Can You Use Government Grants to Become A Real Estate Entrepreneur?
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By downloading a grant application package, you can view it offline, giving you the flexibility to complete the application when and where you want.

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12. A subscription to the online magazine Broker Agent News and the print magazine, National Real Estate.

Who are eligible for the grant?

U.S. or Canadian nationals are allowed to take part in the grant provided that they have already taken a pre-licensing course at an accredited Real Estate School. The school should be state or nationally accredited and the participant must have taken the class during the six-month grant application season. If however the applicant has already passed his/her licensing examination, he is eligible for the grant if he has passed for a license within the same six months of grant awarding season. How do I apply?

Go to their website, http://www.realestateapprentice.com/apply.cfm and register as one of the applicants. The application form is electronic and you will be asked to enter personal information. However, you are only allowed 500 characters per question so answer it carefully and briefly.

What Criteria is used for this grant?

The questions on your application form aim to assess your communication skills, integrity, creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and uniqueness. Therefore your application form should contain as much of the talented you as it can.

The organizers who give it an initial grade, and then a panel of judges who are veterans first view the questions or otherwise well known in the industry are asked to judge each application form. These may range from industry leaders to sponsors of the grant.

15 judges one of them, the chairman of the panel, is appointed by the foundation. The chairman will then act as the coordinator for all judges as well as the judging process. The foundation only chooses the best and most experienced leaders in the industry and you are ensured that these people will be impartial.

Other things you should know.

* Always be ready with your proof of eligibility as the panel may request it.

* Finalists who are selected must be interviewed by the judges so prepare to look your best.

* It’s ok that you work for a real estate brokerage, but you may not work for a financial institution, insurance company or a title company on a full-time basis.

* The award isn’t tax-free

* If you do receive the grant, you will be required to show proof that you are indeed a licensed real estate agent.

· Once a finalist, you will be required to remain active as an agent.

About The Author Michael Saunders has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He edits a site on Government Grants for Small Businesses and also edits HandsNet - A Human Services News Website.

Can You Use Government Grants to Become A Real Estate Entrepreneur?
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Additional Resources

category - Home Buying Programs

Department of Housing and Urban Development's Dollar Homes Program
The Dollar Homes Program revolves around the process of selling single family homes for a superbly reasonable price of $1 (plus closing cost) to low-to-moderate income families, granted that these houses have been acquired through foreclosure by the Federal Housing Administration, and have already been actively marketed for at least six months and still remained unsold after that certain period of time.

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First Time Homebuyer Programs in Idaho
The Idaho Housing and Finance Association, otherwise referred t as IDFA, is Idaho's uniquely created and organized financial institution and administrator of affordable housing resources.

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Downpayment Assistance Program for the First Time Home Buyers in North Carolina
In an attempt to contribute to the eradication of this problem, the North Carolina HFA has established the Downpayment Assistance Program for the First Time Home Buyers wherein they provide interest-free, deferred second mortgages up to $8,000 to cover the downpayment and closing costs of a chosen property.

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California Housing Finance Agency
The California Housing Finance Agency, otherwise known as CalHFA, is an independent, self-supporting agency that was chartered to as the State's affordable housing bank to make low interest rate loans through the sale of tax-exempt bonds; with these bonds being repaid by revenues generated through mortgage loans, instead of taxpayer dollars.

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