Veterans can get $10,000 to buy a home [Belleville News-Democrat, Ill.]

Dec. 31--Spc. Kristy Goodin is looking to buy a new house and will have a little help with the down payment.

As a member of the Illinois National Guard, Goodin as well as active military personnel and reservists in Illinois can qualify for a "forgivable" loan of $10,000 for a 30-year, fixed-interest mortgage loan from a new financing program paid by the state. The Springfield resident said this new option has given her fledgling family extra incentive to buy a home.

"We are really thankful for it because we are a young family in our early 20s with a 4-month-old son," Goodin said.

Gov. Pat Quinn launched the program, Welcome Home Heroes Illinois, on Dec. 14 to provide those Illinois men and women in the service with some help with the down payment, closing costs and up to $21,000 in a mortgage credit certificate. A mortgage credit certificate allows the buyer to use 20 percent of the their annual mortgage interest as a direct federal tax credit that results in a dollar-for-dollar reduction in their annual federal income tax liability. The remaining 80 percent would qualify as an itemized tax deduction.

Illinois Housing Development Authority spokeswoman Rebecca Boykin said the $10,000 loan is forgivable for those qualified applicants who remain in their home for at least two years. She said this program is the most comprehensive financing package available for veterans.

"It makes homeownership more affordable for a lot of veterans coming home who are on limited incomes," Boykin said. "And so this is a way they can achieve the dream of homeownership affordably. This is a great gift we can give our military families."

The program is paid for by $5 million in Illinois Jobs Now! capital money and another $5 million from the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund. This $10 million investment is expected to generate an estimated 405 full-time jobs, $16.7 million from real estate-related industries, more than $5.3 million in economic activity for the state plus an additional $10.6 million in other statewide spending.

Active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members must be first-time home buyers, but other veterans do not. Buyers also must qualify based on their income and purchase price limits:

-- A family of three or more living in St. Clair, Madison, Monroe, Clinton, Calhoun, Jersey and Macoupin counties cannot have an annual income exceeding $81,765 for a home with a maximum purchase price of $328,146.

--A household of one or two people residing in those same counties cannot have a yearly income more than $71,100 for a home with a maximum purchase price of $256,329.

As almost 20,000 Illinois National Guard troops have deployed overseas since Sept. 11, 2001, the Illinois National Guard has found that recently returned veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are 33 percent more likely to be unemployed, and many are underemployed. A tight credit environment is making it more difficult for veterans to get financing for homeownership and conventional home loans require a borrower to buy private mortgage insurance when paying less than 20 percent down. Private mortgage insurance providers have tightened restrictions since the housing market's slide about five years ago by raising credit-score and down-payment requirements.

Illinois National Guard spokesman Maj. Brad Leighton said this new program will provide a tremendous lift to support soldiers returning home and who have served.

"We're fully supportive of it," Leighton said. "It's another thing for our soldiers to help them get started in their life."

Real estate broker Tina Besserman, of Century 21 Bailey & Co. in Granite City, said she has been working to inform as many military-employed consumers about the Welcome Home Heroes Illinois program. She anticipates this initiative to provide great opportunities for many families in the metro-east area.

"It's a huge deal," Besserman said. "With Scott Air Force Base in our backyard, I think there are a lot of people who would like to know about the program."

Goodin and her husband continue their search for their first home and are thankful for the state's help.

"We appreciate it," Goodin said. "They are making a huge difference in our life. We cannot thank the IHDA more."

Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 239-2526.

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