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Click here for the DCA State NSP1 Closeout Final Quarterly Performance Report #60
What is NSP?
In 2008 and 2011 Fulton County received Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs in an effort to stabilize the decline of neighborhoods due to a rise in the foreclosure rate. These rounds of funding authorized through the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 were used to purchase foreclosed or abandoned properties and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop for income eligible homebuyers in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes.
What are the General Requirements of NSP?
Eligible Homebuyer
Eligible families can earn up to 120% of the area median income (AMI), based on number of persons living in the household. In determining gross household income, all family members over the age of eighteen (18) are considered, as well as other sources of income.
Program Eligibility
What are the Characteristics of NSP Program Requirements?
The Fulton County NSP Homeownership Program provides homeownership to eligible low-moderate income residents that purchase NSP designated homes in south Fulton County, Georgia, outside the city limits of Atlanta. Through the Fulton County Homeownership Programs, Fulton County helps homebuyers who otherwise might not qualify for mortgage loans from private lending institutions at prevailing rates and terms, but who can qualify with the special programs that are offered by the County. This Chapter describes the requirements of Fulton County’s NSP Initiative for compliance purposes. The homebuyer must purchase a Fulton County NSP property held by a Fulton County NSP Developer.
Homebuyer Education
1. Eligible homebuyers must complete the NSP required eight-hour home-buying counseling from a HUD approved agency, contribute a minimum of 50% of the down payment required by the lender, and secure a thirty (30) year, fixed rate, amortizing loan from a lender.
2. Eligible homebuyers’ housing ratio, also known as front end ratio and defined as total monthly gross income divided by cost of monthly housing expenses (Principal, Interest, Taxes, HOA dues, and Insurances), cannot exceed 31%.
3. Eligible homebuyers’ debt-to-income ratio, also known as back end ratio and defined as total monthly gross income divided by total monthly recurring expenses (Mortgage payment, car payments, student loans, credit card payments, child support payments, alimony payments, and legal judgments), cannot exceed 43%.
Currently, the County does not have any inventory for sale.
Yes, detached garages may be rehabilitated as part of rehabilitation activities as long as rehabilitation is taking place to the housing unit. This cost is an eligible expense under the NSP guidelines.
No. An owner should never lease units in a property that is not under the grantee’s complete control.
Regardless of the source of funds provided by the local government, it cannot provide down-payment assistance to meet FHA’s cash investment requirement if it is also the seller of the subject property [12 U.S.C. 1709(b) (9)]. However, should a local unit of local government transfer title of the property to another entity (such as a nonprofit organization) prior to the sale, it is then permissible for that unit of local government to provide down-payment assistance in conjunction with FHA financing. Please note that second liens and other forms of the broader category of "homeownership assistance" are not down-payment assistance. Down-payment assistance by the seller is prohibited, but involves only the buyer-provided cash down-payment requirement. FHA allows the other types of assistance to be provided by the seller.
All homebuyers participating in an NSP-assisted homebuyer program must comply with the NSP homebuyer counseling requirement regardless of how NSP funds were used in the project. If NSP funds are used in any eligible use scenario, the end homebuyer must complete the required eight hour counseling course.
The NSP program does not have specific requirements to qualify for a mortgage or financial assistance. Typically, as long as a buyer can qualify for a first mortgage they are eligible to purchase an NSP property. However, some grantees who receive NSP funds may provide mortgages or other financing mechanisms using their own credit standards.
Yes, the property can be rented to an income-eligible household if allowed under the NSP1 Substantial Amendment or NSP2 Action Plan.
Yes, the updated definitions of “abandoned” and “foreclosed,” released April 2, 2010, allow the developer or homebuyer to use short-sale procedures to acquire property directly from the owner. A short sale involves a sale of real property in which a lender agrees to accept the proceeds of the sale in satisfaction of an outstanding mortgage loan when the sale amount is less than the amount the borrower owes on the loan. Note that the lender’s acceptance of the offered short sale price may not release the mortgagor from all other obligations
A list of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies is available online at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm?weblistaction=summary