Notes from Charlotte County

Charlotte County Housing Corporation’s

Down Payment Assistance

Shelley Faria, mortgage loan officer with Bank of America, participates in the Charlotte County Down Payment Assistance program.

The Charlotte County Housing Corporation’s Cornerstone Program provides funds to assist potential homebuyers in acquiring a portion of the necessary funds needed to make a down payment on the purchase or construction of a home.

The minimum borrower’s contribution should be a minimum of $500 and the maximum grant amount for the down payment can be up to $30,000.

To qualify for assistance the annual gross household income cannot exceed the program’s maximum income limit which is based on family size.

The down payment assistance comes in the form of a loan:

• A 30 year loan with 0% interest
• No payments are required during the 30 years
• The property must be located within Charlotte County
• The maximum value of the property cannot exceed $204,432
• The home must be owner occupied
• The loan is payable in full at the end of the 30 years

Applicants must complete a homebuyer’s education program. Bank of America will pay for the homebuyer’s education class and pull your credit free of charge before hand.

The housing corporation offers free credit counseling if needed. For more information contact;

Shelley Faria, Mortgage Loan Officer

Bank of America

126 E Olympia Ave

Punta Gorda, FL 33950

941-575-0333

Federal Trade Commission Tips to Minimize Identity Theft:

• Limit the number of credit cards you carry and actively use one or two.

• Avoid sharing your SSN unless it is required to conduct a legitimate transaction.

• Install a firewall on your home computer to prevent hackers from obtaining personal and financial data from your hard drive.

• Conduct business only on Web sites that use secure sockets layer (SSL) to transfer information. Secure sites have the prefix “https” and will encrypt all information between your computer and the site.

• Remove your name from the marketing lists of the credit reporting bureaus at 1-888-5OPTOUT or www.optoutprescreen.com.

• Mail your bills from inside the post office rather than from your home mail box.

• Use a “confetti” shredder for financial statements, credit card solicitations, and expired cards.

• Order your free credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com or1-877-322-8228. Stagger your requests from the three credit bureaus and obtain one report every four months to monitor your information on anongoing basis.

Property-tax amendment

could spell relief Property

Through action taken recently by the Florida Legislature property tax relief help is on the way. An important step was accomplished after the June special legislative session when Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation to roll back and cap local property tax rates. This action should be considered only the beginning of meaningful property tax reform in our state. The Legislature also voted to put a constitutional amendment for historic property tax relief and reform on the Jan. 29, 2008, statewide ballot.

A vote in favor of this amendment will give property owners the choice of either maintaining their current “Save Our Homes” annual assessment cap, or changing to a new “super homestead exemption.” The “super” exemption, combined with the recent statutory changes that "cut and cap" local property tax rates, will provide significant relief for the majority of homeowners. First-time home buyers, buyers of lower-priced properties and those who bought their homestead within the past five years will benefit the most. During a time when housing affordability has become a major issue, this amendment will also help teachers, firefighters, police officers and other vital service providers realize the American dream of home ownership.

In fact, it has been noted that, the new “super homestead exemption” would cut property taxes significantly for the owner of a new median-priced home in the Charlotte County area - if the amendment passes.

Voter approval will be advantageous for other groups as well. Current homeowners, especially those benefiting under the “Save our Homes” cap, will no longer be punished financially for changing homes, whether they upsize or downsize. Therefore, regardless of their current situation, a vote in favor of the amendment would benefit all homeowners substantially in the future, and, by offering a choice, hold harmless others who have no plans to ever move their homesteads.

As citizens, we have before us a historic opportunity to address the property tax crisis that is overwhelming our state. We are now at an important crossroads that concerns the very future of our state, and Gov. Crist's leadership and support will be instrumental. We hope the “People's Governor” will continue to work aggressively to ensure passage of this historic Property Tax Relief and Reform Constitutional Amendment that will greatly benefit so many of our citizens.

Joined by Realtors around the state, we will continue to work tirelessly over the next seven months to make sure the amendment passes, and that citizens get the property tax relief they are demanding - and so rightfully deserve.