Abstract
The Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program has been used as a means to provide assistance to low and moderate income households in their efforts to purchase their first home. This program was designed to be an alternative to the frequently used Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) program. Examination of recent use of MCCs finds that the program is administratively easier to operate than the MRB program and is less costly to the federal government. However, it provides few advantages to the needy home buyer. The MCC program does not reduce the household's monthly loan payments; rather, it grants a rebate through reduced federal income taxes often realized only at the end of the year. Further, if the program sponsor charges large fees to participants, then the MCC program can actually make housing affordability more difficult to attain, rendering the program of little value except to those households who could already afford to purchase a home without assistance.
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