Wells Fargo will offer a closing cost credit of up to $5,000 for low- and moderate-income homebuyers in Hudson, Passaic and Bergen counties, the bank announced this week.
The program — named “Dream. Plan. Home.” — will give homebuyers a credit that can be applied toward nonrecurring closing costs and be used for items such as appraisal fees, processing fees, title-related fees, recording fees and city/county/state tax stamps.
The bank said these are fees that can be a key barrier to homeownership, but often are overlooked by potential buyers.
Borrowers with combined income of up to 80% of their county’s Median Family Income, as published by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, may be eligible to obtain a Dream. Plan. Home. closing cost credit if they are purchasing a home that will be their primary residence.
To qualify for the credit, homebuyers also must be getting a conventional/conforming mortgage, Veterans Affairs fixed- or adjustable-rate mortgage, or a Department of Agriculture fixed-rate mortgage from Wells Fargo Home Lending.
Kristy Fercho, head of Wells Fargo Home Lending, said the plan is all about increasing homeownership, noting the benefits the bank feels that provides to communities.
“Homeownership can help bring about financial security, stable communities, and — most of all — a safe, comfortable place to live, learn and grow,” she said. “Families are eager to become homeowners for the first time or to purchase a home that better fits their needs, and the Dream. Plan. Home. closing cost credit adds another key component to Wells Fargo’s efforts to help drive economic growth, sustainable homeownership and neighborhood stability in low- to moderate-income communities.”
The bank said the new closing cost credit is one of many steps it is taking to grow sustainable homeownership. The company also is participating in Project REACh, which stands for Roundtable for Economic Access and Change, a group convened by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Project REACh seeks to identify and reduce barriers that prevent full, equal and fair participation in the nation’s economy, and Wells Fargo is leading the affordable housing working group that includes other financial institutions, civil rights groups and businesses to help address the policy and structural issues that stand in the way of homeownership at the national and local levels.
Wells Fargo’s longstanding commitment to the people and communities the company serves also is evidenced by a number of ongoing initiatives, including:
- The Wells Fargo Foundation’s plans to invest more than $1 billion in support of housing affordability solutions across the U.S. by 2025;
- Considerable progress on its diverse lending commitments that have helped 163,500 Hispanic families and 60,500 African American families become homeowners through roughly $56 billion in mortgage originations since the launches of the commitments in 2015 and 2017;
- Investments of more than $520 million in down payment assistance and grants for homeownership counseling through NeighborhoodLIFT and other LIFT programs that have helped more than 24,500 low- and moderate-income families and individuals achieve homeownership in over 1,000 communities across the country since 2012.
