As home costs rise, Pennsylvanians can now use a new loan for down payments and closing costs

Pennsylvanians who are buying their first homes now have a new way to get help with down payments and closing costs.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has launched a loan called Keystone — Due at Time of Expiration, or K-DATE, that gives assistance to homebuyers for these up-front costs. The loan comes with 0% interest and no monthly payments.

Homebuyers pay back the funds when they sell, refinance, or pay off their mortgage. The loan can be deferred for up to 30 years.

The up-front costs of purchasing a home are common barriers for renter households that can afford monthly housing payments. The K-DATE loan is the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s latest program to help Pennsylvanians become homeowners as housing costs continue to rise.

Agency officials said people who were buying lower-priced homes using existing agency loan programs weren’t receiving enough help to cover the costs that come with purchasing. So these borrowers are the primary focus of the new loan program.

“We are providing more assistance for those borrowers with lower loan amounts and lower incomes,” said Coleen Baumert, director of homeownership programs at the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

For down payment and closing costs, eligible homebuyers seeking mortgages of $150,000 or less can receive 8% of either the purchase price or appraised value of the home, whichever is less. The agency also will provide a subsidy to lower mortgage interest rates for these households.

Eligible homebuyers seeking mortgages of more than $150,000 can receive 5% of either the purchase price or appraised value of the home, whichever is less.

Borrowers must have a minimum credit score of 660 and complete free homebuyer counseling.

“PHFA’s mission is to expand affordable housing opportunities throughout Pennsylvania,” the agency said in a statement. “The K-DATE purchase assistance loan helps fulfill that mission by assisting low- and moderate-income renters who want to become homeowners.”

The K-DATE loan must be paired with another of the agency’s purchase loan programs. Most of the agency’s borrowers use its flagship Keystone Home Loan Program, which can be used by households that meet certain income and home purchase price limits.

In Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties, borrowers can buy homes that cost up to $571,200 and make up to $119,400 as a household of one to two. In Philadelphia, borrowers can buy homes costing up to $709,300 and make up to $143,200 as a household of one to two.

For more information about the K-DATE and other Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency loans, homebuyers can go to https://www.phfa.org/programs/assistance.aspx or call the agency at 855-827-3466.