Grant Programs Encouraging New Home Buyers!

Johns Hopkins Expands Home Buying Grants for Employees
Johns Hopkins recently announced a major expansion of its Live Near Your Work grant program, which encourages employees to buy homes in certain Baltimore neighborhoods. Full-time, benefits-eligible Hopkins employees may qualify for up to $17,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance. The program applies to employees of Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Health Care, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, or Johns Hopkins Bayview. Employees must contribute at least $1,000 toward the down payment and/or closing costs at settlement. Additionally, eligible employees must obtain a certificate documenting the completion of home ownership counseling prior to signing a contract of sale. There are no income restrictions, but the home must be purchased as a primary residence, and graduated repayment provisions do apply, if the home is sold or ceases to be the buyer’s primary residence within five years of the date of purchase. To see more program details and view a map of the targeted neighborhoods go to: www.jhu.edu/lnyw

CHAI Receives Foundation Grant - Charitable Foundation’s Board of Trustees recently awarded Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc. (CHAI) a $10,000 grant to support its Housing Services Program. The Foundation’s grant will enable CHAI to deepen its ability to serve clients in foreclosure and financial crisis and increase the emphasis on foreclosure prevention and financial literacy in its educational and counseling services. Since 1983, CHAI has been dedicated to increasing home ownership and economic stability in northwest Baltimore. CHAI’s Housing Services Program provides homebuyer and renovation loans and grants, homebuyer counseling and workshops, foreclosure prevention counseling, referrals to housing professionals, and links to public homeowner assistance programs for potential and existing homeowners in northwest Baltimore City. The Housing Services Program also acquires and renovates neighborhood properties to combat blight and spur neighborhood investment.

The Real Estate Investment Benefit

In the first half of this decade, most areas in the Mid-Atlantic experienced a substantial increase in home prices. So far in the second half of the decade, most areas are experiencing a decrease in home prices due to the oversupply of houses on the market. Let's say someone purchases a house in 2000 for $300,000, and by 2005 it appreciates to a market value of $500,000. Today, after the recent decrease in the market, that house might sell for $400,000, and the seller would see $100,000 net appreciation. If this seller only remembers the $500,000 at the peak of the market, the seller may think they lost $100,000 instead of gaining $100,000 from the $300,000 originally paid. In fact, homeowners who have purchased several houses over the years should look at the cumulative equity gains for all of the purchased houses. For example, if you bought your first house years ago for $150,000 and sold it for $250,000 to buy a $400,000 house that appreciated and sold for $600,000 to buy an $800,000 house in 2005, you would see a total gross equity gain of $100,000 for the first house and $200,000 for the second house for a total of $300,000 net appreciation. For an investment in the commodity of residential real estate, $300,000 net appreciation is a significant gain. In today's market, if you sold that last house purchased for $800,000 for a price of $680,000 (15% less or a "loss" of $120,000), your total real estate equity gain would still be $180,000. As a commodity, real estate prices go up and down, but historically over time houses have proven to be an excellent investment as well as contributing to a satisfying lifestyle. Although the primary purpose of owning a home is the lifestyle it brings, the secondary benefit is the investment potential. Sellers should look at the investment benefit over a longer period of time to see the gains that eventually come from real estate.