Builders Offering New Incentives to Buy

One of the holdups for many new-home sales these days is that the buyers may be stuck trying to sell their current homes. Now one major local builder is trying to get around that with a "no-payment-for-six-months plan."Mercedes Homes, through its mortgage subsidiary MHi Mortgage, will pay a home buyer's new mortgage for as long as six months while the buyer completes the sale of an existing property. The program differs from more limited ones in that Mercedes Homes, based in Melbourne, will pay all four parts: principal, interest, taxes and insurance.Loan amounts can range as high as $417,000, and for owner-occupied deals as much as 95 percent financing is available, along with other seller incentives, according to Sue Stewart, president of MHi Mortgage.Buyers must have a minimum credit score of 660 to be eligible. Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel.