Residents who want to be homeowners are invited.
An open house for potential homeowners who feel they can't afford it is taking place on Thursday evening. "Home for the Holidays" is an opportunity to learn about a program run by Hope VI.
"The Hope VI homeownership program is a 2nd-mortgage program, where eligible applicants obtain a 1st-mortgage to purchase a home based on their income. And then Hope VI funds, through the Housing Authority, provide a 2nd-mortgage for the difference between the 1st-mortgage and the sale price of the home," says Ryan Trout, Special Projects Manager, the Housing Authority of the City of Frederick.
Trout says there are some qualifications applicants must meet. "They have stable, verifiable income of at least $25,000 per year for the nexus homes and the Hillcrest Commons," he says. "But that was lowered for the Lucas Village homes of 17-5 {$17,500} per year."
"They have to consistently be employed a minimum of 30 hours per week for one year before purchasing the home," Trout continues. "They have to have sufficient credit worthiness to secure a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, and contribute 1% of the purchase price of the home from personal resources."
A few homes are for sale in Lucas Village, which is the located across from the Fairgrounds, and at one time was known as the Sagner Community. 11 homes are for sale is North Pointe, which is the former location of the John Hanson and Taney public housing units. The third location is Hillcrest Commons, where some new homes will be constructed in the future.
The "Home for the Holidays" open house will be held from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM at 464 Vermont Court in the Lucas Village community. In addition to having information about Hope VI, there will also be music and refreshments.
The Hope VI program administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, encourages the mixing of lower income residents with families who have higher incomes n the same community. When the City of Frederick qualified for it a few years ago, that led to the demolition of the John Hanson and Taney Public Housing Projects.
