Housing Development Fund Uses State Tax Credit Program to Help First-Time Home Buyers Purchase in Town Where They Work

May 1, 2007; As originally appeared in The First-Time HomeBuyer

First-time home buyers may have an opportunity to purchase homes in towns where they work—even in expensive southwestern Connecticut—thanks to the Housing Development Fund (HDF) and its newly established Workforce Housing Downpayment Fund.

HDF, a nonprofit bank providing funding for affordable housing and a number of first-time home buyer assistance programs, recently received $500,000 from Northeast Utilities under the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) Housing Tax Credit Contribution Program. The program allows businesses to contribute state tax dollars directly to approved affordable housing initiatives. HDF applied to CHFA for tax credits to establish the Workforce Housing Downpayment Fund.

HDF will use the new fund to help first-time home buyers who face long commutes because they can’t afford to purchase homes in the towns in which they work. This situation is especially problematic in southwestern Connecticut, where housing prices are very high. HDF expects the $500,000 to help between thirty and sixty income-eligible home buyers over the next thirty-six months with down payment and closing cost assistance of up to $15,000 per household. Qualified home buyers will also be able to take advantage of HDF’s SmartMove second mortgage fund.

“ The Workforce Housing Downpayment Fund adds one more resource to our array of home buyer assistance programs that are directed to strengthening our communities by giving our teachers, police, firefighters, and other key workers the opportunity to live in towns where they work,” says HDF Executive Director Joan Carty.

As part of administering the Workforce Housing Downpayment Fund, HDF evaluates potential home buyers for income and other program eligibility requirements. It also provides both pre- and post- purchase counseling and down payment and closing-cost assistance, layered with other available financing tools on a case-by-case basis. To apply for the program, residents of southwestern Connecticut need to attend an orientation session held in either Stamford or Danbury. For more information about HDF and its home buyer programs, visit www.hdf-ct.org or call 203-969-1830 in Stamford or 203-798-6527 in Danbury.