Perrey talks about ‘Great Choice’

Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) Executive Director Ralph M. Perrey recently made rounds throughout the state in an effort to provide more information and attention to the state’s ‘Great Choice’ program for home buyers.
“GreatChoicetn.com is a great place to start for basic information,” Perrey said. “After that, go to one of the lenders who offers the Great Choice product. Chances are where you bank may be an originating agent for THDA.”
Perrey said the potential homebuyer did not need perfect credit and the “Great Choice” program offers the ability for individuals to purchase a home that may not qualify with other financing options.
“If you’ve got reasonable credit; we can take about as low as a 640 credit score and we can go up to about a 45 percent debt to income ratio, that’s pretty good flexibility,” Perrey said. “In this area, a single person household earning about $65,000 a year, you qualify. Larger family earnings up to about $76,000, you qualify.”
One of the differences in the ‘Great Choice’ program is the requirement for home buyers to complete eight hours of homebuyer education from someone THDA has certified to do the training.
“I think the state housing finance options, particularly for first time home buyers, we have the product that’s going to help you,” Perrey said. “A lot of people may be closer to that financial opportunity of owning their own home than they may imagine.”