Builders dusting off old mortgage programs

USDA loans. 'Sweat equity.' These are just two programs being re-enlisted by builders hungry for buyers. From a BigBuilderOnline.com story:

With seller-funded down payment assistance programs being eliminated and the government's $7,500 tax credit to buyers having little effect on the market, some builders are "dusting off the books," as Kim Shelpman, president of Holiday Builders put it, and returning to past loan programs such as USDA rural housing and sweat equity loans.

"[These programs] are a unique way to get someone in as a buyer," Shelpman said in an interview during this week's Big Builder '08 conference, adding that projects in areas where these loans are available are moving inventory.

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