AmeriDream Mortgage
What is an AmeriDream mortgage? AmeriDream is a non-profit organization that helps low to moderate income buyers purchase a home by “giving” them money towards the down payment. It also offers a new protection guarantee that if you are injured or laid off, your mortgage will be covered for the first five years.
The organization started in 1999 and the money given to home buyers over the years (more than 140,000 buyers nationwide) comes from a “self generating pool of funds.” You find out if you qualify for an AmeriDream program from your lender. If you can qualify for everything but you don’t have a down payment, your lender can contact AmeriDream.
A simple explanation of the program is that sellers actually have to participate by paying a service fee plus the down payment money, usually around 3 percent but could be as high as 10%. This comes from the seller’s sales proceeds.
Why would a seller want to do this? It’s just another way for a seller to market their property. It opens up the buyer pool by possibly introducing a buyer that otherwise would not have even looked at that home. Keep in mind that as a buyer you are already asking the seller to reduce the asking price by the amount they are “donating” from their proceeds. So you need to be prepared to make a good enough offer so the seller will agree to the program.
The new mortgage protection program is called DreamKeeper. This was introduced in June of 2004. You are protected during your first five years of the mortgage. If you lose your job or become disabled your mortgage payment will be paid up to $2,000 a month for up to nine months during the first five years of the mortgage.
To learn details about these programs please click here (will open a new window): AmeriDream
