Let’s face it: college isn’t getting any cheaper.

Every spring, when high school graduation rolls around, parents and high school seniors alike start actively making plans for the big transition to college.

There are many advantages to living on campus for that first year of college, but many parents and students choose to have their newly-minted-high-school-graduate live off campus for whatever reason.

And if you find yourself in this situation, where you are planning on living off campus, there is something simple that you can do to help take the financial bite out of college: buy a home with the FHA kiddie condo loan. The FHA kiddie condo program is really just a regular FHA loan with a nickname – mainly because it is used for these college-aged-kids living situations.

FHA Kiddie Condo Loan Highlights:

The FHA Kiddie condo loan allows non-occupant co-borrowers — which means that  parents can purchase a condo using their credit and their income but are not required to live in the property – only the co-borrower is required to live in the property.

The property is not considered to be a second home or an investment property. Because the property is not an investment property, interest rates for the program are the same as regular FHA interest rates –currently in the low 5% range. An additional benefit of the Kiddie Condo loan is that it allows the occupant to charge rent to roommates!

Right here by ASU, with interest rates low, property values down and the government giving an 8000 tax credit to first time homebuyers… it can take just a little bit of the financial bite out of going to college.

Scottsdale Mortgage Rates for May 8 2009