PHOENIX–TruWest Credit Union, along with Western Alliance Bank, have been awarded a total of $3.5 million to assist struggling first-time homebuyers with down payments and closing costs on their homes.
The program, known as WISH, for Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership, is funded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.
This year, TruWest and Western Alliance Bank received the most funding out of 39 institutions across Arizona, California and Nevada. Out of $8.9 million in grants dispersed, Western Alliance Bank received $1.8 million and TruWest received $1.7 million in WISH grants, according to BizJournals.com.
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based TruWest has received WISH funding since 2014, and reported a 50% bump in WISH funding this year, compared to 2018. Lance Levin, TruWest’s VP-mortgage lending, told BizJournal.com the credit union expects to assist between 80 and 100 qualified applicants with the latest round of funding.
Five-Year Track Record
In the past five years, TruWest reported it has assisted over 320 first-time homebuyers with down payments and closing costs on their homes.
“It’s really available to anyone,” Levin told the publication. “No one gets turned down as long as they meet the parameters of the program.”
Applicants must be credit-approved, first-time homebuyers who fall below a certain annual income. Once approved, WISH homebuyers participate in a homeownership course. The program matches $4 to every $1 spent in down payments and closing costs, up to the program's limit of $22,000.
The program includes a lien placed on the home for five years. WISH recipients are required to remain in their homes for at least five years to avoid paying back the grant, BizJournal.com reported.
Additional Funds Sought
When the funds start to run low, TruWest said it begins applying for additional grants to avoid placing people on a waiting list for too long.
“A lot of other [financial] institutions apply for the money, but they don't know how to use it, so there's always leftover money each year,” Levin told BizJournal.com.
In 2018, TruWest was initially granted $1 million, but ended up with an additional $800,000.