annual household income may not exceed 120% of the Area Median Income based on household size. Priority will be given to households at or below 80% of the area median income.
For example, for two people applying to buy the home, their income must range from $67,500 to no more than $101,280. A family of three's range would be from $76,050 to no more than $114,000.
The potential buyer must not have owned a residential property in the last three years and priority will be given to Hollywood residents.
Buyer must submit a signed Letter of Intent to purchase, signed by both the buyer and the first mortgage lender by the established deadline of 3 p.m. May 1st. The Letter of Intent must include a mortgage pre-approval or pre-qualification letter.
First and second place submitters will be notified by the Broward County Housing Finance Division, which is handling buyer qualification/certification. They will collect documents from these buyers and their lenders for a full application package.
This is the last home available in this program. The city is hoping to come up with a new creative plan to get more people into homes they can afford. "We want like to explore every opportunity to provide affordable housing in a variety of different ways. That is not off the table," said City of Hollywood Community Development Project Manager Donna Biederman.
Amy Ruiz took advantage of the same program last year. She said it means the world to her family of 5.
"We love Hollywood. I didn't want to go anywhere else and to move, and but it was kind of impossible to find something that we could afford until I came across that listing," Ruiz said.
Just as she was about to lose hope, she found her affordable dream home in West Hollywood.
"It was difficult.I mean, we were even contemplating finding roommates because we wanted to buy. But with this opportunity. you know, we qualified, and it was, it was like a dream come true," she said.
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