By Delaney Nelson, Austin Weekly News | October 3rd, 2024 (Click Here For Original Article)
If you want to become a homeowner, but don’t think you can afford it, the Cook County Land Bank Authority wants to help.
The Homebuyer Direct program, launched by the CCLBA in 2017, connects prospective buyers with below market-rate houses in need of renovation. The program aims to remove barriers that come with fixer-upper properties through grants up to 6% of a home’s purchase price, capped at $20,000.
“[Program grants] allow them to buy, rehab and ultimately move into the home of their home of their dreams,” said Darlene Dugo, deputy director of the CCLBA.
In 2024, the program expanded to assist buyers in purchasing developer-owned renovated properties or newly built properties on former land bank plots. The grant is only available for property that will become the owner’s primary residence.
Homebuyers may use grant funds to finance renovations, contribute to a down payment or closing costs or pay for things related to property transactions, like insurance or inspection fees. In addition, buyers must contribute at least $1,000 or 1% of the home purchase price, whichever is less.
There are two ways to participate:
For buyers interested in purchasing a fixer upper directly from the land bank, search the CCLBA’s interactive property viewer for available properties. Buyers may show their interest using the “apply” button on the property’s listing. From there, a representative from the agency will take potential buyers on a property tour and talk them through needed renovations.
The second option is to purchase from a developer. A list of qualifying properties can be found on the CCLBA’s website under “equity fund program.” This includes both developer-renovated properties and previously vacant land bank lots on which developers have built new property. Application documents are also listed on the website.
In either case, buyers must be mortgage-ready to apply for the grant money. That may mean going to homebuyer counseling, meeting with a lender and getting pre-approved for a mortgage.
Darlene Dugo, deputy director at the CCLBA, said the homebuyer direct program intentionally has few limits, aside from mandating the property be owner-occupied for a minimum of three years.
“We don’t impose any income restrictions, we don’t impose any credit score requirements. Essentially, we’re letting the applicant know, ‘Follow your lender’s guidelines, because they’re going to direct you,’” Dugo said. The program’s purchase assistance can be layered with other purchase assistance or down payment assistance programs, she added, as long as the buyer’s lender allows it.
Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, first elected in 2010, has led a charge to investigate and create solutions for historic disinvestment. The CCLBA, which, aside from this grant program, acquires vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties and develops them in a way that’s consistent with community stakeholder priorities, is a branch of Preckwinkle’s work.
In addition to making home buying more affordable and accessible, the land bank’s grant program “continues its mission of promoting redevelopment and reuse of vacant, abandoned, foreclosured, tax delinquent property,” Dugo said.
“Imagine having one delinquent property on your street and the havoc that that causes,” said Dugo. “That impacts everyone on that block’s property values. What we want to do is turn these properties into an asset for that neighborhood.”
In the past decade, the CCLBA’s partnerships with private developers have done just that: created jobs, built affordable housing and aided in the revitalization of disinvested communities across Cook County, according to the organization’s ten-year impact report. At a cost of just over $185 million since 2014, the CCLBA’s programs generated $9.77 for every dollar spent.
In Austin, CCLBA’s reach extends beyond homeownership. On Oct. 10, PCC Community Wellness will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for its Austin Primary Care Pavilion, which was built on former Land Bank plots. The center will offer medical care, job opportunities, an urban farm and workforce development programming. And earlier this year, local developer Leodus Thomas Jr. unveiled a newly restored eight-flat residential building in Galewood. It includes five affordable residences and was also built on plots purchased from the Land Bank.