The Purchase & Lease-Purchase Program is offered in conjunction with LHA’s Home Building Project. As described under Home Building Project, LHA works with Lincoln Public Schools and Northeast High School to build one home each year. Students in construction trades classes build the house which is sold at cost upon completion to families in LHA programs. Student labor helps to lower the final cost of the house. If the house can’t be sold immediately, LHA offers a lease-purchase option for up to five years. The family lives in the house with an agreement they will complete the purchase of the house within 5 years. A portion of their monthly lease payment covers property insurance, interest, and reducing the principal on the purchase price. The remainder of the monthly lease payment is placed in an escrow account which can be used in the future for down payment or repairs. LHA works with the family during the lease period to help them prepare for home ownership. At the end of the five years, the tenant must seek permanent financing for the remainder of the balance of the purchase price through normal real estate lending channels. The housing authority recovers most of its cost to build the house at the time of the sale.

The Down Payment Assistance Program is available to participants and graduates of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program. LHA will loan to qualified clients 7.5% of the purchase price of a home, up to a maximum of $3,750. The loan is 0% interest and requires repayment upon sale or transfer of the property in the future.

For additional home ownership programs, LHA encourages families interested in home ownership to contact NeighborWorks of Lincoln for homebuyer education, mortgage counseling and assistance, and post-purchase education. Other resources are listed in the Links.

 

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