Good news for first-time home buyers looking for homes in Oxford and throughout Mississippi! The Senate Finance Committee has passed HB 1601. The Mississippi legislature proposes to create first-time home buyer savings accounts for Mississippians. The First-Time Home Buyer Savings Accounts can be used for saving funds for the purchase of homes by first-time home buyers. Consequently, the first-time home buyer can only access the funds in the account for the down payment and closing costs for the purchase of a home by a first-time home buyer. Most of all, the ability to produce a hefty down payment is often a major hurdle for first-time home buyers. Especially relevant are young, first-time home buyers grapple with massive student loan debt as well as other expenses. Other expenses could include car payments or other personal loans. As a result, the issue has become a critical concern for members of the real estate community, who have noticed a steady decline in the number of first-time and young home buyers in the market.

Most noteworthy, the bill has been sent to Governor Phil Bryant for approval and is due on March 22, 2017. If the Governor signs the bill into law, Mississippi will be the fourth state to have a First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account program (Montana, Virginia, and Colorado). Upon writing this article, the odds of approval are very good.

Mississippi signed this bill into law on March 22, 2017. Read more about HB 1601 in this article covering topics about eligible homes and home buyers. Finally, you can also read the Mississippi bill document in its entirity here.