The Obama administration has put out the official word: Starting soon, first-time home buyers will be able to turn their $8,000 federal tax credits into cash for use at closing if they use Federal Housing Administration mortgage financing.
But in its final guidelines to lenders and buyers issued May 29, the Department of Housing and Urban Development clarified that purchasers obtaining FHA loans through private lenders will have to invest at least some of their own funds -- whether from personal savings or gifts from relatives -- in the form of a minimum 3.5 percent down payment.
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