Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 | 9:42 a.m.
Teachers and nurses looking to buy homes in North Las Vegas will be eligible for extra financial assistance under revised rules the city is preparing to implement.
North Las Vegas plans to resume its Homebuyer Assistance Program, which hasn't made any loans since 2004 because it ran out of funds. The city has a new allotment of federal funding for the program and will be significantly increasing the amount of deferred loan money that people can receive for down payments and closing costs. The money is available to first-time home buyers and people who haven't owned a home in at least three years.
The revised rules under consideration today by the City Council would increase the maximum loan amount to $20,000 for the purchase of homes east of Interstate 15. The current maximum is $10,000. For the purchase of homes west of Interstate 15, eligible borrowers would be eligible for up to $15,000 each instead of a $8,000.
Teachers, nurses, professors and other public service vocations, however, would be eligible to receive a maximum of $20,000 in assistance to live anywhere in the city. The new rules would also allow applicants to get an extra $2,500 each from the city if their employers match the amount.
Clark County has a shortage of nurses and teachers. Nevada ranks last in the nation in the ratio of nurses-to-population. The Clark County School District is short more as 400 full-time teachers for the 2005-2006 academic year.
North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon said the increase in the amount of loans offered was necessary to help people cope with the rising cost of homes. The city's loans will provide leverage for obtaining mortgages, he said.
As for helping nurses and teachers buy homes, Montandon said that's important for the region.
"This valley needs those people in those industries and we want them to call this place home," Montandon said.
Starting teachers in the Clark County School District earn $28,491 a year, and the district is offering a $2,000 signing bonus for new teachers to Nevada.
Under the city's program, applicants can't have total household assets that exceed $30,000. That includes property, checking and savings accounts, stocks and bonds. Household income for a single person can't exceed $33,100 and it goes up to a limit of $42,550 for a family of three.
Homes eligible for the program have to be priced at less than $269,000, said Kenny Young, the deputy director of planning and development.
Clark County School District spokeswoman Pat Nelson said the district appreciates the special consideration North Las Vegas is giving for teachers.
"What they are doing is wonderful," Nelson said. "It helps anytime you have a program that allows teachers to buy homes at a lower cost."
Dawn Norris, manager of the Nevada Nurses Association, called the city's program awesome and hopes it will entice more nurses to come to the state.
"We are in desperate need of nurses throughout the state and in conjunction with hospitals, maybe this will entice even more," Norris said.
North Las Vegas will be using $500,000 in federal funds for the program that is expected to help between 22 and 33 households, Young said. Since 1999, the program has helped 76 families put more than $390,000 toward down payments to purchase homes worth more than $8.3 million.
The program, which was started in July 1999, is expected to resume by late fall. The money will be distributed on a first-come basis.
In the past, the city has forgiven the loans if homes were owned five years or longer. Under the proposed rules, no loans will be forgiven. The home buyer would have to pay back the loan with no interest once they sell the home, Young said. That will replenish the fund to allow the city to make more loans, he said.
For more information about the program, call Beth Crager at 633-1532.
In May Las Vegas approved a pilot program for recruiting qualified teachers in math, science and special education for at-risk schools. The program gives entry-level teachers who relocate to Las Vegas $30,000 in assistance to buy a home.
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