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

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.

Interested organizations first seek Loan Pool Membership and approval of specific homeownership projects by completing two simple Application forms. (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 NHLP funds and submitting an application on the buyer's behalf.

Homebuyers who borrow through the New Homes Loan Pool must 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 in the community. (For information on training for counselors, go to Workshops and Technical Assistance.)

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 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. 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 four approved green-building standards, members are eligible for an additional incentive grant of $1,000. 

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

NHLP Members who help their clients purchase recently foreclosed homes in a certain 23 eligible counties may be eligible for even more favorable assistance under NHLP, thanks to funding from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).  Depending on Member’s local policies, NSP funding may assist home buyers with incomes up to 120% of the area median income. Members should contact their case manager about other applicable differences when NSP funds are used.

1. NHLP 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 NHLP site, neighborhood and unit design standards. 
2. To help cover the Member’s increased costs associated with preparing the buyer, closing the New Homes loan, and connecting buyers with foreclosed properties, the Loan Pool Member is paid a fee of $1,500.
3. If the home being purchased has been re-developed by the Member, including a “gut rehab” job (walls stripped down to the studs) and is certified to meet SystemVision standards, AND the homebuyer is below 80% of median income, Members can receive a $4,000 incentive grant under the SystemVision™ home-performance guarantee option.