Homeownership Production

- New Homes

- Self-Help

- SystemVision

- IDA Loan Pool

- Mortgages for First-Time Home Buyers

Home Repair and Rehabilitation

Supportive Housing Development

Rental Housing Production Program

Homelessness Prevention

Becoming a CHDO

Housing-Related Counseling

Fair housing

Resources and Recognition

New Homes Loan Pool

The New Homes Loan Pool (NHLP) offers gap financing -- and more -- to homebuyers through local counseling agencies, CDCs and other nonprofit and governmental organizations that (1) prepare home buyers through counseling and homebuyer education, and (2) 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 New Homes Loan Pool. Funding only comes through our Loan Pool Member partnerships and is only made available to homebuyers using the Agency’s FirstHome Mortgage program.

Interested organizations first seek Loan Pool Membership approval of specific homeownership projects by completing two simple Application forms. For more information, see the Participation Guidelines for Loan Pool Membership. The Guidelines are updated from time to time and should become the Member’s working manual for learning about and then administering to all aspects of the Loan Pool Program.

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

Homebuyers who borrow through the New Homes Loan Pool must be first-time homebuyers and complete 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 located in their service area.

The amounts and types of NHLP assistance available depend on the home being purchased. 

For new houses, unsold builder inventory, and reconstructed (“gut rehab”) houses assistance is available in four forms:

1. NHLP can provide gap financing in the form of interest-free, deferred second mortgages of up to $25,000, or 20% of purchase price, 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. To help cover the Member’s costs associated with preparing the buyer, closing the New Homes loan, and related work, the Loan Pool Member is paid a fee of $1,000.
3. If the home being purchased is certified to meet certain advanced performance standards (health, safety, durability and energy efficiency), Members can receive a $4,000 incentive grant under the SystemVision™ home-performance guarantee option.  And,
4. For homes that meet SystemVision standards and any of five approved green-building standards, members are eligible for an additional incentive grant of $1,000. Starting 2012, the SystemVision units will no longer automatically qualify under EnergyStar 3.0.  EnergyStar 3.0 will be added as a fifth green program option and units receiving certification will qualify for the incentive grant of $1,000.   

FirstHome mortgages are required as First Right of Refusal with Loan Pool Financing for all homebuyers.

1. Due to the Agency’s targeted mission for its LOAN POOL funds, the Agency’s gap financing will be available only for borrowers using the NCHFA FirstHome mortgage or other first mortgage financing that offers a better rate than the current NCHFA FirstHome Mortgage rate.  The Agency reserves the right to withdraw any approval for gap financing if the proposed first mortgage product does not offer a better rate than Agency’s FirstHome Mortgage product.  Currently, USDA-Rural Development 502 Direct loans, which typically do not finalize the subsidized rate until just before closing, are the only exception.  These loans will not require the final subsidized rate to be pre-approved in order to be eligible for LOAN POOL financing.
2. In order to streamline FirstHome loans used in combination with LOAN POOL financing, a single Agency underwriter will be assigned to underwrite both the first and second mortgage.  As the Agency will be underwriting the first mortgage, Members will not need to wait for the first mortgage approval to submit the underwriting package for LOAN POOL funding when it is used in conjunction with the FirstHome Mortgage.
3. Additionally, the underwriting criteria have been aligned so that most borrowers who qualify for Loan Pool financing most likely should qualify for the NCHFA FirstHome Mortgage.

For more information about the New Homes Loan Pool and who to contact with questions, please go to Guidelines for Loan Pool Membership which you will find referenced above.