Scary Inflation, Meet Your Match

Scary Inflation, Meet Your Match

BY KATIE COLEMAN, Nevada Rural Housing Authority

Freaked out by creeping costs? Haunted by rising rents? We hear you! Which is why Home At Last, a program by Nevada Rural Housing, has the ultimate inflation buster for you: the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) offers homebuyers tax credits that help them afford more home and balance debt-to-income ratios. How would you like to get a percentage of your mortgage interest paid back to you every year for the life of the loan? Read on!

Home At Last serves all 15 of Nevada’s rural counties plus the rural areas of Clark County, including Enterprise, Summerlin South, Whitney and Winchester. Home At Last offers affordable homeownership tools that have helped more than 10,000 Nevada families into homes of their very own. How? Enter: the MCC, the inflation buster with potential savings that could be enough to cover car payments! Now, that’s scary awesome.

The Mortgage Credit Certificate program provides qualified homebuyers with an annual federal income tax credit equal to 20% of the mortgage interest paid — every year for the life of the loan. For example, a loan amount of $375,000 with a 5.50% loan interest rate could produce tax savings the first year of $4,100*! If a homebuyer qualifies for the MCC, that tax savings can also be considered additional qualifying income, which helps lower DTI (debt-to-income ratios) and provides additional buying power.

The MCC can be used as a standalone tool or paired with Home At Last Down Payment Assistance. The MCC is for first-time homebuyers, which means you haven’t owned a home in the past three years. However, we do waive the first-time homebuyer requirement for qualified veterans who will live in the home as their primary residence. Income and purchase price limits also apply, and borrowers must also meet the other underwriting requirements of obtaining a mortgage.

If all these numbers, percentages and acronyms are causing you fright, don’t fret! Our courteous and efficient staff is on call, ready to answer your questions about the MCC tax credit, your local inflation buster. Call 833-GO-HAL-NV or visit HALMCC.org.

*A Home At Last approved lender will determine eligibility for the MCC program. Not all applicants will qualify. Example savings figures are estimates and for illustrative purposes only. Reference to rates is for illustrative purposes only. NRHA does not offer this information to solicit a mortgage application or as tax advice. All MCC holders or applicants should consult their own tax advisor or the Internal Revenue Service for guidance regarding the calculation of the tax credit benefit. Participating lenders are responsible to reserve Home At Last™ loans at the rates published with eHousingPlus and must follow all program and loan agency guidelines. Loan rates vary based on loan type and amount of assistance provided. Nevada Rural Housing Authority is an equal opportunity provider and employer.