By Carolyn Stiffler
During the 2011 Fall Business Meetings, the New York State Association of REALTORS® (NYSAR) officially launched its REALTOR® video contest. NYSAR is asking members to produce a video promoting the value of using a New York State REALTOR®. The video must be no longer than three minutes in length and should not contain any office or broker branding. The NYSAR logo and the REALTOR® ‘R’ can be included. The deadline to submit a video is December 21, 2011.
The videos will be voted on by a panel of judges. The first price winner will receive a $500 American Express gift card, second place will receive a $300 gift card and third place will receive a $200 gift card. Winners will be announced during the 2012 Mid-Winter Business Meetings in February.
State of New York Mortgage Agency updates loan programs
The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) has made some changes to its Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL). If a buyer chose this loan in the past, with two exceptions, their interest rate would be .5 percent higher than without. SONYMA has decreased this to .376 percent. The maximum down payment assistance loan has been increased by $5,000, making the DPAL the greater of $3,000 or 3 percent, not to exceed $15,000 (previously $10,000). This is especially helpful for homebuyers where the median sales price of homes tends to be higher than other areas.
On July 6, SONYMA increased its household income and purchase price limits for all programs and options. The increase varies by county. The purchase price limits for new and existing single family homes increased to $301,920 for targeted areas and $247,030 for non-targeted areas for the nine counties in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region. The household income limits also increased in our region to $84,480 (targeted)/$70,400 (non-targeted) for one and two person households and to $98,560 (targeted)/$80,960 (non-targeted) for three or more person households.
For full details on SONYMA’s programs and options, visit www.nyhomes.org.