FHLB Cincinnati's Welcome Home Program to Offer $20,000 grants beginning March 1

FHLB's popular down payment assistance program offers grants to low- and moderate-income homebuyers

CINCINNATI, Jan. 31, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati's Welcome Home Program (WHP) will open at 8:00 a.m. ET on March 1, 2024. The WHP offers grants of up to $20,000 to fund down payment and closing costs for low- and moderate-income homebuyers. Active-duty military, honorably discharged veterans, reservists and surviving spouses of service personnel are eligible for up to $25,000 in grant funds. Grant amounts in 2024 are the highest in WHP history.

Grant funds will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds have been reserved. All grants must be reserved by the FHLB member financial institution offering the mortgage. A list of eligible institutions is available at www.fhlbcin.com.

 "Over the last few years, increases in home prices coupled with rising interest rates have left many prospective homebuyers unable to purchase a home. At FHLB Cincinnati, we understood this barrier and increased our Welcome Home Program grant amount to $20,000 to help these buyers enter the market," said Andy Howell, President and CEO, FHLB Cincinnati.

Below is an abbreviated list of the program guidelines:

• The total income for all occupants must be at or below 80 percent of the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) limit for the county and state where the property is located;
• Homebuyers must contribute at least $500 of their own funds towards down payment and/or closing costs on a primary residence;
• All first-time homebuyers are required to complete a homeownership counseling program;
• Grant funds are intended only for homebuyers who qualify for the first mortgage based on their own merit. Co-signors and non-occupant co-borrowers are not permitted;
• The maximum interest rate for the first mortgage may not exceed 10.75 percent; and,
• All eligible property assisted with WHP funds is subject to a five-year retention mechanism, which may require the household to repay all or a portion of the subsidy, if the home is sold or refinanced within five years from the closing of the transaction.

This is FHLB's most widely used program, ideally suited to the needs of community lenders and their customers. Since its inception in 1998, the WHP has disbursed $199 million on behalf of more than 39,000 households. The WHP is part of the FHLB's Affordable Housing Program, which has awarded over $895 million in subsidies towards the creation or preservation of more than 109,000 units of affordable housing.

About the FHLB

The FHLB is a AA+ rated wholesale cooperative bank owned by 609 member financial institutions, including commercial banks, thrifts, credit unions, insurance companies and community development financial institutions in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. The FHLB provides members access to products and services (primarily Advances, which are a readily available, low-cost source of funds, purchases of certain mortgage loans from members, and issuance of Letters of Credit to members) and a competitive return through quarterly dividends on their capital investment in the FHLB. The FHLB funds these products and services by raising private-sector capital from member-stockholders and, with the other Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) in the FHLBank System, issuing high-quality debt in the global capital markets. The FHLB also funds community investment programs that help its members create affordable housing and promote community economic development.

SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati