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Home Sweet Mortgageby Scott MillerBLOOMINGTON -- Misty Kneller is looking to buy her first home. She needs at least two bedrooms, an office and a mortgage affordable for a single mom. Plus, she must satisfy her 10-year-old son Dylan, who wants a nice yard and neighborhood friends. Fortunately, "it's a great time to be a first-time buyer," said Scott Dillon, assistant vice president of real estate lending for National City Mortgage in Bloomington. "I don't think there's ever been more out there for first-time buyers," he said, referring to federal and state grants, tax breaks and low-interest mortgages helping people secure their first homes. More first-time buyers are out there as well. "Bloomington-Normal is a very transient town because major employers do a lot of relocation. First- time home buyers make a large section of the Bloomington market," said John Armstrong, president-elect of the Bloomington-Normal Association of Realtors and a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker. With all those mortgage plans available, financial experts remind potential buyers to remain wary, particularly of interest-only mortgages and plans that allow little to no money down. "Nothing's free anymore," said Jeff Telling, a certified credit counselor with Family Credit Counseling Service in Normal. "Most of the cost (saving) is because you're only paying interest, not principal. It could backfire because you're not paying interest. You're not going anywhere. Read the details." First of all, he said, people should know their credit score when they walk into a lender's office. Get three reports through major bureaus Equifax, Experian and Transunion, he said, because different agencies calculate credit scores differently and a one-point difference could cost or save thousands in interest annually. "You're going to need to negotiate with your lender," he said. While the Twin Cities are packed with first-time buyers like Kneller, most probably don't have the same bargaining chip. Kneller moved back to Bloomington in December 2003 from Oceanside, Calif. She graduated from Olympia High School but no longer has family in the area. Luckily, Armstrong is her real estate agent and his wife, Kelly, is her good friend. "So I trust him. They've been a lot of help, so I'm not blindly going out there," Kneller said as she toured a house in Normal's Greenbriar subdivision. Others, however, may not share the same relationship with their real estate agent. They should be sure to ask what assistance programs are available to them. They may be surprised to find they qualify. "People think it only deals with poverty-level people," Armstrong said. "It doesn't." In fact, income limits for state assistance are about $71,000 to $81,000 for homes with one or more family members, according to information provided by Dillon. For Normal assistance, the limit is a $34,160 annual salary for an individual and $48,755 for a family of four, said Steve Westerdahl, the town's director of community development. In Bloomington, the cutoff is $39,050 for an individual and $55,750 for a family of four, said Connie Griffin, city director of community development. Mortgage assistance Federal and state grants are helping people buy a home by assisting with mortgage payments. First-time buyers should ask their lenders about eligibility. Here's a sample of what is available to those qualify:
Article Reprinted Courtesy of The Pantagraph 
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