The Home Stretch: City to roll out Down Payment Assistance Pilot Program

In response to the need to expand access to affordable homeownership, the City set aside $50,000 in the FY17 budget to pilot a down payment assistance program. The program, called “The Home Stretch,” is projected to assist up to five eligible individuals or families in achieving homeownership. Eligibility requirements include:

• Applicant must be a “first-time homebuyer.” For the purposes of this program, a first-time homebuyer is defined as one who has not owned property in the past five (5) years.
• Applicant’s income must not exceed 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) for Montgomery County. For a family of four, for example, the maximum allowable income is $86,600 for 2016. The median income for the County is $108,600.
• Applicant must successfully complete a homebuyer education course approved by the City of Takoma Park prior to receiving assistance.
• The home must be located in the City of Takoma Park.
• The home must serve as the applicant’s principal residence.

Interested applicants must submit an online interest form, available on the City’s website starting Jan. 6, 2017. For additional information, please visit the City’s website.

This article appeared in the January 2017 edition of the Takoma Park Newsletter. The Takoma Park Newsletter is available for download here.