New program helps first-time home buyers

Determined to help Chicagoans become homeowners despite the foreclosure crisis, Mayor Richard M. Daley recently unveiled a new housing program that allows people to pick where they want to live. “This program truly provides a tremendous opportunity

Determined to help Chicagoans become homeowners despite the foreclosure crisis, Mayor Richard M. Daley recently unveiled a new housing program that allows people to pick where they want to live.

“This program truly provides a tremendous opportunity for homebuyers, matching them up with homes in which the city has invested, including market rate and affordable units,” Daley said at a news conference announcing the program. “All of us in city government work hard to make sure Chicago is the kind of city where people want to live, work and raise a family. And, of course, it means investing in housing, which has been a key part of our strategy to improve the quality of life for all residents of Chicago.”

Under the program, the city and its partners, including philanthropic organizations, lenders and developers, will offer significant incentives, including down payment assistance, purchase-price help and special lender incentives.

The program consists of more than 200 homes priced between $150,000 and $450,000. It also includes condos and single-family homes that are brand new or rehabbed units. Some properties have purchase price subsidies of up to $40,000 for eligible buyers, depending on their income.

Homes in the program are located in 21 communities across the city, including Beverly, South Shore, West Pullman, Woodlawn, Kenwood and Auburn Gresham on the South Side; East Garfield Park, Douglas and North Lawndale on the West Side; and Logan Square, Humboldt Park and New City on the North Side.

Cyrus and Linda Bell live in a three-bedroom apartment in the Auburn Gresham community and plan to buy their first home in May when their lease expires.

“I’m glad to see that we can stay in our neighborhood where we have lived the past 10 years and not have to move to an area we know little about,” Cyrus Bell said. “This sounds like a good program for first-time homebuyers like us and if the city is behind it, we won’t have to worry about predatory lending.”

Pamela Goody, 38, lives in a one-bedroom apartment in west suburban Lisle but is looking to move to the city to be closer to her job in the Sears Tower.

“Gas is too expensive to drive to work everyday so if I can move closer to downtown–like the West Side–I could take the train to work every day,” she said. “A nice little condo would do me just fine.”

The incentives range from money for down payments and closing costs to financial assistance from area employers.

There’s even a special mortgage offered that gives buyers a federal tax credit.

The incentives vary by property, developer and program.

The first 100 buyers to purchase a home in one of the newer developments such as Oakwood Shores, Park Boulevard, Lake Park Crescent, West End, Westhaven Park or Jazz on the Boulevard, will be guaranteed a $10,000 grant to be used toward the purchase price.

Individual developers will offer a range of additional incentives, which include such things as free parking, upgraded amenities and finishes.

This month, the city is also offering weekend tours of homes and communities in the program.

For more information, call 311 and ask for the “Find Your Place in Chicago” program or go to their Web site at www.findyourplaceinchicago.com.

Wendell Hutson can be reached at whutson@chicagodefender.com.

Copyright 2008 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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