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Math Lesson on Home is Possible

September 07, 2016

Back-to-school season is the perfect time to admit that we HIPsters at Nevada Housing Division are geeky number crunchers at heart. After all, we’re the people behind the thousands of dollars that Nevada homebuyers can get through our Home Is Possible (HIP) family of programs.

While you may not inherently love math like we do, we’re certain you’ll come around when you start calculating how much money is available to help you buy a house. (Just wait until you start playing with the Mortgage Credit Certificate calculator!)

Drum roll please! Let’s do math.

Real Numbers. Really.

Did you know that the average amount of Home Is Possible money received per household is $8,120? That healthy figure is based on the average loan amount of $203,000. With a one-time fee of just $755, that nets the average homebuyer $7,365 in free Washingtons.

But what if you’re above average? Let’s look at some even bigger numbers—‘cause it’s fun.

Example #1 - $300,000 loan value with HIP

HIP money (5% of the loan value):                                 $15,000

HIP one-time fee:                                                            $ -   755

Amount of non-repayable money received:                    $14,425

Yes, really. But wait, there’s more. 

Let’s say you’re a first-time homebuyer or qualified veteran. Then you could qualify for Home Is Possible AND the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC), together known as Home Is Possible Plus. This program can get you thousands PLUS save you thousands in federal taxes over the course of a 30-year loan. (Hence, the Plus.) Check this out:

Example #2 - $250,000 loan value with HIP Plus

HIP money ( 5% of the loan value):                                $12,500

HIP one-time fee:                                                            $ -  755

Amount of non-repayable money received:                   $11,745

PLUS:

MCC tax credit (over 30 years, 3.75% interest rate):    $33,360        

Program & lender fees:                                                  $  - 795

Total tax savings:                                                            $32,565

Add those two bolded numbers together and what do you get? A whole lotta homeowner bliss. Or in mathematical terms, a net gain of $44,390. For qualified veterans, the MCC program fee is waived, so go ahead and add $495 to the already huge net gain.

It’s Your Turn

Want to figure out your personal downpayment money and tax savings? Let’s give it a shot. First, figure out the loan amount you plan to receive (within the purchase price limits of the HIP program). Then calculate 5% of that to see how much money could be yours. (Don’t forget to subtract the $755 fee.) Not too shabby, eh?

If you’re a newbie to the homeownership world, it’s time to break out the MCC calculator. (Scroll down once you’re on the web page.) Here, you can figure out how much you’ll save in federal taxes by the first year, fifth year, tenth year and thirtieth year. It’s fun to play with. Go ahead, we know you wanna. The numbers are mindboggling, even for math geeks like us. (The fees are listed, too, so there’s no guesswork.)

To find out more, feel free to contact us. Better yet, work with a HIP-qualified lender. Our oh-so-convenient lender finder lists every lender in Nevada who is educated in–and able to deliver—HIP magic.

Okay, class dismissed. (Feel free to stay and play around with our MCC calculator some more. We think it’s fun, too.)

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