Homeownership Production

- New Homes

- Self-Help

- SystemVision

- IDA Loan Pool

- Mortgages for First-Time Home Buyers

Home Repair and Rehabilitation

Home Protection Program

Supportive Housing Development

Rental Housing Production Program

Homelessness Prevention

Becoming a CHDO

Housing-Related Counseling

Resources and Recognition

IDA Loan Pool

The Individual Development Account (IDA) Loan Pool (IDALP) offers gap financing -- and more -- to homebuyers through local counseling agencies, CDCs and other nonprofit and governmental organizations that (1) administer local IDA programs, (2) prepare home buyers through financial literacy training and homebuyer education, and (3) help coordinate financial assistance for buyers.  Such organizations, which may or may not develop housing themselves,  become eligible to reserve financing on a household-by-household basis by becoming Members of the IDA Loan Pool.

Interested organizations first seek Loan Pool Membership by completing a simple Application form. (For more information, see the Guidelines for Loan Pool Membership.)

Once approved, the Loan Pool Member serves as a liaison between the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency and the homebuyer, reserving IDALP funds and submitting an reservation on the buyer's behalf.

Homebuyers who borrow through the IDA Loan Pool must complete financial literacy, a homebuyer education course, and most must receive one-on-one homeownership counseling to prepare them for successful homeownership. Loan Pool Members can either offer the education themselves or partner with a counseling organization in the community. (For information on training for counselors, go to Workshops and Technical Assistance.)

The amounts and types of IDALP assistance available depend on the home being purchased. 
For new and existing houses, unsold builder inventory, and reconstructed (“gut rehab”) houses assistance is available in three forms:

1. IDALP can provide gap financing in the form of interest-free, deferred second mortgages of up to $25,000, or 20% of appraised value, whichever is less.  The assistance is targeted to home buyers with incomes below 80% of the area median income.   Such homes may be located in new subdivisions, scattered rural sites, comprehensive neighborhood revitalization areas, or strategic in-fill developments.
2. A dollar for dollar grant of up to $1,000 to available to match IDA borrowers’ savings.
3. To help cover the Member’s costs associated with preparing the buyer, closing the IDA loan, and related work, the Loan Pool Member is paid a fee of $1,000.

For houses that have been through foreclosure (in certain counties):

IDALP Members who help their clients purchase recently foreclosed homes in a certain 23 eligible counties may be eligible for even more favorable assistance under IDALP, thanks to funding from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).  Depending on Member’s local policies and IDA program and match source income limits, NSP funding may assist home buyers with incomes up to 120% of the area median income. 

NOTE: This may help with providing NCHFA gap financing to borrowers who meet NCHFA income guidelines upon entering your program but, as they approach closing, become ineligible because they exceed the usual 80% of the area median income guidelines.

1. IDALP can provide NSP funds for gap financing for foreclosed homes in the form of interest-free, deferred, forgiven, second mortgages of up to $25,000, or 20% of appraised value, whichever is less.  Repayment is deferred for the first ten years.  Then, starting at the end of year eleven, the loan is forgiven at the rate of 10% of the original principal amount over the second 10 years.  Such homes may be located anywhere within eligible counties so long as they meet IDALP site, neighborhood and unit design standards. 
2. A dollar for dollar grant of up to $1,000 to available to match IDA borrowers’ savings.
3. To help cover the Member’s increased costs associated with preparing the buyer, closing the IDA loan, and connecting buyers with foreclosed properties, the Loan Pool Member is paid a fee of $1,500.