Rocket Home Grant Helps Team Members Buy A Home Of Their Own

One of our favorite ISMs – the philosophies that define our culture – is “We eat our own dog food.” It’s really all about practicing what we preach. Several of our companies are dedicated to helping Americans achieve their homeownership dreams. Our Rocket Home Grant helps our team members realize that dream for themselves.

Read on for more information on this extraordinary benefit. But to understand why this matters, let’s start with some background.

The down payment is often the single biggest obstacle facing first-time home buyers when they buy a home of their own. Although the prevailing wisdom of past generations that you need 20% down no longer applies, it’s still a significant upfront expense.

There are also closing costs associated with any mortgage. There are ways to lower these costs – by taking lender credits or negotiating seller concessions – but we generally recommend home buyers plan for closing costs in the range of 3 – 6%.

If you qualify for a conventional loan as a first-time home buyer, you can get into a home with a down payment as low as 3%. Still, if you’re purchasing a $200,000 home, it’s not unreasonable to think you might spend $18,000 at closing by the time all the other costs are added in.

Another factor to keep in mind is that the bigger your down payment, the lower your interest rate will be if everything else is held equal. If you bring more to the table to begin with, there’s less risk for any lender because the loan isn’t as costly.

For both these reasons, having as much money for a down payment as you can get your hands on is very beneficial. That’s where the Rocket Home Grant comes in.

The Rocket Home Grant provides up to $10,000 to eligible team members working at one of our U.S.-based companies for down payment assistance. Although this is commonly referred to as down payment assistance, the funds can also be used to cover closing costs.

The grant is available for first-time home buyers with at least one year of full-time tenure as a direct hire in good standing at an eligible company at the time of closing. The home has to be a primary residence in the U.S. Where available, real estate services should be provided by Rocket Homes^SM.

This is available for all loan programs offered by Rocket Mortgage^® except FHA loans. Because it’s a grant, you generally won’t be required to pay it back. The only exceptions are if, within a year of receiving the grant, you’re terminated for certain reasons or you voluntarily leave the company.

If multiple members of your household are employed by an eligible Rocket Company, only one grant may be used. It’s to your advantage to use the grant of the team member with the highest tenure. Let’s get into how the grant is calculated.

One of two calculations applies in determining your grant amount depending on where you plan on living. There is one for Detroit and one for everywhere else. In any case, the maximum amount is $10,000.

If the property you’re looking to buy is in Detroit, the grant is $200 for every month you work at an eligible company. For example, if you’ve worked at the company for 3 years, the grant would be $7,200 ($200 × 36 months = $7,200).

If you’re purchasing outside Detroit, the grant is $100 for every month you work at one of our eligible companies. Changing nothing else about the situation above other than the location of the property, the grant you would receive would be $3,600 ($100 × 36 months).

The Rocket Home Grant is good, but we’re in the mortgage business and we also have great deals for all of our team members, not just first-time home buyers. Among other benefits, all team members at the Family of Companies receive the following when they do a mortgage with us:

• Exclusive loan pricing
• Discounted closing costs with Rocket Homes^SM and Amrock, LLC
• VIP service from a team of bankers dedicated to working with our team members

Part of our mission is helping our clients achieve their American dream. For many, this involves buying their first home. The Rocket Home Grant allows for eligible team members to receive up to $10,000 toward a home of their own.