BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is giving first-time homebuyers 10,000 reasons to consider buying a house in the city.
The city is offering eligible first-time homebuyers a $10,000 incentive in an effort to help grow the city's declining population.
It’s an effort to help increase the city's population, so buyers have to purchase the home for themselves not as investment property to rent out.
There are also income limits as well to keep focus on helping middle-income families.
The incentive for first time homebuyers to buy a house in Baltimore city has doubled from $5,000 to $10,000.
Homebuyers looking at homes in one of the city's Impact Investment neighborhoods may be eligible for a total of $20,000.
The money can help buyers with their down payment and or closing costs which can also help lower their monthly mortgage payment.
Buyers have to live in the home they are buying. They can't use the money to buy a house to rent out to someone else.
The program is designed to help middle-class families so interested homebuyers would have to make less than $55,950 dollars for single households, $63,950 for a household of two, or $79,900 for a household of four.
Those numbers are based on a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median income for Baltimore. The area median income is the midpoint between the highest and the lowest income levels in the city.
A total of $2.5 million is available to eligible first-time homebuyers.
The program is funded by a Community Development Block grant.
Homebuyers interested in the $10,000 incentive can apply online. they also can check out a map online that shows the neighborhoods which fall into one of the city's impact investment areas.
Houses in those select neighborhoods would be eligible for a $20,000 buying incentive.
The grant money works as a five-year forgivable loan. Each year, for five years, the city knocks 20 percent off of the balance.
Buyers who stay in their homes more than five years won't have to pay that money back.
Click here to apply.
