Welcome to the
Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County

Your Key to Homeownership

Our Mission
The Housing Finance Authority's mission is to assure that financing for affordable housing remains available to the residents of Pinellas County.

NEWS & INITIATIVES ________________________________

New Low Interest Rate for First-Time Home Buyers
The Housing Finance Authority announces a new interest rate of 5.175% for its First-Time Home Buyer Program. The First-Time Homebuyer Program is for individuals who have never owned a home, have not owned a home in the last three years, or Veterans.

Up to $6,500 down payment and closing cost assistance is also available at 0% interest with all payments deferred until you sell, transfer, or refinance the property.

Additional savings are available with the extended Federal First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000. You must enter into a binding contract before April 30, 2010 and close on the home by June 30th.

To get your Key to Homeownership, call (727) 464-8210. more .
For more information about the Homeownership Tax Credit, visit www.irs.gov .

Local Businesses Needed to Stem Foreclosure Crisis
Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2
The Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County is seeking professionals to assist in the Purchase, Rehabilitation and Resale Program in conjunction with the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2). The following residential services will be selected: Appraisal, Title services, Insurance, Asbestos and Lead-based Paint Inspection, Demolition, Remodeling, New Construction, Lawn care and Landscaping Companies. The NSP2 Program was authorized by Title XII of Division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This program attempts to stabilize neighborhood housing values in the hardest hit areas of Pinellas by acquiring and renovating foreclosed and abandoned homes and returning them to the resale market. For more information on how your business can be a part of these efforts visit: www.pinellascounty.org/community/nsp-hire.htm

View Housing Finance Authority Public Service Announcement

See how one Pinellas County resident made her dream of homeownership come true.

Radio show features preparing for tax season
Are you ready for tax season? Do you know about the Earned Income Tax Credit? Learn the answers to these questions and more as we discuss preparing for tax season Thursday, March 11th from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on There’s No Place Like Home, the radio show sponsored by the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County. The show can also be watched on Pinellas County Connection Television, viewed on-line at www.pinellascounty.org/community/hfa/Media.htm.

This month’s guest is Cherin Stover, Director - Pinellas County’s Wealth Building Coalition Prosperity Campaign. The program, which features different issues each month, is sponsored by the Housing Finance Authority of Pinellas County. It airs the first Thursday of each month from 10 to 10:30 a.m. on WRXB 1590 AM.

Questions or comments about the show may be e-mailed to HousingFinanceAuthority@pinellascounty.org.

CRED Presentation

Dreaming of owning your own Home?
Get HIP! Become a member of the Homebuyer Information Program (HIP). Sign up today and be the first to receive the latest news and information on: available quality-built affordable single-family homes, townhomes, and condos; mortgage products; down payment and closing assistance programs; homebuyer counseling services, home repair and remodeling programs and much, much more! For more information contact the Pinellas County Community Department at (727) 464-8210 or click here to sign-up now. Your dream of homeownership can become a reality!

Help for new homebuyers: The Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit has been extended
Bolstered by the 2009 Homebuyer Tax Credit, which offers up to an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners, eligible buyers have a newly increased opportunity to achieve homeownership. “Assistance with purchase costs can make all the difference for many attempting to purchase their first home,” said board chairman Rodney S. Fischer of the Pinellas County Housing Finance Authority. For more information on the Homebuyer Tax Credit, view article.

Pinellas County Establishes Foreclosure Prevention Website
Following the Oct. 18, 2008 Foreclosure Prevention Workshop in St. Petersburg, Pinellas County launched a new foreclosure prevention website. The workshop was held at the Coliseum and co-sponsored by Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Largo. The foreclosure prevention website features the participating speakers and offers contact information for non-profit participants as well as local agencies that provide counseling in the area of credit and foreclosure. For the website, and more information on foreclosure prevention, go to www.pinellascounty.org/foreclosure.

Not a First Time Homebuyer?

Through our Target Area Loans, HFA offers higher income limits and purchase price limits for homebuyers who purchase a home in one of the HFA target areas.

Homeowners may be able to prevent foreclosure of their homes through our ongoing Foreclosure Prevention program that helps persons nearing the financial edge to regain their footing.

HFA Assists the Rental Housing Community Home ownership is not for everyone. Whether by circumstance or by choice, many residents continue to need rental housing.

HFA Products Can Help Developers Meet Local Needs

This Authority remains passionately dedicated to providing financing that meets the affordable housing needs of this community. Operation Kickstart, offers interest free builder loans to spur construction in targeted areas; developer loans can help fill financing gaps for multifamily projects, and other loans which can be as specialized as a bridge loan to complete a shelter for the homeless. Call (727) 464-8210 for more information.