At the end of February, the City of Asheville adopted a Down Payment Assistance Program for qualifying Asheville residents. The program was passed unanimously by Asheville’s Affordable Housing Committee back in January + then recommended to City Council, who officially adopted it.
The deets: A total of $1.4 million has been designated for the program, with the goal of helping low- to moderate-income residents buy homes in Asheville, which has come under increasing criticism for its lack of affordable housing. The funding helps home buyers qualify for an affordable mortgage. 🏡
Here’s what else you need to know –
- Eligible applicants must make 80% or less than the area median income, or AMI ($42,940 for a single person and $61,300 for a family of four in 2018) and be residents (or want to become residents) of the City of Asheville.
- An additional $400,000 from a partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta will provide funding to eligible, full-time City of Asheville employees, including “community heroes” (like teachers, firefighters, and policemen who have been employed by the City for at least a year) who make between 80% and 120% of the area median income.
- The home must be in the City of Asheville, must be a single-family residence + must be the full-time residence of the buyer.
- Only first-time homeowners (defined as people have not owned a home in the past three years) are eligible + must complete an approved homeowner education course.
- $1 million in funds are from a Housing Bond Funding package passed in 2016. Of that amount, $500,000 is set aside until Dec. 2021 for people making 60% or less of the AMI.
- Homebuyers must provide $1,000 towards their down payment.
- The total amount borrowed may not exceed 20% of the total home sale price, or a max of $40,000. The assistance depends on where you fall in comparison to AMI. Up to $5,000 will be available.
- You’ll work with your bank, lender, and/or realtor, who will be in the know about the DPA program, as normal. There’s no application through the city at this time.
- The funds are in the form of a 30-year loan – repayment of DPA is required when the home is sold, refinanced, becomes a rental property, etc. If the home has been a primary residence for 30 years and you are the owner, the DPA loan is forgiven. The repayment amount also decreases after 21 years of living in the residence.
- City bond funds must be spent by Oct. 2023, and FHLBA funds must be spent by March 2020.
Want to find out more – straight from the source? The City will host an informational meeting on Sat., May 18 from 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. at the Stephens Lee Center Gymnasium (30 George Washington Carver Ave.)
DYK: There are several developments in Asheville designated affordable (available to people making 80% or less of the AMI) for renters? Here’s the full list.