6 Programs to Help Teachers Buy a Home in Cross Creek West
Are you part of the celebrated Lamar Consolidated Independent School District? Cross Creek West is a good choice for teachers and school staff — especially if you enjoy short commutes. The community is less than 5 miles from four LCISD schools with land set aside for two more campuses. With an easy commute and a vibrant community, Cross Creek West is the place you’ll want to call home if you’re a teacher.
Teachers and other school employees have more good news if they are looking to buy a new home in Cross Creek West — or trying to figure out if they can afford one. There are several home buying assistance programs in Texas you may be eligible for as an educator or meet certain income requirements. Let’s dive in:
Homes for Texas Heroes
Homes for Texas Heroes is a program available through the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation that helps teachers, first responders, corrections officers and veterans with home loans and down payment assistance.
To qualify as an educator, you must:
- work full-time as a teacher, teacher aide, librarian, certified school counselor or school nurse in a K-12 public school in Texas
- have a credit score of at least 620
- meet income requirements
- complete an approved home buyer education course
You can take a quiz to find out if you’re eligible for assistance and find a loan officer to help you apply for assistance. You don’t have to be a first-time home buyer to be eligible.
Those who qualify receive a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan and financial assistance totaling 3%-5% of the loan amount to use for the down payment. The funds can be accepted as a grant that doesn’t have to be repaid or as a forgivable second lien loan—which only has to be repaid if the home is sold or refinanced within three years.
First-time home buyers who receive funding from the Homes for Texas Heroes program may also apply for a Mortgage Credit Certificate—a credit that allows you to get 15% of that year’s mortgage interest back as a tax credit, reducing the amount of federal income taxes you pay every year.
Home Sweet Texas Home Loan Program
While you don’t have to be a teacher to qualify, another program from T-SHAC is the Home Sweet Texas Home Loan Program, which gives you money to help with the down payment. The program is intended to help low- and moderate-income Texans and gives up to 5% of the loan amount for down payment assistance. Eligibility requirements include:
- a credit score of at least 620
- meeting income requirements
- completing an approved home buyer education course
Take the eligibility quiz online and find an approved lender nearby to walk you through applying for assistance.
You don’t have to be a first-time home buyer to be eligible, but first-time home buyers who are eligible may also apply for a Mortgage Credit Certificate.
Teacher Next Door
The Teacher Next Door National Home Buying Program gives grants up to $8,000 to help with closing costs and home buying expenses; additional down payment assistance up to $15,000; and special offers to teachers, administrators and education support staff.
To qualify, you must be a teacher or employee of a public or private school or a college or university professor. This includes support staff, such as bus drivers, paraprofessionals, coaches, and maintenance and custodial staff.
Educators can use the funds to purchase any home on the market and also receive a free appraisal, access to home listings, discounted title fees, a credit score repair program and a refinance program.
In Texas, all pre-K through 12th grade educators and support staff can receive a home buying grant—which doesn’t have to be repaid—of at least $1,000 plus additional down payment assistance. Apply online to see what funding you qualify for and work with a Teacher Next Door agent.
Good Neighbor Next Door
The Good Neighbor Next Door program, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, offers incentives to teachers, law enforcement officers and first responders to buy a home in a revitalization area. An eligible buyer receives a 50% discount from the list price of the home, which is listed exclusive for sale through the Good Neighbor Next Door sales program for seven days. You must work with a HUD-registered agent to bid on a home and then agree to live in the home for three years.
Eligible educators include:
- full-time pre-K through 12th grade teachers at a state-accredited public or private school who serve students from the area where the home is located
You don’t have to be a first-time home buyer to qualify.
SETH 5 STAR Program
Although you don’t have to be a teacher to apply for the program, the Southeast Texas Housing Finance Corporation offers Texans up to 5% down payment assistance, which is forgiven in full if you live in that home for three years or is given as a deferred payment loan.
You don’t have to be a first-time home buyer to qualify, but you must:
- meet income limits
- have at least a 640 credit score
- complete a home buyer education course
The SETH 5 STAR Program is available statewide, but the home must not be located in Travis County or the cities of El Paso, Grand Prairie or McKinney.
Find a participating lender to apply for the 5 STAR Program.
My First Texas Home
If you’re an educator who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years or who is a veteran, you may also be eligible for down payment assistance through My First Texas Home, a program of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.
Eligibility requirements include:
- being a veteran or a first-time home buyer
- having a minimum credit score of 620
- meeting income and property value limits
- having been approved for a mortgage with a qualifying lender
The program provides a 30-year, low-interest rate mortgage with assistance of up to 5% of the loan amount to be used for the down payment. Funds can be accepted as a loan that’s forgiven after three years or as a 30-year, 0% interest second lien that’s paid when the home is sold.
Find your new home
Start your search for a new home in Cross Creek West by Johnson Development and download the Best Suburbs New Home Buyer’s Guide to help with the process.