Home Run 2 Grants ending

Utah Housing's Home Run 2 Grant is ending. All available grants have been requested. Here is their press release explaining the end of the program.

Home Run 2 End-of–Program Notice

The number of Home Run 2 Grant Request packets received at Utah Housing Corporation(UHC) now exceeds the number of remaining grants available. In order to build the previously-announced Waiting Queue, UHC will continue to accept Grant Request packets by fax or hand delivery up to noon on Monday, November 9, 2009. Any packets received after that time will not be considered.

If a packet is received prior to that deadline and contains all requested information, it willbe placed on theWaiting Queue according to the date and time received.If the packet arrives prior to the deadline, but still needs additional information, once the packet has been reviewed, Lenderwill be notified of the additional needs by phone or email in accordance with the information furnished on Home Run 2 Form 161. Lender will then have 48 hours (excluding Saturday and Sunday) to furnish the requested information to UHC.

If the requested information has been furnished within the 48 hour period, the packet will be reviewed oncemore on a first-come, first-served basis and not based on when it was originally received. If the packet is found to be eligible, it will then be placed onthe Waiting Queuebased on the date and time of its confirmed eligibility.

Because of the large volume of packets that have been received in recent days, UHC will be unable to give information about the status of individual Grant Requests until date / time sequencing is completed and all the initial packet reviews have been performed. To enable our staff to even more quickly review all received packets, please do not call or e-mail our staff regarding Home Run packet status prior to Friday, November 13, 2009.

Utah Housing Corporation's website

Home Run 2

Over Labor Day weekend, Utah governor Gary Herbert announced that the Utah Housing Corporation will be offering 2,000 new grants in the amount of $4,000.00 each. These grants follow the same guidelines as the original Home Run program that was so successful this spring. To be eligible, a homebuyer must purchase a newly built, never lived in home.

While I think this is a fantastic way to leverage the federal stimulus money that Utah has recieved, I am mildly concerned that incenting people to buy new construction will spur unneeded home building in Utah. A large part of the housing problem is being caused by an oversupply of housing inventory. The last thing our market needs is more inventory putting downward pressure on home prices. Hopefully this program will help to clean up the exsting inventory of home builders without tempting those builders to add inventory that will end up hurting all homeowners in the process.

Time will tell...