7 Differences between Good Neighbor Next Door and Teacher Next Door Part of the Good Neighbor Next Door series
Over the past twelve months, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in home prices. Wonderful news if you already own a home. If you’re home shopping, on the other hand, the search could prove a bit more challenging.
While HUD’s Good Neighbor Next Door program offers an amazing opportunity to a fortunate few, we’ve found the Teacher Next Door Program to be more inclusive, less restrictive and provide substantial benefits to thousands of program participants each year.
Here are seven key differences between Good Neighbor Next Door and the Teacher Next Door Program.
1. Half Price Homes (50% off value) – Only Good Neighbor Next Door homes are 50% off.
Although you may purchase any home on the market through Teacher Next Door, including a Good Neighbor home, the 50% discount only applies to the homes selected by HUD for the Good Neighbor Program.
HUD’s Good Neighbor Next Door program offers homes at 50% of the current appraised value. If there is a Good Neighbor Next Door home available in your work area, and you meet the other eligibility requirements, you may be able to purchase the home for only $100.00 down, using an FHA loan. Then, you may also use the Teacher Next Door Grant to help pay all or part of your closing cost. 2. Location – Only Good Neighbor Next Door homes are in specific areas. Through Teacher Next Door, you may purchase any home you wish, in the area of your choosing.
Good Neighbor homes are located in revitalization areas, as determined by HUD. When HUD owns a home in these areas, typically through foreclosure, they may choose to make it available for the Good Neighbor Program.
Teacher Next Door is the largest national home buying program in the United States and not operated by HUD. As such, you may purchase any home on the market and are not required to work in the same area as the home.
3. Eligibility – Good Neighbor Next Door is limited to four very specific job titles; Teacher Next Door does not have that restriction. Thus, is much more inclusive.
The Good Neighbor Next Door program requires that all buyers have one of four very specific job titles: Law Enforcement Officer (with arrest powers), Classroom Teacher (Pre-K through 12th grade), Firefighter or Emergency Medical Technician. (EMT) The Teacher Next Door Program offers grants, down payment assistance and other benefits, and is available to all teachers, nurses, law enforcement, firefighters, EMT’s, government employees and military personnel. In addition, these same benefits are extended to all public servants that serve in any of these categories, regardless of their job title or function. For example, a school secretary, nursing assistant, or 911 dispatcher.
4. Availability – Good Neighbor Next Door homes are extremely limited in their availability, as you might imagine, being half price. In some states, there are urban areas with several Good Neighbor homes available. Whereas many other states may have zero Good Neighbor homes at any given time. When you bid on a Good Neighbor home, it is a lottery style bid. So, if there are 50 bidders, you will have a 1 in 50 chance of having the winning bid. With Teacher Next Door, there are usually plenty of homes available, because you may choose any home, in any neighborhood.
5. Housing Grants - Teacher Next Door offers participants the opportunity to receive GRANTS and other home buying benefits. Good Neighbor Next Door is not a grant program and HUD does not offer grants for single family home buyers. 6. Down Payment Assistance – Teacher Next Door offers down payment assistance. Good Neighbor Next Door does not.
Teacher Next Door has down payment assistance programs available in all 50 states. These programs may include, Home in Five Advantage, CalPlus, Colorado FirstStep, Texas 5-Star Advantage, Military Heroes, First Home, Chenoa and Unison, just to name a few. When you apply, a Next Door Certified Program Specialist will help you determine which loan and assistance programs will help you receive the maximum benefits. Programs are each structured differently, and eligibility varies by city and state.
7. Additional Restrictions - Good Neighbor Next Door adds the following restrictions, Teacher Next Door does not.
Residency Commitment - If you are the winning bidder on a Good Neighbor home, HUD requires a three-year residency commitment, and the home must be located in the same area where you work. Teacher Next Door does not have any limitations when it comes to residency. First Time Home Buyer Status - Good Neighbor Next Door requires you to be a first-time home buyer, Teacher Next Door does not. First time home buyer typically means having not owned a home in the past three years. While Teacher Next Door does not have this requirement, some of the down payment assistance programs may have this limitation.
Please keep in mind that bidding on Good Neighbor homes is only open for 7 days, and all bids must contain a pre-approval.
To learn more and check current availability of Good Neighbor Next Door homes, you may click the Good Neighbor Next Door link below.
Good Neighbor Next Door
Next Door Program Reviews
Next Door Programs:
Teacher Next Door
Nurse Next Door
Officer Next Door
Firefighter Next Door
Public Servant Next Door
Soldier Next Door
Help is here for Police, Law Enforcement Officers and support staff!In the past 12 months, Officer Next Door has helped over 20,000 law enforcement professionals and other public service employees, navigate the home buying process. If you work in law enforcement, you are eligible for the Officer Next Door National Home Buying Program™. There is no fee for using the program and the benefits are substantial.
Home Loans: For the mortgage loan, an Officer Next Door Certified Program Specialist will discuss your individual situation and help you determine which home loan program will benefit you the most. All loan types are available in connection with the Officer Next Door Program, including conventional, FHA, VA and USDA. In addition, you may qualify for special programs such as Fannie Mae’s HomeReady or Freddie Mac’s HomePossible or HomeOne programs.
