Gwinnett County Homestretch program gives you $7,500 at closing!

This Lawrenceville Home is HUD owned and only $129,000 it is almost brand new!

The Homestretch Program is one of many Gwinnett County Programs that you can use to purchase a home!  In this article I will explain the program and the process  to you!

First things first, you will have to get a prequalification with a lender of your choice.  Just make sure to ask your lender if they will participate in the Homestretch Program.  This program does not have preferred lenders, however it is best to check with the lender, especially if they are a Mortgage Broker, as some investors that the mortgage brokers use will not allow them to fund loans using some of these down payment assistance programs.

With your lenders blessing you will need to schedule an appointment to meet with one of the counselors at the Homestretch program itself.  They will go over the program and the application with you.  You will need to bring all documents that are required as it is similar to applying for loan.  They have income guidelines that they go by and will make sure that your income does not exceed their requirements depending on how many dependents you have and the total people living in your home.

Once this is complete and they have approved your application, you will be able to search for your home.  Now the great thing about Gwinnett County Homestretch Program is that you can use the $7,500 toward a Single family home or a Townhome.   Once you locate your desired home and you have successfully received an executed contract, you will need to submitt the contract to the Gwinnett County Homestretch program.  They will then secure your funds.  This is very important as sometimes this program runs out of funds.  The funds typically will be replenished however there is no particular timeline on the availability and they will not and cannot guarantee the funds will be available to meet your contract close date.
So make sure you turn your contract into the program ASAP to get your money.  The $7,500 can be used toward down payment, closing costs and pre-paid escrow items.   You will however have to contribute 1% or a maximun of $1,000 of your own funds towards the transaction and you will not be able to receive any cash back at the closing table.
Now the next issue is the inspection.  The Homestretch program requires you to obtain a home inspection at your own cost, prior to them sending our their Gwinnett County inspector.  They do have a list of guidelines that they look for in the home inspection and they will happily provide you a copy of their expectations at the time of your application.   A fixer upper home will not work for this particular program , unless you have all of your renovations completed before their inspector comes out to view.
Once your loan is 100% complete and underwritten approved from your lender, and your home has passed inspection & appriasal, then your file should be submitted to the Homestretch Program for review as well.  You can expect that process to take at least a week.  Be prepared for the fact that sometimes the Homestretch program will notify your lender that they have additional questions or that they may have other loan conditions that must be met.  If this occurs it will take afew more days for your lender to clear those additional conditions to get your loan approved.   Once your loan is approved by the program, your file goes back to your lender and they will be required to draw up a closing package to submitt to the closing attorney.

Once the closing attorney receives your loan package they will produce a HUD-1.  This is improtant, as it must go back to Homestretch for review in order for them to release your funds for closing.  A member of the Homestretch team will actually attend your closing to bring the check for $7,500 and to make sure their title requirements are met.

The Homestretch program, along with the other county programs require that you live in your home at least 5 years or you will have to pay them back the $7,500 at closing if it is prior to your 5 year anniversary of owning the property.

This program is a little more work, however it is well worth it if it is the difference between owning a home of your own or staying in that apartment!

If you need help and are in the metro Atlanta area please contact me, I would be happy to help!