Steps to Home Ownership

Steps

• Review the income levels to ensure the total household gross annual income is below the moderate-income level.
• Contact a bank, mortgage company, or financial institution and apply for a pre-approval for the primary mortgage.  Owner financing is not allowable.  
• Contact Housing Services at 1-352-689-4400 to obtain an application and schedule an appointment.  The applicant must have a pre-approval letter to apply for assistance.
• Housing Services will issue an approval letter, and the homebuyer(s) will have ninety days to close on the home.
• Applicants will be required to participate in homeownership counseling given by the UF/IFAS Extension Office and provide a Certificate of Completion before closing.
• Sign a contract and work with the first lender to finalize all required steps necessary to schedule the closing.
• Lenders will be required to provide Housing Services with documents necessary to request a check for closing, such as loan estimate, closing disclosure, title insurance, appraisal, survey, homeowners insurance declaration, credit report, W-9 for the closing agent, and lender’s request form.
• Attend closing.  The first lender will schedule the closing and notify Housing Services of the date and time.  Staff will prepare a closing package and submit it to the closing agent for review before closing.  The prospective homebuyer(s) will execute all housing documents at the closing.  The closing agent will be responsible for recording the housing mortgage and returning all executed documents to the housing office after closing.