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Q. What home buying program is best for me? I’m 56, disabled and living on a fixed income?
A. Unfortunately, there is no specific program for disabled people living on fixed incomes. But there are many programs that build or renovate homes specifically for low-income buyers, or provide low-cost financing or down-payment assistance for first-time buyers.
A good place to start is a HUD-approved Housing Counselor. He can direct you to help that fits your specific needs and income. You can a counselor near you by calling (800) 569-4287, or by going online.
State and local governments, as well as church and charitable organizations, also have programs that help consumers find and buy affordable homes. Organizations dedicated to helping people with a specific disability often have housing programs, as well.
You can find those programs by calling local churches, charities and government agencies. Write, e-mail or call your senator, congress member and state legislators. Surf the Internet searching for matches for your disability and mortgages and buyer assistance programs, and so on.
There is no one place to go for this type of assistance. But there are a lot of different programs and types and levels of assistance. There are also a lot of caring people willing to help.
Q. We pay $775 every month on our mortgage, with extra payments here and there as we can afford. With a recent raise at my husband’s job and adjustments in our budget, we will have an extra $775 a month starting in 2007 to put towards either our existing mortgage, or to put in the bank for a future down payment for a $150,000 home we hope to buy in 2010. What should we do?
A. You are in a very admirable position. You and your husband are clearly making some excellent financial decisions. While there is no "wrong" choice between saving extra cash or paying down your mortgage, we almost always tell homeowner to save the money.
That's especially true in your case since you intend to move in three years and have no intention of paying off your home and living mortgage-free.
Paying extra on your mortgage might save a few dollars in the long run, but it won't reduce your monthly payments and won't be available if you're suddenly faced with a serious illness or layoff. Investing the money, in CDs for example, means it's always available to help you deal with the unexpected. When you buy your next home you can assess what's happening in your life and decide to use as much of the cash as you'd like to bolster your down payment and reduce your monthly payments.
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