Government Grants for Free Houses & 2023 Interest Rate Forecasts

My friends in the mortgage business are receiving lots of phone calls and emails from folks asking about the free grants from the U.S. government (and other sources) for getting a home.

There’s a website with a .gov domain that looks like it belongs to the U.S. government. On the website, many grants are offered — everything from real estate to education to business start-up money. Wow, who can’t use some free cash to make their dreams come true in 2023?

Here’s the TRUTH:

• There are no free houses from the U.S. government. The closest thing is a program through Habitat for Humanity, which does not give you a zero cost house. You must work alongside volunteers in building the home, and at the end, you get an affordable mortgage (which is not zero payment).
• The website is actually owned by one individual who lives in California but has the business registered in Delaware.
• This look-alive website makes you pay a fee to get their list of resources. The fee doesn’t seem so bad, but what you might not realize is that they continue to automatically charge you monthly.
• They won’t refund all your money unless you provide a rejection letter from a company, which is a bit of a hassle on your part.
• There are complaints with the Better Business Bureau; however, the company is not registered with the BBB.
  
  GOOD NEWS that is REAL:
  
• You don’t need 20% down to buy a home. There are 3% down, 3.5% down, and 5% down loan programs.
• If you are a U.S. Military Veteran, there is a $0 down VA loan you can obtain through your local mortgage broker.
• If you are purchasing in a non-metropolitan area, there is a USDA (United States Dept of Agriculture) loan that is 0 down. You can obtain it through your local mortgage broker.

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR MORTGAGE INTEREST RATES IN 2023?

One self-proclaimed guru has predicted a return to 5% this spring for 30-year conventional loans; but he’s only right about half the time, so we shall see. No one knows what will happen this year, just like no one knew rates would rise so extraordinarily fast mid-2022. So take the forecasts with a grain of salt. I’ll be watching for that spring prediction and comment on it then. I hope it’s true, but I’m not holding my breath.

What would you like me to write about in 2023? I am open to your suggestions. And thank you for reading and subscribing. I do my best to help people stay in the know about credit and home buying and save money.