Champlain Housing Trust (CHT) is committed to racial justice and permanently affordable housing. Due to a long history of discrimination, Black and other households of color have much lower homeownership rates than white households. White homeownership rates are over 70% nationally and in Vermont, compared to Black homeownership rates of 42% nationally and 21% in Vermont.
Homeownership is one of the most significant ways to build wealth for American households. To access homeownership, a buyer needs enough money to pay for the costs associated with buying a home. Having enough funds is one of the biggest barriers to homeownership for buyers of color.
In light of this history, CHT created the Homeownership Equity Program (HEP) to enhance and encourage homeownership for households of color.
Our HEP Down Payment Assistance product provides a bridge to homeownership with 0.00% interest loans (.o6% APR)* of up to $25,000 for qualified shared equity home buyers. If the buyer owns and lives in their home for three years or more, they never have to repay the loan. The buyer can use the funds to pay the costs of buying the home, to borrow less money from the bank and to build home equity.
To be eligible, the buyer:
(i) must purchase a CHT shared equity home,
(ii) have a household income at or below 100% area median income;
(iii) be a first-time home buyer; and
(iv) have at least one of the prospective property owners identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color).
If you are interested in applying for the program:
- Apply to the Shared Equity Program (SEP)
- If eligible, we will send you a brief loan program eligibility form.
Interpretation services available upon request.
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Contact Us for More Information:
802-861-7373 or [email protected]
* APR is the Annual Percentage Rate, which factors in any loan closing cost.