Minneapolis

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MPLS Neighborhood Programs

Minneapolis Home Buyer Assistance Programs

The City of Minneapolis is partnering with Minnesota Housing and the Minnesota Home ownership Center to provide access to down payment assistance, and quality, affordable mortgages to help you become a successful home owner! Minneapolis has several programs available to first-time home buyers that encompass all neighborhoods within Minneapolis. It also has first time home buyer programs specifically for individual Minneapolis neighborhoods.

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Down Payment Assistance – Homeownership Opportunity Minneapolis (HOM)

The City of Minneapolis wants to make affordable home ownership a reality for you. The City is providing up to $7,500 to qualified buyers to cover down payment and closing costs when purchasing a home anywhere within Minneapolis city limits.

Eligibility Requirements:

Home buyers with household income up to 115% of the area median income (currently $99,500) are eligible for up to $5,000
Home buyers with household income up to 80% of the area median income (adjusted by family size) are eligible for up to $7,500.

Quality, Affordable Mortgages: Minnesota Housing, the State’s Housing Finance Agency, offers mortgage loans for first-time home buyers with affordable interest rates. Minnesota Housing loans work seamlessly with down payment assistance products like those offered by the City of Minneapolis

http://www.shop-mortgage.org/financing-home-loan-products/bridge-to-success

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Bridge to Success Contract for Deed Program

The nonprofit organization based out of the Twin Cities called The Family Housing Fund kicked off fresh program to forge economical housing opportunities. Launched in late 2008, this new initiative is called The Bridge to Success Contract for Deed Program.This program is meant to help out buyers and sellers who may not qualify for loans otherwise. Available properties can be found in Minneapolis and St Paul.

The Family Housing Fund contributed a $500k loan to the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation and Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services. These organizations are set up to use the pools of funds to market properties to those who might not qualify for typical mortgages. 20% of the purchase price is made up from the resources of the Family Housing Fund — the other 80% is covered by lenders. The pairing eliminates private mortgage insurance from the equation. Home ownership and financial education are key pieces of the program — after three years the buyer will be ready for a mortgage.

Program Overview:

Similar to a line of credit.
Financed by the seller instead of a private lender.
Eliminates private mortgage insurance.
20% of purchase price covered by Family Housing Fund.
Minneapolis Houses for Heroes
GMHC offers National Guard members and those in the reserves a huge break towards buying a home. Those members deployed in the war on terror and those who have returned from deployment can get as much as $20,000 toward the purchase of a home in Minneapolis. More details can be found on our Military Programs page.

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CityLiving Program

The City of Minneapolis offers mortgage loans and two types of home improvement loans through its CityLiving Home Programs, a joint effort between the City of Minneapolis and the City of Saint Paul. For more than 20 years the two cities have worked together to create mortgage loan products for low- and moderate-income families. Typically free grants are offered up to 2% of the loan amount if you pay a little higher rate (Usually still below market rate) or you can get a slightly lower rate if you don't choose the free grant. Only available for First Time Home Buyers.

CityLiving loans offer home buyers an opportunity to purchase Minneapolis homes at an interest rate that historically ranks below general market rates.

Eligibility Requirements:

Maximum household income for 1-2 people is $84,000
Maximum household income for 3 or more people is $92,400
Maximum purchase price limit is $276,870
2% grant available for down payment or closing costs with a slightly higher interest rate

The CityLiving Program also offers home buyer education and counseling through its Home Stretch Program. Coordinated by the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, Home Stretch educates people about the home buying process so they can avoid common mistakes and predatory lending. Finally, after the home has been purchased, CityLiving also offers both Code Abatement Loans and Home Repair Loans for very low-income homeowners:

The City of Minneapolis will give interest-free loans for code abatements for qualifying households that are within 50% of the median income for this metropolitan area. The maximum loan amount is $20,000. The loan is repaid at the time the house is sold. Amortizing loans at 1% interest are available for home repairs. The Maximum term is 20 years. The maximum loan is $25,000. The maximum income to qualify for this loan is 80% of the median income for the metropolitan area. This loan can only be used to complete code repairs.

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Home Ownership Works (HOW) Program

Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) offers first-time home buyers the opportunity to move into a recently remodeled home through the Home Ownership Works (HOW) Program. Through the HOW program, CPED remodels older homes in Minneapolis, making some improvements and bringing the property up to code. Home buyers who pursue this program will move into a home that offers all of the charm and characteristics of an older home without having to put in the work to fix it up. Prior to purchasing a home through HOW, interested parties will need to complete two Home Buyer Education Workshops.

The Pre Purchase Workshop, coordinated by the Home Ownership Center, provides comprehensive information about the home purchasing process and prepares potential buyers for home ownership. The Housing Maintenance Workshop, conducted at Northside Neighborhood Housing Services, provides training on general property maintenance such as furnace function and minor plumbing repairs.

