Downpayment Assistance Works
DPA programs assist working-class Americans who can afford monthly mortgage payments but need help with the initial downpayment on their homes. Since 1997, downpayment assistance has helped more than one million families realize the dream of homeownership. Act now to reform and restore a vital program that brought the American dream into reach for tens of thousands of families each month.
FHA loans originated in conjunction with DPA are not sub-prime.
They allow hard-working, credit-worthy American families who can afford their monthly mortgage payments the opportunity to purchase homes. All homebuyers must qualify for FHA loans.
Almost all DPA-assisted Americans are successful homeowners.
According to United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) research, more than nine out of ten Americans who purchased their homes with DPA are succeeding in meeting their payments.
Homes purchased with DPA drive wealth and tax generation.
Between 1997 and 2005, $12.3 billion has been generated in taxes for state and local governments just through the purchases of 150,000 new homesand this number represents less than one-sixth the total number of DPA-assisted home purchases.
Zero tax dollars are used to fund DPA programs.
In 2004 I was living in an apartment in Stone Mountain, GA with my son Ty and I had been teaching for three years. I was paying about $800 a month for rent. Not many people I knew owned homes and the concept of being a home-owner seemed completely out of the question for me. I had no savings and always believed I would need thousands of dollars for a downpayment.
more »