Affordable Home Ownership Buy-Down Program

At a glance

The Affordable Housing Trust Fund board approved by unanimous consent several steps for the first-time homebuyer buy-down program, which offers up to about $200,000 in subsidy to bridge the gap between the HUD affordable price and the market price. An informational session with banks and community groups is set for Thursday, October 29 at Rumney Marsh Academy at 5:30 p.m., with $165 in custodian costs approved. Three-family homes are excluded because HUD publishes no affordable price for them; the program covers single-family homes, condos and duplexes or two-families. Applications open Wednesday, November 4 at 8:15 a.m. Everyone with a complete, eligible application by 5 p.m. Thursday, November 12 enters a single anonymized, recorded and televised lottery that sets queue order and wait list; later applicants follow in first-come order. The planning and community development department will draft the lottery procedure for board approval, and the lottery will coincide with a rescheduled board meeting since the regular November 11 date is Veterans Day. The buy-down cannot be combined with the $10,000 down payment assistance but can be combined with the 1 plus mortgage and North Suburban Consortium aid. Updated guidelines were promised the next day. Down payment assistance has had three new applicants and one award since the last meeting, and the ADU loan program has one more applicant.

Based on auto-generated captions of the video; names and numbers may be misheard.

Sources

• 2026-10-14 - Public Hearing - Annual Action Plan
• 2026-10-14 - Affordable Housing Trust Fund

Log

• 2026-10-14 - Affordable Housing Trust Fund - Application opens Nov 4.
• 2026-10-14 - Public Hearing - Annual Action Plan - CDBG amendment would put $100,000 of federal block grant money into the program; see Program Year 2026 CDBG Action Plan Substantial Amendment.