Category : General

Are you planning on buying an accessible home soon? If so, you may be wondering where to start with your search and the entire buying process. Whether this is your first home or not, figuring out the steps needed to find a home that fits your lifestyle can be a challenge. Which is why we created this handy list of steps to guide you through the process.

Selling Your Current Property

If you currently own a home, chances are you need to sell it before you can purchase your new one. Before you list your current property, however, be sure to use a home value estimator, for example, to determine just how much it may be worth. While these sorts of online real estate tools are not meant to replace a professional appraisal, they can at least provide a realistic picture of how much you can expect to net from the sale of your home. Listing agents will have more insight into your home’s value, and these professionals can also provide practical tips for marketing your home to buyers. Working with a listing agent can take the stress out of selling your home, but you will need to take some steps on your own to stage and prep your home for a quick sale.

Preparing Your Budget & Finances

As you research the current value of your old home, you should also look for online tools that will help you figure out a budget for your new home.  These calculators and worksheets can really take the hassle out of calculating a budget on your own. Coming up with a comfortable budget will also require you to take a good look at your current debts and financial obligations, which can also be beneficial when it comes time to apply for a home loan. So pull free copies of your credit report from all three bureaus, and then review them to ensure that everything is correct and that there are no surprise debts or hits that could prevent you from getting the best rate on your new mortgage.

Once these initial financial steps are figured out, you can start shopping for financing and get pre-approved for a loan, which can make your offer more attractive to sellers. If you have a credit score of at least 620, you may qualify for a conventional loan. These loans offer fixed or adjustable rates, and if you put 20 percent down, you can avoid having to pay for mortgage insurance.

Finding Your New Accessible Home

Taking care of the critical financing and planning steps above can ease some stress. Still, you will also want to plan your home search carefully, especially since you will be looking for a home with accessibility features. This is especially true if you are not sure which features you need in a new home, so think about doing that homework and coming up with a list of features that matter the most to you. This can include wider entryways and halls to allow for the use of a wheelchair or even access to public transportation from your new neighborhood. Be sure to share this list of accessibility features with your buyer’s agent, so that they can narrow down the list of local properties to streamline your search and find the best home for your needs.

Making Your New Home Your Own

So while you may be able to find a home with a few of the features on your list, you should know that making accessibility modifications may be needed before your new home is absolutely perfect for you. If you’re concerned about covering the costs associated with these upgrades, you may be able to use certain programs and financial tools to help offset those expenses and avoid paying for them out of your own pocket. Once you have a plan for making any needed home upgrades, you can move on to taking other steps to make that new house really start feeling like your new home. Start by unpacking a few essentials and favorite items or decorative pieces that give you comfort, but also try to take things one room at a time, to avoid stress.

Work through this list of home buying tips and steps and you can take some of the guesswork out of finding your perfect new accessible home. Of course, it also helps to have expert local real estate pros at your side.

Everyday Hero Housing Housing Assistance Fund was created in 2011 with a mission to help our nation’s teachers, doctors, nurses, fire and police professionals, and social workers with their home purchases. Since our founding, we have helped thousands of families get into their dream home, and in the process we have given out hundreds of thousands of dollars in gift funds to help cover closing costs.

Over the last 15 years we have recruited, interviewed and trained a national network of passionate, dedicated real estate agents and mortgage lenders who appreciate the sacrifices community heroes and their families make for this great nation.

By having this network in place, we are able to specialize in the home purchase process for local everyday heroes. Our entire team is assembled with the goal of providing you with gift funds to cover your closing costs.

Is EHHAF some sort of scam?

Absolutely not. There are some misinformed, skeptical voices online who have asked if our program is a scam. We want to address their questions head on. Our program has helped thousands of families get into homes, and you can read testimonials directly from our happy clients here. 

We have developed a network of licensed, highly-experienced real estate agents and lenders who are a part of this program because they want to give back to our nation’s heroes.

How does EHHAF work?

We have assembled a network of agents and lenders who are experts in negotiating for concessions on behalf of community heroes like police, firefighters, teachers, doctors, nurses, and social workers. They are strong, experienced and passionate about fighting for every dollar you deserve during the home buying process.

This highly-experienced, and highly-specialized network allows us to connect you with a team who will do everything they can to secure closing cost assistance funds for you during your home purchase.

To get started, you must submit an application here. Then, you will have an orientation conversation with an EHHAF agent, who will explain the full and complete details of the EHHAF program. Once that conversation has been completed, they will move your application to the next step and assign your lending team to get the pre-approval process completed. Once the pre-approval letter has been issued, you will be assigned a real estate agent in the area in which you are wanting to make your home purchase. 

How do I get my money?

Your agent will negotiate the best price for your home and for concessions to be used toward your actual closing costs from the seller. The gift funds from MHAF will be given as a contribution toward the remainder of your actual closing costs. The mission is to get your actual closing costs down to a smaller, more manageable amount left for you to pay or down to $0 if possible. 

Keep in mind, our program is designed to return gift funds to you, in the form of a reimbursement check after a home purchase. Historically, when the funds have been given before the closing, if for any reason the transaction does not close, the funds have never been returned. Like any other real estate purchase, you will be responsible for down payments, pre-paids, inspection fees, and earnest money.

What money do I have to pay?

The program costs you nothing to utilize. The grant funds are free, never have to be repaid, and the services are completely free.

Once again, you will be responsible for down payments, pre-paids, inspection fees, and earnest money just as you would with any standard real estate purchase.

Our approved lenders will be very open and transparent with you about the costs associated with your home purchase, and any out-of-pocket fees you will have to cover during the home-buying process.

Can you guarantee that I will get a certain amount of money?

We are unable to give you an exact number for your free gift funds because every real estate transaction is different. However, our entire organization is designed to keep your out-of-pocket costs to a minimum and your financial benefit to a maximum during your home buying process.

We have a very high success rate of our clients not having to contribute any of their own funds toward their actual closing costs, but we cannot promise this with every purchase. In many cases, you can end up with surplus funds from EHHAF with which you can do as you please.

What if I have bad credit?

While we can work with those who have credit issues, at the end of the day, it is important that you have the necessary credit capability that will allow you to qualify for a mortgage. Feel free to contact us, and you can speak with one of our no-pressure mortgage brokers about your situation.

What if I already have an agent or a lender?

Our program works because the agents and lenders in our network have been trained to give extra assistance to our nation’s heroes. Your entire team is focused toward an end goal of lowering your out-of-pocket expenditure as we help you navigate the home buying process. 

As such, we cannot offer the same assistance and results if your real estate agent or lender are outside of our network and are not trained or approved to work with the program.

Are you a non-profit?

EHHAF is a fund of The Virtual Sports Academy, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, formed in 2006 for exclusively charitable and educational purposes. The Virtual Sports Academy battles childhood obesity and educates the general public about health, fitness, and sports training through creating and providing professional sports training information and products at no cost to people of all income levels.

Through Everyday Hero Housing Assistance Fund (EHHAF), The Virtual Sports Academy (VSA) is working to promote and assist home ownership in an effort to create strong, vibrant communities for our everyday heroes by inspiring lifestyle choices that encourage health and promote healthy neighborhoods and schools.

Thank you!

We appreciate your interest in EHHAF! You can help us reach more of our local heroes by passing on the word about our program to a friend. This program is very beneficial to community heroes and with your help, we can reach out to more of our soldiers who could take advantage of this assistance.