Syracuse University Guaranteed Mortgage Program expands to downtown Syracuse

Syracuse University Guaranteed Mortgage Program expands to downtown SyracuseJuly 02, 2007Kevin Morrowkdmorrow@syr.edu

Acknowledging a resurgent local interest in urban living and further underscoring its ongoing commitment to downtown Syracuse–exemplified by The Warehouse; the Syracuse Arts, Design and Technology Quarter; and the Connective Corridor projects–Syracuse University is expanding its faculty and staff guaranteed mortgage program to include a significant portion of downtown and the Near West Side, and broadening the program’s parameters to allow for condominium purchases.

All full-time and regular part-time SU faculty and staff members, regardless of their income or length of service, are eligible to finance 100 percent of the purchase of a single- or two-family home, townhouse or condominium unit within the program area, with the University guaranteeing the mortgage to the lending institution. Detailed information on the revised program is being mailed today to faculty and staff.

The program’s expanded area encompasses the path of the Connective Corridor, as well as the proposed Syracuse Arts, Design and Technology Quarter; the South Salina Street downtown corridor; Armory Square; and Hanover Square. The expanded area is bounded by Erie Boulevard on the north, South Geddes Street on the west, and East Adams and Seymour streets on the south.

“Syracuse University is pleased to extend our very successful and popular guaranteed mortgage program to include the Connective Corridor and other portions of downtown Syracuse, encouraging our faculty and staff to consider home ownership in our community’s urban core,” says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. “A robust and growing residential presence is a key component of revitalizing our downtown. There is a renewed energy in downtown Syracuse with new businesses and new housing opportunities, and we hope our program will help continue build this positive momentum.”

“I appreciate the partnership that is being forged with the University,” says Syracuse Mayor Matthew J. Driscoll. “Chancellor Cantor continues to advance ways to accelerate the growth of downtown and our neighborhoods.”

The University launched its first guaranteed mortgage program in 1994 in a sizable neighborhood east of SU’s North Campus. The program expanded in 1999 to include the Outer Comstock Neighborhood and expanded again in 2005 via the University’s partnership with Home HeadQuarters Inc. to provide a Home Ownership Grant Program offering a $2,000 cash grant to faculty and staff purchasing a home within certain census tracts in the city.

Since the program’s inception, 167 SU faculty and staff members have participated, financing mortgages totaling more than $8 million. No mortgages have defaulted.

“As we highlighted in our 2006 Onondaga Citizens League report, a thriving downtown residential housing market is critical to downtown revitalization. This expansion of the University’s mortgage program can be a valuable stimulus to the kind of development we need in the city’s core,” says Joseph T. Ash, National Grid vice president, regulatory proceedings-N.Y., and co-chair of the 2006 Onondaga Citizens League Study report “Leveraging Better Outcomes for Downtown.”

“The extension of the University’s mortgage program to downtown is but another example of Chancellor Cantor and the University’s extraordinary commitment to the revitalization of Syracuse,” says Robert Doucette, president of Armory Development & Management Inc. “It will be a great boost to the employees of SU seeking to live in downtown and to current and future residential sales in this part of the city.”

The program allows financing of 100 percent of a property’s purchase price, eliminating the need for a down payment. Also, since the University guarantees the mortgage to the lending institution, the borrower doesn?t need to pay private mortgage insurance.

The property purchased must be the participant’s primary residence. If the buyer decides to rent, sell or vacate the property, or leaves the employment of the University, the mortgage must be refinanced through a conventional mortgage program. The buyer must meet all customary lending criteria established by the lending financial institution. Participating lenders are Chase, HSBC, M&T and Partner’s Trust.

If the purchase is a condominium, it must meet the requirements as defined in the New York Real Property Law and must meet the appraisal requirements of and qualify for financing through the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

If the buyer also takes advantage of the Homeownership Grant Program, the existing rules for that program must be followed.

For more information on the Syracuse University Guaranteed Mortgage Program, contact the SU Real Estate Office at 443-2104 or visit http://bfasweb.syr.edu/realestate/

To view a map of the eligible area, see http://bfasweb.syr.edu/…mortgage%20map%20ex3.pdf