State helps with mortgages, points

The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) recently increased the maximum purchase price nearly 20 percent for mortgages it would back in New York City and surrounding counties, through December 15.
The new limits, announced on Tuesday, May 20, will enable eligible first-time homebuyers in the specified counties to borrow up to $550,000 from SONYMA for a single-family home.
The current limit is $460,300 for newly built homes and $467,000 for existing homes. Purchase price limits were also increased for two-, three- and four-family homes.
SONYMA also offers Closing Cost Assistance Loans (CCAL) for qualified homebuyers - up to $5,000 or 5 percent of the mortgage, whichever is greater, to help pay closing costs. The CCAL
is forgiven over a ten-year period.
The interest rate for mortgage applicants taking advantage of CCAL is 0.5 percent higher than the standard SONYMA mortgage rate.
The rate increase does not apply to the
Homes for Veterans Program or for
borrowers purchasing an ENERGY STAR
labeled home.
Purchase price limits were also increased for homes located in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods known as “target areas”
in the eligible counties. Visit their website at www.nyhomes.org/home/index.asp?page=146
for details on the increased limits.
-Victor G. Mimoni