Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Do borrowers pay any interest or fees in connection with a loan under this program?
No.

Q. Who is eligible for the Day School Teachers Housing Loan Program?
Teachers who are first-time homebuyers, currently teach full-time at an Eligible School and have at least three years full-time day school teaching experience. A “full-time teacher” is one who teaches at least 20 hours a week.

Q. What constitutes an Eligible School ?
For purposes of this program, an Eligible School is one that is located in New York City , Westchester or Long Island and receives or is eligible to receive grant funding from the Fund for Jewish Education (“FJE”). However, teachers who work at start-up institutions not eligible for FJE funding solely because they are start-ups, will be considered. (Such teachers, like other applicants, must have three years of full-time day school teaching experience when they apply.)

Q. Are there income limits for Housing Loan Program borrowers?
Housing loans are intended to help moderate income families who earn enough to qualify for a mortgage on a modest home, but are unable to pay the cash portion of the purchase price and/or closing costs. A “moderate income family” is one where the teacher’s salary is the primary salary or one of two roughly equivalent salaries. Families with a high-earning spouse or significant savings or investments will not be eligible.

Q. How much can I borrow and how much do I have to repay per month?
You can borrow up to $20,000. Your loan is repayable in 120 (one hundred twenty) equal monthly installments, beginning one month after the loan is received. The loan will immediately become due and payable in full if you leave full time day school teaching before the end of the one hundred twenty-month amortization period.

Q. Are both Judaic studies and secular studies teachers eligible to apply?
Yes.

Q. What are the steps in the application process?

  1. You can obtain our brochure, an application form and a School Referral Form by downloading them at www.bjeny.org/279.htm or by calling the Hebrew Free Loan Society at 212-687-0188 .
  2. Give the School Referral Form to your principal to fill out and return directly to HFLS by mail.
  3. Once you have a contract on a home and have located appropriate co-signers, call Tanya Figelman at the Hebrew Free Loan Society at (212) 687-0188 x 207 to schedule a loan interview.
  4. Come to your loan interview with all the documentation specified in our loan brochure.
  5. After your loan interview you will receive a letter (the “Conditional Approval Letter”) advising you whether your loan has been conditionally approved.
  6. Once you have a mortgage commitment, mail us a copy of the mortgage application and all attachments submitted to and the mortgage commitment received from, your lender (together, the “Mortgage Documents”).
  7. Within two weeks of our receipt of the Mortgage Documents, assuming the information contained therein confirms that submitted in your application, you will receive final approval of your loan.
  8. You, your spouse and your guarantors will sign a promissory note evidencing HFLS’s loan, and HFLS will issue a two party loan check made out to you and your attorney.
Q. Can we apply for a loan if we have a purchase contract for a specific property, but have not yet signed the contract?
Yes. We understand that you may wish to receive a Conditional Approval Letter from us before you sign a purchase contract.

Q. Can I be assured that I will receive the loan once I have gotten my conditional approval?
We will conditionally approve completed loan applications on a first come first serve basis. Demand for this loan program may exceed available resources. Therefore, your conditional loan approval will lapse, and funds allocated to your loan may be re-allocated to another applicant, if we do not receive all the Mortgage Documents within 90 days after the date of your Conditional Approval Letter, or if the information contained in such Documents does not confirm the information submitted in your loan application. If we receive complete Mortgage Documents before the expiration of the 90 day period described above which confirm the information submitted in your loan application, you can be assured of receiving the loan.

Q. If I have a question on the Day School Teachers Housing Program that is not answered on this website or in your brochure, where can I get help?
Please re-read carefully the Frequently Asked Questions and the Day School Teachers Housing Loan Program brochure. If you still do not find an answer to your question, e-mail Moshe Soloway at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it



Q. If I teach at an Eligible School, but I would like to purchase a house in New Jersey, Connecticut or New York State counties other than the Five Boroughs, Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk, am I eligible to receive the loan?
Yes, as long as you continue to teach full-time at an Eligible School .

Q. What happens if I stop teaching full-time at an Eligible School ?
The outstanding principal balance of your loan becomes immediately due and payable if you stop teaching full-time at an Eligible School . This means HFLS has the right to ask you (or your guarantors, if you are unable to pay) to repay the loan in full immediately.
 

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