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City of Lakes Community Land Trust

The mission of the CLCLT is to provide and foster stewardship of perpetually affordable home ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income families throughout Minneapolis and is achieved through three major objectives, including:

Assisting households that otherwise would never be able to purchase a home responsibly in having the ability to do so; Ensuring that, if and when the homeowner(s) decide to sell, the CLCLT is there to keep the home(s) affordable for other income-qualified households; and provide support necessary for CLCLT homeowners be successful in home ownership.

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NeighborhoodLIFT Program

NeighborhoodLIFT provides eligible homebuyers with matching funds up to $7,500 of down payment assistance on qualified properties. The program includes homebuyer education that will prepare you for finding and financing a home and for managing the financial responsibilities of homeownership.

Assistance is not limited to first-time buyers
Borrowers’ annual income in combination with household size must be at or below 80% of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Area Median Income (AMI) guidelines.
A complete list of participating partner lenders is available here.

Properties qualified for the program must be:

Within city limits of Minneapolis or Saint Paul.
The primary, owner-occupied home of the buyer(s)
A detached home, townhouse, condominium, 1-4 unit property, Planned Unit Development

Minneapolis Community Planning & Economic Development (CPED)

Offers First Time Home Buyers the opportunity to move into a recently remodeled home through the Home Ownership Works (HOW) Program. Through the HOW program, CPED remodels older homes in Minneapolis, making some improvements and bringing the property up to code. Home buyers who pursue this program will move into a home that offers all of the charm and characteristics of an older home without having to put in the work to fix it up. Prior to purchasing a home through HOW, interested parties will need to complete two Home Buyer Education Workshops.

Home Ownership Made Easy (HOME)

The Home Ownership Made Easy program is available only to current Minneapolis public housing residents and/or Section 8 participants seeking to move into home ownership. When families are prepared to buy a house, they will be put in contact with a) a participating lender to apply for a mortgage loan offering competitive or lower than market interest rates and b) a trained member of the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS® to begin looking for their home. Participants are required to make a certain percentage of the down payment with their own funds, with HOME providing a loan to assist with the down payment. This loan will be repaid (with interest) once the home is resold in the future. If a prospective family is unable to come up with the full down payment, they may qualify for a down payment grant from the HOME Program - to be paid back through volunteer work in their community. Families may also receive interest-free, closing-cost loans which will be required to be paid back once their home is resold in the future.

Minneapolis Advantage Program (MAP)

Like many cities across this nation, Minneapolis has experienced foreclosures and the effects of vacant homes in our neighborhoods. The City of Minneapolis created the Minneapolis Advantage Program to help potential buyers purchase a home in areas challenged by foreclosure and bring people back on the blocks. In 2012, the program offers about 25 loans that can be used to pay for closing costs, down payment, or even small repairs to the home.

Income Limit: Up to 120% of Area Median Income
Up to $20,000 for closing costs, down payment, or minor repairs,
Must be used to purchase a foreclosed home in target neighborhoods.

Funding is limited and income eligibility requirements apply. Loans will be given on a first come, first serve basis and are for purchasing homes in eligible neighborhoods.

Eligible neighborhoods:

Jordan/ Folwell/ McKinley
Central Webber/ Camden/ Hawthorne
Sumner/ Glenwood/ Shingle Creek/ East Phillips
Near North Phillips West Willard/Hay
Holland Lind/Bohanon/ Bottineau
Harrison/ Bryant/ Midtown/ Phillips
Cleveland/ Powderhorn Park/ Ventura Village
Beltrami/ Corcoran

Home Ownership Program (HOP)

The Home Ownership Program offers affordable home ownership opportunities in non-impacted areas of Minneapolis to buyers with incomes at or below 80% of the metropolitan median income. The City provides up to $30,000 per home in affordability gap financing to the homebuyer in the form of a deferred loan due and payable at the time of sale of the property. The Home Ownership Program is a partnership between the City of Minneapolis and the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation.

Home Buyer Initiated Program (HIP)

The CLCLT Home buyer Initiated Program (HIP) helps families and individuals purchase and fix-up homes that are for sale in Minneapolis. HIP puts home ownership within the reach of low- to moderate-income households with the help of two grants:

Affordability Grant: The HIP Affordability Investment Grant gives participating households more purchasing power by reducing the amount of mortgage financing needed to purchase a home for sale on the open market in Minneapolis. Affordability grants will range from $25,000 to $60,000 depending on household income and size.
Rehab Grant: The HIP Rehab Grant provides up to $25,000 for participating households to use to fix up homes purchased through HIP.* Rehab funds can be used to address any mechanical, structural, and safety issues that a home has at the time of purchase. The rehab grant helps ensure that an expensive repair will not jeopardize the financial stability of the new homeowner in the first few years of homeownership. Examples of the eligible rehab include roof replacement, plumbing and electrical updates, lead abatement, storm window and door replacement, siding repair, etc.

*When funding sources allow. Not applicable to CLCLT resales or partner developments.

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