CORINTH, Maine (NEWS CENTER)-- June is national homeownership month and a federal program aimed at helping families get into homes is helping Maine families do it without having to make a down payment.
Christopher and Kaytlyn Michaud are standing in-front of their new home in Corinth. The Michaud's have been living here for about a month and a half and they are happy to be here.
"The trailer we were renting in currently just didn't have a lot of space in it and no room to grow more than Tianna who was pretty squished where she was at," Christopher Michaud said.
"We had to walk around sideways around our bed you know it was just really tiny for us and no room to grow our family,"
Kaytlyn Michaud said when was describing the trailer they used to live in.
The Michaud's were able to get there house with help from the USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing Guaranteed Program. The State Director for that program Virginia Manuel said if people like the Michaud's want to use it, they have to go to a bank to see if they can qualify for it.
"We have to determine the income is at 80 percent of the median household income for low and moderate folks looking to buy a home, low income folks. Once their income level is determined we then qualify them for credit worthiness through the bank," USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel said.
Manuel said applicants, like most people taking out loans, need to have a good credit score, steady income and an ability to repay the loan, but what makes the single family housing guaranteed program unique is that people like the Michaud's do not have to come up with a down payment.
"We were very surprised because a lot of places you have to put down a certain percentage and with the rural development there was no down payment for us. So that really made it a lot easier," Kaytlyn Michaud said.
Manuel said the Michaud's did not have to make a down payment because the USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing Guaranteed Program guarantees up to 90 percent of the loan and the bank will then give the homeowner 100 percent of the cost to purchase the home, giving the Michaud's their own home and more room to grow their family.
NEWS CENTER