Homewise receives a grant for downpayment assistance
Homewise, a community development finance institution, received a $750,000 grant that will be put toward downpayment assistance for residents in New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District.
The grant, which comes from congressionally directed spending administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, was announced by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández and Homewise CEO Mike Loftin at an event in Santa Fe last week.
“When you own your own home, your rent doesn’t increase, you build wealth you can pass on to your kids, and you contribute to a more vibrant neighborhood and community,” Leger Fernández said in a statement. “But one of the biggest hurdles for first-time buyers is the down payment and money needed at closing, which is why the $750,000 for Homewise’s Homeownership Voucher Program was one of my priorities. Projects like this are how we build our middle class; how our teachers, nurses and artists can afford to live and stay in their hometown. I hope to make homeownership vouchers a nationwide program.”
Residents can apply for downpayment assistance through the Homeownership Assistance Voucher Program with Homewise, according to a news release. Eligible residents include those who earn 120% or less of the area median income.
Homewise says the vouchers will come in the form of DPA loans, which are deferred payment loans with no interest.
“For people that have historically been excluded from the homebuying market, such as people of color and lower-income families, downpayment assistance loans can mean the difference between buying a home or not,” Loftin said.