Grants: Housing GRANTS up to $6,000.00 are currently available to law enforcement and support staff. Depending on the area, these grants may include government grants and/or the Officer Next Door Grant. Some of the state specific programs may include Arizona Home in Five, Georgia Dream, Florida First and others.
Down Payment Assistance: Officer Next Door works with over thirty different down payment assistance programs, including national programs such as Chenoa and Unison. Currently, down payment assistance amounts may be up to $10,681.00, depending on your location and individual circumstance.
First Time Home Buyers: The Officer Next Door Program is not limited to first time home buyers. However, law enforcement officers and support staff who are first time home buyers may also benefit from Officer Next Door’s First Time Home Buyers Program.
Other Benefits: Law enforcement and support staff may purchase any home on the market through Officer Next Door and there are no 3-year residency requirements. There are no application or up-front fees and the Simple Docs Program™, available in most states, may reduce or eliminate the need for you to gather many of the verification documents typically associated with a mortgage loan.
For more information on the Officer Next Door Program you may visit www.OfficerNextDoor.us or www.teachernextdoor.us/Officer-Next-Door.
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Congratulations to Angela of Severn, Maryland!To Teacher Next Door: (James Ward, Loan Officer and Steven Bilinky)“This letter is one of gratitude and appreciation for James Ward, Sr. Loan Officer. James was tremendous in the service he provided when I applied for a loan for a house under the “Teacher Next Door Program”. He walked me through the process and immediately responded to all questions and concerns that came up. James made sure the entire process flowed accurately and smoothly.
“Thank You” James, I really appreciate your efforts in assisting me with all details from putting me in touch with a knowledgeable Teacher Next Door Realtor (Steve Belinky) to the settlement on a property that I’m very satisfied with.
Angela--Severn, Maryland
ByKimberly Dawn NeumannFrom Realtor.comIs it really 2016 already? For those of you who happen to be planning on buying a home in the new year—or even just trying to—there’s a whole lot to celebrate. Why? A variety of financial vectors have dovetailed to make this the perfect storm for home buyers to get out there and make an (winning) offer. Here are six home-buying reasons to be thankful while ringing in the new year:
Reason No. 1: Interest rates are still at record lows
Even though they may creep up at any moment, it’s nonetheless a fact that interest rates on home loans are at historic lows, with a 30-year fixed-rate home loan still hovering around 4%.
“Remember 18.5% in the ’80s?” asks Tom Postilio, a real estate broker with Douglas Elliman Real Estate and a star of HGTV’s “Selling New York.”“It is likely that we’ll never see interest rates this low again. So while prices are high in some markets, the savings in interest payments could easily amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of the mortgage.”
Reason No. 2: Rents have skyrocketed
Another reason home buyers are lucky is that rents are going up, up, up! (This, on the other hand, is a reason not to be thankful if you’re a renter.) In fact, rents outpaced home values in 20 of the 35 biggest housing markets in 2015. What’s more, according to the 2015 Rent.com Rental Market Report, 88% of property managers raised their rent in the past 12 months, and an 8% hike is predicted for 2016.
“In most metropolitan cities, monthly rent is comparable to that of a monthly mortgage payment, sometimes more,” says Heather Garriock, mortgage agent for The Mortgage Group. “Doesn’t it make more sense to put those monthly chunks of money into your own appreciating asset rather than handing it over to your landlord and saying goodbye to it forever?”
Reason No. 3: Home prices are stabilizing
For the first time in years, prices that have been climbing steadily upward are stabilizing, restoring a level playing field that helps buyers drive a harder bargain with sellers, even in heated markets.
“Local markets vary, but generally we are experiencing a cooling period,” says Postilio. “At this moment, buyers have the opportunity to capitalize on this.”
Reason No. 4: Down payments don’t need to break the bank
Probably the biggest obstacle that prevents renters from becoming homeowners is pulling together a down payment. But today, that chunk of change can be smaller, thanks to a variety of programs to help home buyers. For instance, the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Home Possible Advantage Program allows for a 3% down payment for credit scores as low as 620.
Reason No. 5: Mortgage insurance is a deal, too
If you do decide to put less than 20% down on a home, you are then required to have mortgage insurance (basically in case you default). A workaround to handle this, however, is to take out a loan from the Federal Housing Administration—a government mortgage insurer that backs loans with down payments as low as 3.5% and credit scores as low as 580. The fees are way down from 1.35% to 0.85% of the mortgage balance, meaning your monthly mortgage total will be significantly lower if you fund it this way. In fact, the FHA predicts this 37% annual premium cut will bring 250,000 first-time buyers into the market. Why not be one of them?
Reason No. 6: You’ll reap major tax breaks
Tax laws continue to favor homeowners, so you’re not just buying a place to live—you’re getting a tax break! The biggest one is that unless your home loan is more than $1 million, you can deduct all the monthly interest you are paying on that loan. Homeowners may also deduct certain home-related expenses and home property taxes._____________Teacher Next Door has grants and programs available for: