The Ohio Housing Finance Agency and my first house hack

[Ben Clinger]

Hi,

I just wanted to make everyone aware of what I believe to be an underutilized housing program available to first time homebuyers, veterans, and college grads in ohio.

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) offers discounted FHA loans (right now it FHA is 3.625% vs 3% for an OHFA 30 yr loan), They also have 40%(!) mortgage tax credit option for a modest $250 fee. And they have 2.5% and 5% down payment assistance if this is your first home or you received an associate's degree or higher in the past three years!

But the real kicker is that while the were until recently only covering SFRs, they have now expanded to up to 4 unit properties, which I believe opens up the prefect opportunity to house hack!

I recently bought a duplex in Toledo's Old West End for about 100k, and had to push my lender to ensure I went through this program. As a result, I received a grant for 2.5k to go towards my down payment and will receive about 2k back from my taxes each year (the other 60% of interest payments can be claimed as a tax deduction as normal).

There is still the pain of going through FHA for the loan approval and the PMI that goes with it until you refinance, but I think it is worth for the options received if, like me, you have limited starting capital for your first investment.