First-Time Home Buyer Programs

Low to moderate-income families looking to purchase their first home within Chenango or Broome County who need assistance in learning the real estate process and available financing opportunities.

Our First Time Home Buyer Programs focus on teaching our clients everything they need to know to become successful homeowners. Greater Opportunities will provide one-on-one counseling, group education, and/or on-line education for eligible participants. Greater Opportunities utilizes "Realizing the American Dream", from Neighbor Works America, as the pre-purchase group curriculum and E-Home America for on-line education. Once a participant has completed, group or on-line education, they will continue one-on-one counseling to purchase a home, continue to work on becoming mortgage ready, or decide not to purchase a home of their own. By our HUD certified housing counselor working with participants, it ensures that participants have a consistent resource for navigating a complex system which provides for a better outcome of "participation leading to home ownership." Greater Opportunities provides a home inspection when the customer is purchasing a home utilizing grant funding, which assists in the reduction of risks to the health, welfare, and safety of the beneficiaries. Greater Opportunities Rehabilitation Specialist looks at health and safety issues during the initial inspection of the home by the potential homebuyer, but this does not replace a formal home inspection by a professional provider.

• Budgeting
• Credit
• Affordability
• How to work with a real estate agent
• Finding the right lender and the lending process
• Help in choosing the right house
• What to expect at closing
• Assistance with funding/grants: Depending on the current availability on grant funding, there may be a variety of grants available to assist you with the down payment, closing costs, and/or rehabilitation associated with health and safety concerns on the purchase of your first home. Eligibility varies based on the grant for which you are submitting an application.
• You will be eligible to work individually with a Housing Counselor to develop a homeownership plan
• We will help you review your finances, determine price range, create a savings program and focus on any credit issues
• We will teach you the best practices to maintain credit worthiness, so that you can qualify for a mortgage
• Our counselors work with you for as long as you need until you achieve your goal of homeownership

Create your Ops- First-Time Home Buyer

For information and/or an application, please contact Greater Opportunities at 607-334-7114.