Travis County Commissioners Court
February 19, 2008
Housing Finance Corporation
Now Travis County housing opinions. One item, consider and take appropriate action on request to seek approval from the Texas department of housing and community affairs for a change in the program design of the home buyer assistance program.
>> good afternoon, harvey Davis, manager for the corporation. We are working on a $200,000 grant from the Texas department of housing and community affairs to provide assist 25 first time home buyers in buying a home. This grant in October 31, 2008, and today we closed on 13 of those loans. Under the current program design the home buyer has to use a bond program for their first mortgage either the state's bond program, Travis County bonds program or the Texas state affordable housing corporation. What I’m asking the board to approve is a letter to the state requesting an expansion of the mortgage options for the first time home buyers to use our program. And this is to allow the home buyer to use fha, convention, over va financing. The reason for the request is because, the principle reason is that interest rates have sharply declined recently, as you know, with the federal fund's agreesive lowering of the fed funds rate. And this has caused the bond programs, which issued bonds some period prior to this aggressive action prior to the federal reserver, for those rights to be not competitive with current interest rates of the for example, the Travis County bond programs in which the bonds were issued in July of '07, interest rate is 6.3 percent. Currently the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate is about 5.6, 5.7 percent. So there's a gap in that. The goal of this is to not forth the home buyer to use a product in which they would be payer a higher interest rate. In the letter we say that we would, as a managing the grant, that we would document on each home buyer that we allow this them to use the product other than a bond program, we would doubt in the files the reason why this was a better deal for the home buyer than the bond program, the interest rate is lower or whatever the rationale, we would document why this, why we were allowing them to use the conventional product. And as with the current program design, variable interest rate mortgage products would not be allowed the--allowed.
>> what's likelihood this will be granted?
>> I talked to the state. I think it's a very, extremely likely. I would be shocked if they did not grant. They told me it would be a ten-day turn around, which they may have overpromised at bit. But if they do, it would be great.
>> move approvalsecond--approva.
>> second.
>> the last thank you. Looks like you had in mind thanks to you. Or thanks. Couldn't decide so you used both of them.
>> I will make that correction, judge.
>> all in favor. That passes by unanimous vote. I wouldn't have caught that if it weren't over my signature, mr. Davis.
>> thank you for catching that.
>> move anadjourned.
>> that passes by unanimous vote also. Thank you very much. Thanks for taking care of the resident of Travis County, especially first time home buyers.
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Last Modified:
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 8:09 PM