Get Lowdown on Low-Down Home Buying

L ow-down, no-down are the four hottest words in real estate today, especially among cash-strapped first-time home buyers.

But finding the right home loan program for you can be a challenge. Some have geographic or income restrictions, others are just plain hard to find.

However, help is on the way. If you’re interested in no-down or low-down mortgages, make plans to attend the first Times’ Low-Down Home Loan Expo.

The expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Burbank Hilton Convention Center, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank.

The expo is an all-day consumer education event where prospective home buyers can get the latest information on low-down and no-down mortgage programs, as well as government foreclosures and affordable home listings.

Three one-hour panel discussions will be presented in the morning, and then repeated in the afternoon. Experts will explain the programs in detail and answer your questions.

Dozens of private lenders also will be on hand to pre-qualify home buyers and explain down-payment programs as low as 3%.

Representatives from federal and state government agencies such as FHA, the California Housing Finance Agency (CHFA) and Cal-VET will explain their no- and low-down programs.

Representatives from the City of Los Angeles Housing Department will lead a workshop on three municipal loan programs that help first-time buyers with low-down loans and lower monthly payments.

Sessions will be offered on how home buyers can find federal government repossessed properties and private foreclosures.

Officials from both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest government-chartered buyers of mortgages on the secondary market, will explain a variety of new programs that help buyers get into the market with little down.

And the Internal Revenue Service officials will be on hand to explain the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program, which helps buyers receive a direct income tax credit in selective communities.

For more information on the expo, call TimesLink at 808-8463 and press start 9420 at the prompt.