The Florida Manufactured Housing Association

MANUFACTURED HOMES ELIGIBLE FOR SHIP AND FHOP FUNDS

Jul 10, 2009

On July 1, 2009, two new laws became effective favorable to manufactured homeowners and first-time homebuyers. First, the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program was expanded to include manufactured housing.

The manufactured home must be constructed after June 1994 and installed in accordance with Rule 15C-1 of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The law allows up to 20 percent of available SHIP funds in each county and eligible municipality to be used for manufactured housing. SHIP funds are distributed to 67 counties and 50 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement cities in Florida and are available to local governments to create partnerships that produce and preserve affordable housing. SHIP dollars may be used for a wide variety of purposes, including emergency repairs, new construction, rehabilitation, down payment assistance, acquisition of property for affordable housing, matching dollars for federal grants and homeownership counseling.

For more information about the SHIP Program go to www.floridahousing.org/Home/HousingPartners/LocalGovernments/

The Florida Homebuyer Opportunity Program (FHOP) also became effective July 1. This program provides first-time homebuyers the ability to obtain a subordinate down payment assistance loan for 10 percent of the purchase price of an owner-occupied primary residence up to $8,000. The loan can be repaid with the income tax refund the homebuyer is entitled to under the federal First Time Homebuyer Credit.

Since FHOP is a loan not a grant, a mechanism for securing a subordinate interest in the home is required. Securing a lien on a manufactured home is easy. For the necessary forms and instructions, go to: http://www.fmha.org/article/969-forms-and-instructions/

FHOP is distributed through and operated under the SHIP Program. The SHIP review committee has pre-approved a generic local housing assistance plan (LHAP) strategy that can be used by all local governments. Any revisions to this strategy that are beyond technical in nature must be submitted to the Florida Housing Finance Corporation (FHFC) for approval. Manufactured housing retailers are encouraged to contact their local SHIP administrators to determine the process and procedure for obtaining an FHOP loan. The following link will allow you to search for your local SHIP administrator: http://apps.floridahousing.org/StandAlone/FHFC_ECM/AppPage_SHIPLGContacts.aspx

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

Feb 25, 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – H.R. 1. The act revises and extends the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit that initially went into effect for qualified homes purchases on or after April 9, 2008. Provisions in the revised Tax Credit are more favorable for several reasons, but most significant is that the credit does not need to be paid back unless the home is sold within three years.

An informational brochure developed by the FMHA is now available. Click here to download a copy of the brochure. The brochure is available to members for purchase. Contact the FMHA Tallahassee office for details at (850) 907-9111.

Florida Manufactured Housing Association (FMHA)