3-On Your Side: Home Buy Now Grants
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Good news to report today for some people in the market to buy a house. The City is re-launching a program designed to help working Philadelphians. 3 On Your Side Consumer Reporter Jim Donovan has the details.
The Philadelphia Home Buy Now program kicked off in 2005 and over a four year period helped 211 families purchase homes. It's done by matching up grants from employers with those from the city. Now after a brief pause, the program is back up and running.
It was in front of a standing-room only crowd at drexel university that Mayor Nutter announced today the re-launch of Philadelphia Home Buy Now, a program in which businesses offer grants or forgivable loans so that employees may purchase homes within city limits.
Drexel University and Pennsylvania University are two of the largest employers participating in the program, which is being administered by the Urban Affairs Coalition. Sharmain Matlock-Turner, President and CEO of the Urban Affairs Coalition says, "They want you to be able to get to work close by, they really want to make sure employees feel as if this is their community and not just where they work."
The city will offer matching grants of $4,000 when buyers purchase a home in targeted areas, or $2,000 grants for purchase elsewhere in the city.
Drexel employee, Kalatu Davies is getting $19,000 in combined assistance from Drexel and the city to help buy her first home in West Philadelphia much sooner than expected. She says,
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"If I didn't get this, it would be two, three, years down the road definitely for sure and this just makes it possible now, and my personal savings can go towards home maintenance and to other expenses that will come down the road."
The city is committing $735,000 to the program and it's expected that will help put 240 families in new homes over the next two years. For more information, visit the link below:
Home Buy Now: http://www.gpuac.org/programs/CED_HomeBuyNow.htm
Reported by Jim Donovan, CBS 3
