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"Homeownership is a key component of
affordable housing for Illinois citizens," said Gov. Blagojevich.
"Through the I-Loan Certificate, Illinois families will worry less
about how to finance a home and will spend more time and energy
enjoying their families and contributing to their communities."
With an I-Loan Certificate, a home
buyer will receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit worth 25
percent of the annual amount paid in mortgage interest, not to
exceed $2,000 per year. The credit may be redeemed yearly through
the life of the loan. The mortgage interest amount remaining after
the I-Loan Certificate deduction is still eligible for the standard
home buyer mortgage interest deductions.
To
qualify for an I-Loan Certificate, an Illinois home buyer must:
- Be a first-time home buyer
.
Anyone who has not had ownership interest in his or her primary
place of residence in the past three years is considered a
first-time home buyer.
Purchase the home as a primary
residence. The residence
may be a single-family home, town home or condominium. Two-,
three- and four-unit buildings do not qualify.
Move into the home within 60 days
of closing.
Meet income and purchase price
requirements for the
non-targeted or targeted area in which the home will be purchased.
Apply for the I-Loan Certificate
as part of a mortgage with an IHDA-approved lender.
Note: I-Loan Certificates will be
issued on a first-come, first-served basis.
Illinois home buyers can find more
information and a list of local approved lenders at
www.IHDA.org. Illinois home buyers
without Internet access may call the toll-free I-LOAN Certificate
line, (877) I-LOAN-56, for information.
"The benefits of homeownership
extend beyond the family," the governor said. "Homeowners are an
integral part of a community's social and business climate and
provide a boost to the local economy. Through this program, we
continue to help working families buy homes in the communities where
they work and live."
The I-Loan Certificate is based on
an earlier homeownership program called the Mortgage Credit
Certificate, which was available only to a few municipalities and
counties across Illinois that had specifically allocated bond volume
cap to the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The success of
these limited-area programs prompted the Illinois Housing
Development Authority to expand it statewide. The I-Loan Certificate
is now available in every community across the state except for the
city of Chicago, which runs its own Mortgage Credit Certificate
program.
The I-Loan Certificate is designed
to be extremely flexible and is available for home buyers to use
with nearly every type of mortgage loan available. The I- Loan
Certificate may be used in conjunction with conventional fixed-rate,
adjustable-rate, balloon,
conventionally insured or government-insured mortgage loans. It may
also be used with VA or FHA loans.
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Illinois Housing Development
Authority secured the funds to finance I-Loan Certificates for $60
million worth of mortgages through an election of bond capital with
the IRS.
Households qualify for more
Increased borrowing power is a
significant benefit of the I-Loan Certificate. The I-Loan
Certificate decreases the home buyer's monthly federal tax
deductions, which results in increased monthly net income. As a
result, lenders can use this higher net income to qualify home
buyers for a loan, increasing their borrowing power by as much as
$10,000 to $14,000.
What is
the catch?
Not much. The lender may charge a
$100 application fee for the I-Loan Certificate and a closing cost
of $250. If a home buyer refinances the home, the I-Loan Certificate
can be reissued as part of the financing process so that the home
buyer can continue to take advantage of the tax credit.
Making homeownership affordable is
an important aspect of the governor's push for affordable housing in
Illinois. In September 2003, through Executive Order 18, Gov.
Blagojevich identified affordable housing as one of his top
priorities by creating the Governor's Affordable Housing Task Force
and charging it with the responsibility of developing a
comprehensive housing plan that identifies affordable housing
development, preservation and rehabilitation initiatives in all
regions of the state and explains how the initiatives will benefit
underserved populations. The task force will submit an "Annual
Comprehensive Housing Plan" to the governor and General Assembly by
the end of the year.
Municipalities that are effected by
the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act will be able to use
the I-Loan Certificate as an important resource to help the
communities promote affordable homeownership for their residents. It
can be used as a stand-alone benefit or can be combined with other
incentives and loan products.
About the
Illinois Housing Development Authority
The Illinois Housing Development
Authority is a self-supporting state agency that finances the
creation and the preservation of affordable housing across Illinois.
Since its creation by an act of the Illinois legislature in 1967,
the Illinois Housing Development Authority has allocated more than
$6 billion and financed more than 150,000 units of affordable
housing across the state. The agency accomplishes its mission
through a number of federal and state funding sources, including the
Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the state's Donations Tax
Credit Fund, the allocation of federal low-income housing tax
credits, HOME Investment Partnership funds and others. The agency is
also a bonding authority and independently sells bonds, based on its
own good credit, to finance affordable housing across the state.
[News release from the
governor's office] |
