Need a home? Here's how housing foundation works

The Daily Inter Lake

Glacier Affordable Housing Foundation refers clients to a lender who works with and is familiar with the foundation's program.

In Kalispell those banks are Glacier Bank, First Interstate Bank and Mountain West Bank.

The lenders determine the person's buying power, based on their income and credit worthiness.

However, in some cases people qualify for a Rural Development loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those loans have lower interest rates than most banks offer.

Those loan options make up the first mortgage, which the buyer repays on a monthly basis.

The foundation provides the second mortgage, thus covering the gap between the actual price of homes and what a client can afford to buy. Clients defer payments on their second mortgage until they refinance or sell their homes.

Glacier receives funding for those mortgages from local government entities and nonprofits that channel state Department of Commerce grants through the foundation.

The city of Kalispell is a partner with Glacier. Its role is to seek grants for the foundation, prescreen interested applicants and provide office space for the part-time contracted consultant, Lynn Moon.

The housing foundation also shares in the home's appreciation if any. That amount is based on the percentage of the home's value Glacier provided.

For instance, say someone bought a $100,000 home and Glacier provided 10 percent of the cost. If the house sold for more than $100,000 at a later point, Glacier would recapture 10 percent of the profit in addition to the principal amount it provided.

Thus the foundation makes money on sales, which it can put back into a fund to help future homeowners.

For more information on the Glacier Affordable Housing program, call 758-7744.