Have you been trying to figure out how you're going to save a little bit of dough and put money back in your pocket on your upcoming real estate or mortgage transaction? In this episode of Wynot Wyoming?, we're going to talk about the features and benefits of the Homes for Heroes program. We’ll look at who qualifies, how much of a discount you can get, and ways Homes for Heroes allows you to give back.
Who Qualifies
The Homes for Heroes program can be used by any number of local heroes. This includes first responders like EMTs and paramedics, health care workers, doctors, dentists, nurses, surgeons, local law enforcement, military personnel, and active duty vets. It also includes people in the reserves, National Guardsmen or Guardswomen, and anybody that is helping our local community or the community at large.
One of my favorite heroes is my wife, Maggie. She’s gone on a couple of medical mission trips to Peru, where she and a whole team of good-hearted people help little kids with cleft palates and cleft lips. This gives them some normalcy in their lives. She’s a great example of a heartless giver and one of our local heroes.
If you're wondering whether you qualify as a Hometown Hero, go ahead and hit me up. I'd love to hear your story and learn more about what you do every day. Together, we'll talk through it and decide if your profession fits the parameters for a local hero. If not, we can also look at some other programs to get you those savings.
As I said in my VA Home Loan video a few weeks back, it is my greatest pleasure to serve those of you that have served. Of course, this doesn't just apply to our military personnel; it also applies to our local heroes. It really is my greatest pleasure to serve you as you go out and serve our community in such a great way.
Savings On The Lending Side
If you qualify as a Hometown Hero, how much can you expect to save? The Homes for Heroes program has two parts: the lender part and the real estate agent part. First, we’ll talk about the lender side of things. As a local affiliate of the Homes for Heroes program, I give all of my heroes a discount towards their closing costs of at least $750.
Usually, we apply that money towards the cost of your appraisal, mostly because the appraisal usually costs about that much. However, I work really hard to get all my clients an appraisal waiver whenever possible so you don't have to have that fee. If we were to get that, we would use that discount towards another line item on your closing costs. This would double up those savings for you.
My goal is also to maximize your savings whenever possible. I apply this same discount to all of my clients, whether you're making a home purchase or you're refinancing. One of the questions I get a lot is, “how many times can I use my Homes for Heroes discount?” The answer is that you can use it as many times as you want. Whether you want to buy a house this month or next, I can apply all of those savings for you down the road.
When interest rates are lower, you can save even more money by doing a refinance or consolidating some of your debt. When we refinance you, I'll apply that same discount. A little bit further down the road when you decide you want to sell that house and buy a new one, I'll help you with that transaction and apply that discount. Again, you can use that discount as many times as you see fit.
Savings On The Real Estate Side
The second part of the program—the real estate agent part—works just a little bit differently. Instead of giving you a credit towards your closing costs, the real estate agent can issue a rebate to you after you close on the transaction. Real estate agents can offer that discount to you whether you're a buyer or a seller—and sometimes you might be both.
Perhaps you're going to use the same agent to sell your house and buy a new house. You might even get additional savings that way. So how much are the savings? The average savings nationally through the Homes for Heroes program is about $3,000. Of course, that's dependent on the purchase price, so it could be higher or a little bit less depending on your unique situation.
Maximizing Your Money
As you can see, it's probably in your best interest to work with both a lender and a real estate agent that are affiliated with the Homes for Heroes program. That way, you maximize your savings by getting everything that you're entitled to as a hero.
Of course, it is possible to work with someone outside of the program. However, if you do, you're going to be giving up that part of the savings—which might not be worth it. The other great reason to work with both the lender and the real estate agent within the program is that we probably have unique relationships with other people in our sphere that could increase your savings.
For example, maybe the home inspector we use, the title company that we recommend, or even the home insurance agent that we recommend might offer discounts to heroes. You probably wouldn't hear about these if you didn't work with a Homes for Heroes affiliate real estate agent and lender.
Giving Back
The third—and one of the greatest—part of the Homes for Heroes program is what's known as the Homes for Heroes Foundation. This is the nonprofit arm of the Homes for Heroes program. For every transaction that gets done, we give you some savings. We also add a little bit extra through the profits of the Homes for Heroes program into the foundation.
This foundation serves a really great purpose, funding grants and donations for other heroes that aren't fortunate enough to buy a home right now and have fallen on hard times. Usually, that money might go to some sort of a housing emergency or other unexpected expenses that they just can't cover. It’s also used for those that need a little bit of a hand up.
We call this the Circle of Giving. We give you a little bit of a discount on your transaction, which in turn goes into the bigger Foundation. They then give a little bit of money to those that are less fortunate.
Getting Preapproved
We are so proud to be Homes for Heroes members and help you and some of our other heroes that might need that extra little help. It’s really important to get pre-approved if you're starting the home purchase journey. If you’re thinking that the Homes for Heroes program is too good to be true, reach out to me and we’ll get your preapproved.
As part of that process, I'm going to give you what's called a loan estimate. This will line item all of the expenses associated with your loan on one side and show you the exact credit amounts on the other side. This way, you'll see upfront exactly what those savings are and how we're going to apply them. There's never a cost for pre-approval or a loan estimate, and there's really no risk in it either.
The preapproval allows us to make sure that you've been vetted and qualified for a loan amount before you go out into the world making offers on houses. This way you’ll know that you're going to be able to buy your dream house. You can also go to the Homes for Heroes website and find tons of four and five-star reviews from heroes just like yourself that have saved a lot of money through this program.
I’m Here To Help
In my last video where we talked about the zero-down VA home loans, I told you that not everybody's a vet or in the service and you might not qualify. However, I promised you I would come back and talk to you about programs that could help you save money just like those folks with the VA home loan benefit. This Homes for Heroes program is one of those things that can help you put more money back into your own pocket.
So if you want to learn more about the Homes for Heroes or any loan program, I can help. As a loan officer, I’m here to educate you on all of your options, and I'm going to shoot you straight. I’ll also let you know about all of the different things that might be a good fit for you. We're going to talk about it together, and you're going to decide which option fits you and your family the best.
Be sure to reach out to me and I’ll be happy to answer all of your questions. You can also comment below and I’ll get back to you as fast as I can. Additionally, don’t forget to subscribe to my channel so you never miss an episode of Wynot Wyoming?, my show all about living in Cheyenne and getting you the best mortgage possible. And if you're one of our heroes, I want to sincerely say thank you so much for helping our community and our world at large by doing what you do.
Comments
Comment Submitted!