First-Time Buyer Programs

• Programs available in South Carolina for first-time homebuyers include down payment assistance, Section 8 voucher purchases, fixed rate mortgages, short-term loans with adjustable rate periods, 100 percent financing through the U.S. Department of Agriculture for suitable properties, 96.5 percent government-backed housing loan and seller-paid closing costs up to 6 percent. Most of these programs are available for manufactured homes that meet the eligibility criteria.
  
  

Palmetto Heroes Program

• The South Carolina state housing authority also has a special program, "Palmetto Heroes," which provides down payment assistance of $5,000 and low interest home loans over 30 years, specifically for qualified first-time buyers who are "law enforcement officers, teachers, firefighters, nurses, veterans and EMS personnel." A fund of $15 million has been set aside for this program.
  
  

Manufactured Home Financing

• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers the Title 1 program in all states, including South Carolina, for the financing of manufactured homes. The funds may be used for the purchase of the home, a permanent, developed site on which to locate the home, or the home and lot combined. The maximum loan periods and amounts available under this program are $69,678 over 20 years for the home only, $23,226 over 15 years for the lot only, or $92,904 over 25 years for both. These amounts can be increased by up to 85 percent in areas that are designated as "high cost" areas.
  
  

Buyer Eligibility

• State and federal programs define a first-time homebuyer as "someone who has not owned a home for the past three years." In South Carolina, however, the Palmetto Heroes program will accept a former homeowner as a first-time buyer in 34 targeted counties, as long as he does not hold a title to a property at the time of closing the new purchase. A buyer must show that he has a steady income and can meet the loan payments. He must live in the manufactured home and make it his main residence, and the site on which the home is to be located must meet FHA guidelines.
  
  

Property Criteria

• Manufactured homes in South Carolina must comply with the model manufactured home installation standards set by the FHA, and the site must meet local standards in terms of having an appropriate water supply and facilities for the disposal of sewage. Built-in fixtures, fittings and appliances in a manufactured home are included in the cost covered by the loan, but freestanding furniture is not covered.