The Teacher Next Door program (TND) is granted funded program administered by The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that will pay (literally) 50% of your house mortgage if you meet the grant criteria.
"The escalating teacher shortage requires school systems to employ innovative approaches to attract and retain teachers, and this is especially true in low-income, urban neighborhoods," said Sandra Feldman, president, American Federation of Teachers. "The Teacher Next Door program is a creative and practical way to entice teachers to the communities where they are needed most. Schools are cornerstones on the community and this program will help deepen the bonds between neighborhood schools and communities throughout the country, while strengthening teacher recruitment efforts."
TND also has a sister program for police officers (Officers Next Door), since HUD created the officer and teacher programs in 1997 and 2000, respectively, approximately 6,000 police officers and teachers in 41 states and the District of Columbia have purchased the homes.
If you qualify for the program and you are to purchase a $100,000 home in a "revitalization area", HUD would pay $50,000 or 50% of your mortgage if you live their for 3 years. After 3 years, if you decided to move, you are free and clear of your commitment and can sell the home at full market value.
In addition, if you qualify for FHA mortgage such as a FHS 203(b) or FHA 203(k), your down payment can be as low as $100.
Timothy Liptrap, Vice President of the 101 Financial Lessons newsletter for teachers, encourages any teacher who is considering the purchase a new home and who is willing to stay in a community for three years, to look into this program. "Depending upon your age, the TND grant could put you financially years ahead of your fellow teachers and prepare you for retirement" according to Liptrap.
TND Basics
The grant is available to for public school, private school, or federal, state, county or city educational agency employee who is a state-certified, classroom teacher or administrator in grades K-12and in good standing with your employer.
If you are interested to see if you qualify for this grant, visit the Teacher Next Door web site at http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/reo/tnd/tnd.cfm
This article has by researched and written by Timothy Liptrap, VP of the 101 Financial Lessons newsletter, for more articles, special reports and to join our free weekly newsletter for teachers and parents, visit http://www.101financiallessons.com Copyright © 2002. Stocks, Bonds and More, Inc.
