Public, private partnership benefits first time homebuyers

(AUSTIN) – This year low-income first time homebuyers in Texas had a powerful financial tool to help them with down payment and closing cost assistance. Announced in December 2016, a $10 million loan agreement between the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and Woodforest National Bank helped finance the purchase of 1,558 single-family homes in Texas in 2017.

“The TDHCA and Woodforest partnership is a creative example where public and private sector entities share a commitment to help more Texans achieve the dream of homeownership,” said Tim Irvine, TDHCA’s Executive Director. “Not only was the unique agreement instrumental in opening up the possibility of owning a home, it also helped Texans save more than $900,000 in mortgage interest payments this year, enabling those households to become financially stronger.”

The loan agreement funded down payment and closing cost assistance in conjunction with approximately $250 million in first lien mortgage loans. Of that amount, nearly $164 million financed first time homebuyers in Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, Travis, and El Paso counties. Nearly 61 percent of those mortgage loans were used to buy existing homes; while nearly 40 percent helped purchase newly constructed homes. Throughout the entire state, approximately 65 percent of the homes purchased were by low income households, those at or below 80 percent of the area median income.

“Although Woodforest is not a traditional mortgage lender, we wanted to find an innovative solution to help with the significant affordable housing needs in our home state of Texas. Working with TDHCA we saw an opportunity to help make home ownership more affordable through their My First Texas Home Program by providing a $10 million affordable, long-term, reusable debt capital. This allowed TDHCA to increase the amount of funds available to borrowers for zero percent down payment and closing cost assistance loans, and offer a lower rate on their first mortgage,” said Doug Schaeffer, Executive Vice President-CRA Director for Woodforest National Bank.

Schaeffer added, “Not only has this program grown homeownership in low- and moderate-income communities across Texas, but we have also supported housing counseling organizations’ capacity building, and homebuyer education through the Bank’s human capital. Woodforest is currently syndicating the next round of financing for TDHCA and we encourage interested community banks and minority depository institutions to participate in this highly impactful and ground-breaking program. Please contact our CRA team listed on this release for details.”

TDHCA’s My First Texas Home and the Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate programs help many low- to moderate-income Texans achieve their homeownership goals, while educating them about the risks and responsibilities that accompany those rewards. Find more information related to the programs at MyFirstTexasHome.com.

About Woodforest
Celebrating over 37 years of community banking service, Woodforest National Bank has successfully stood among the strongest community banks in the nation, proudly offering outstanding quality customer service since 1980. Woodforest currently operates over 700 branches in 17 states across the United States. For more information about Woodforest National Bank please visit www.woodforest.com. For information about the down payment assistance syndication program contact Daniel Galindo VP, Director, CRA Strategic Initiatives, Woodforest National Bank at 210-202-2363 or dgalindo@woodforest.com; or Doug Schaeffer, EVP-CRA Director, Woodforest National Bank at 212-203-1428 or dschaeffer@woodforest.com.