Single-Family Homes, Homeland Basics

Information about the Homeland Program

The Addison County Community Trust has a limited number of down payment grants available through our Homeland program to help qualified customers purchase a property from the open market in Addison County. Buyers who use these down payment grants will share their appreciation with future generations, helping to keep the home affordable to the next buyers.

Our maximum grant amount is $40,000, or 20% of the purchase price of the property, whichever is less. Homeland grants are available on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible households.

How Do I Qualify?

Qualified buyers are first-time homebuyers, meaning they have not owned a home (other than a mobile home) in the last three years. They also have good credit and make 100% of median income for Addison County or less.

If you are interested in using a grant, there are several steps you should go through to initiate the process:

• Complete a Home Buyer Education course through NeighborWorks of Western Vermont. To enroll, call (802)438-2303 x216. Home Buyer Education assesses your readiness to buy and informs you about the process of buying a home.
• Obtain a pre-approval letter from a lender.
• Submit a Single-Family Home Application to ACCT

Please note, you must have the ability to contribute $1,500 to the purchase, whether from you personal savings or a gift from a family member.

Once you have submitted an application, it is up to you to obtain and send to us a copy of the purchase and sales contract and a mortgage commitment letter from the lender you have chosen. Once we have these items, we can process your application and reserve a grant for your home.

Because funds are limited, it is important that you (1) check on the availability of funds before signing a contract to buy a home and (2) include contingencies in your contract that will allow you to exit the contract and keep your deposit if ACCT can't provide you with a grant. Please call us for updates on the amount of available funds at 877-2626.

How Much Are the Grants, and How Do They Work?

The amount of a grant is 20% of the property you wish to purchase, but $40,000 is the maximum. For example, if you purchased a home that costs $150,000, your maximum grant amount would be $30,000 (20% of $150,000 = $30,000). If you purchased a home that costs $200,000 or more, your maximum grant amount would be $40,000.

In order to make the homes purchased through this program affordable to potential future buyers, there are restrictions placed on resale or refinancing of the home. Neither can be done without prior approval of ACCT. Also, any improvements on the home involving more than $2,000 must be cleared first with ACCT. Homeowners receive their investment in improvements back upon sale if they follow the procedure to obtain ACCT approval ahead of time.

Buyers may own and use the home as long as they wish and transfer it to their family by will or operation of law. Once a buyer qualifies for the purchase through the program, it does not matter that the buyer's income later rises above the qualifying median income; the home is theirs. In consideration of the grant, which buyers do not have to repay, if they choose to sell the home, they will get only 25% of any appreciation in value from the date of purchase. ACCT, which reserves an option to purchase the home, will find an affordable buyer, who will pay enough to cover this 25% of any appreciation plus closing costs. The new buyer gets the benefit of the grant, but a new grant is unnecessary.

Owners who purchase their home with the help of a Homeland grant pay a $25/mo. fee to ACCT to support the program.

Can I Use the Grant to Purchase Any Property?

• Participants can identify a home from offerings on the private market and negotiate the best deal they can, or they can buy homes built for them. ACCT will not approve a home purchase if the sale price is more than the appraised value of the home.
• The home must be a single-family home or condominium in Addison County. ACCT is not able to participate in the purchase of a duplex, mobile home, HUD foreclosure, senior-restricted housing, or in a condominium association with less than 12 units.
• Our funders, the Vermont Housing Conservation Board, must approve all details of the purchase, including, but not limited to, your financing terms, your debt to income ratios, the home inspection, and appraisal.
• ACCT staff must inspect the property, including any well or septic systems, and determine it to be free from substantial defects and in good general condition.
• Closing on the home cannot happen any sooner than 6-8 weeks from the date of contract.
• Sometimes, ACCT has grants specially set aside for new developments—these grants can usually be used to purchase any property in that development, but cannot be transferred to other homes on the private market.