HUD
No. 04-051 Jerrie G. Magruder (407) 648-6441 |
For
Release Wednesday June 2, 2004 |
HUD SECRETARY JACKSON ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $8 MILLION IN DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS IN FLORIDA
ORLANDO - Hundreds of low-income families living in many Florida
communities can now realize the dream of homeownership because of
$8 million in American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) funding
announced today
by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso
Jackson (see table below).
"The single greatest obstacle to homeownership is the downpayment
and closing costs," said Jackson. "This
program, will give first-time
homebuyers downpayment assistance grants up to $10,000 or six percent
of the home's purchase price, whichever is greater. Not only will
these grants help to defray the upfront costs of purchasing a
first
home, they can also be used to help offset the costs of rehabilitating
the property."
To be eligible for this assistance, individuals must be first-time
homebuyers interested in purchasing one- to four-family housing,
condominium unit, cooperative unit or manufactured housing. In addition,
individuals who qualify for this assistance must have incomes not
exceeding 80 percent of area median income. If you are interested
in
obtaining downpayment assistance through this program, please
contact your local
community.
Jackson said, "During the Bush Administration, a record number
of new homeowners, specifically minority families,
have achieved
a home of their own. I encourage Congress to fully support the President's
request to continue this important new homeownership tool so even
more Florida families can realize their American Dream."
The American Dream Downpayment Act will be administered
under HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
Since its inception, the HOME Program has assisted more than 300,000
families to become homeowners,
55 percent of which are minorities.
Information about The
American Dream Downpayment Initiative is available on
the Internet.
June is National Homeownership month - a month-long educational
outreach effort designed to provide important homebuying information
and financial tools, particularly to minority families. The Census
reports that, for the first
time in our nation's history, more than
half of minority families own their own home. But minority homeownership
rates still fall well short of the national homeownership rate of
nearly 70 percent. In June 2002, President Bush
issued The Homeownership
Challenge to close this 'homeownership gap' by adding 5.5 million
minority homeowners
by the end of the decade. Since then, more than
two dozen organizations are working to create more than
$1 trillion
in mortgage financing for minority homebuyers.
HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership,
particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities
for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people
with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also
promotes economic and community development as well as
enforces
the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its
programs is available on the Internet
and espanol.hud.gov.
Florida
Ft Lauderdale | $135,177 |
Gainesville | $57,266 |
Hialeah | $169,205 |
Hollywood | $52,620 |
Miami | $444,833 |
Miami Beach | $123,704 |
Orlando | $185,564 |
St Petersburg | $168,941 |
Sarasota Consortium | $119,514 |
Tallahassee | $188,449 |
Tampa | $239,583 |
Brevard County Consortium | $216,974 |
Broward County Consortium | $523,043 |
Collier County | $93,307 |
Jacksonville-Duval | $489,317 |
Escambia County Consortium | $197,025 |
Hillsborough County | $314,415 |
Lee County | $90,645 |
Manatee County | $82,767 |
Marion County Consortium | $66,301 |
Miami-Dade County | $603,436 |
Orange County | $328,118 |
Palm Beach County | $350,226 |
Pasco County | $110,771 |
Pinellas County Consortium | $239,572 |
Polk County | $110,850 |
Seminole County | $143,961 |
Volusia County | $106,673 |
State of Florida | $2,065,783 |
Florida Total |
$8,018.040 |
*Local communities will receive their funding at various times to
coincide with the start of their fiscal
years.