Section 8 Homeownership Program
The Columbia Housing Authority (CHA’s) Section 8 Homeownership Program assists clients in the purchase of a home, instead of using the voucher subsidy to help pay rent. This program allows first-time homeowners to use voucher subsidy to meet monthly homeownership expenses. Benefits are calculated in a similar way to the current Section 8 rental subsidy, but the payments go directly to a mortgage lender instead of a landlord.
Eligibility requirements for the CHA’s Section 8 Homeownership Program include:
- The participant has been on the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program for at least 12 months
- The participant does not owe any monies to CHA or any other housing agency as a result of prior participation in any federal housing program
- The family is a first-time homeowner (no member of the household has had ownership interest in any residence during the three years prior to the homeownership assistance; however, a single parent or displaced homemaker who, while married, owned a home with a spouse or resided in a home with a spouse, is considered a first-time homeowner)
- The family meets the minimum income requirement – the head of household, spouse and/or other adult household members who will own the home, must have a gross annual income at least equal to the federal minimum hourly wage multiplied by 2,000 hours ($5.15 X 2,000 = $10,300), while the minimum income requirement or disabled families is $6,540.
- The family satisfies the employment requirement – each family must demonstrate that one or more adult members of the family who will own the home is employed full-time (not less than an average of 30 hours per week) and has been continuously employed for at least one year prior to being eligible for the homeownership program (exceptions are allowed for elderly and disabled families)
- The family has not defaulted on a mortgage securing debt to purchase a home under any previous Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs
- The family does not have present ownership/interest in a residence
- The family or any household member is not related to the seller
- The family is financially capable to qualify for approved financing
- The family is capable of providing at least 3% of the purchase price as a minimum down payment
- The family has attended and completed a Pre-Homeownership Counseling Workshop that covered topics such as home maintenance, budgeting, credit counseling, etc. CHA currently offers the Money Smart Program, which qualifies as Pre-Homeownership Counseling.
For more information, contact April Woodall at (573) 443-2556, ext. 1257 or awoodall@columbiaha.com.
