Potential homebuyers in Fort Wayne may now be eligible for assistance with their down payment.
The Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Program is a partnership between the City of Fort Wayne and Pathfinder Services, a Huntington-based non-profit.
Kelly Lundberg is the Fort Wayne Housing and Neighborhood Services director, and says the city is currently a hot housing market.
“Unfortunately, that means that there are potential homebuyers that were being either priced out of the home market or just weren’t being competitive enough,” Lundberg said.
Lundberg said things are selling too quickly or being priced too high for moderate income households. The goal of the program is to help those households be more competitive.
According to the US Census Bureau, homeownership rates in Fort Wayne between 2014 and 2018 were 61.7 percent, which were below the national average.
Lundberg said minority households in Fort Wayne statistically have a much lower rate of homeownership. The program looks to help increase those rates.
Through the program, homebuyers may qualify for a loan up to $8,000, 20 percent of which would be forgiven each full year of residency, up to five years, when the loan would be forgiven in full.
An application for the program is available online at www.pathfinderhomes.org.