CITY OF CHICAGO Entices Buyers to Buy City-Invested Homes!
CITY OF CHICAGO Entices Buyers to Buy City-Invested Homes!
CHICAGO "FIND YOUR PLACE" PROGRAM OFFERS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR THOSE BUYING CERTAIN HOMES IN PREVIOUSLY-FINANCIALLY-TROUBLED NEIGHBORHOODS!
The City of Chicago is starting a new program aimed at selling a couple of hundred new homes in which the city has an investment through certain financial incentives developed in a public-private partnership here. Their goal is to sell about 200 homes in 26 neighborhoods across the city with prices ranging from $150000 as high as the mid-$400’s.
Chicago’s new "Find Your Place" program will combine down payment assistance financial aid and price reductions provided by Harris Bank the non-profit Partnership for New Communities and private developers. No new City of Chicago money is forthcoming – only a marketing program to publicize existing city price-reduction programs and tax credits.
"Everything is slowing down" Chicago Mayor Richard Daley announced at a press conference last week. "You don’t want [city-assisted development] to stall."
A good portion of the financial assistance will go to those buying homes on former sites of public housing. These homes have been built and the surrounding area redeveloped through the Chicago Housing Authority Plan for Transformation. All of these homes were built with city financial assistance – including land leases reduced-cost land sales and federal and state financial subsidies.
According to Chicago Housing Commissioner Ellen Sahli "We want Chicagoans to know that we have affordably priced housing in vibrant neighborhoods across the city and that this is a good time to buy."
The John T. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is the single-largest contributor of assistance funds in the Chicago "Find Your Place" program. They contributed half of the $1 million in the Partnership for New Communities fund to give a $10000 discount to the first 100 buyers of units in seven Plan for Transformation developments. For those sales Harris Bank will cover up to $1500 in closing costs on fixed-rate mortgages said Sahli.
See Susan Diesenhouse’s story in Friday’s Chicago Tribune for more information. Also check the City of Chicago’s related websites – FindYourPlaceInChicago .org or ThePartnershipForNew Communities.org.
DEAN MOSS & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO
