Portland Lift Program

November 28, 2013 13:08

The Portland Lift Program will provide up to 227 loans/grants in the amount of $15,000 for Portland home buyers.

The purpose of the Portland Lift Program is to assist moderate income home buyers with downpayment assistance and stimulate the real estate market during the low season.

On December 13th and 14th from 10am to 7pm, the Portland Housing Center in partnership with The City of Portland, Wells Fargo and NeighborhoodWorks America will be putting on a free homebuyer event at the Portland Convention Center (777 NE MLK Blvd.)  The purpose of the event is to provide home buyer education and qualify buyers for grants.  Buyers may also register with Umqua Bank to apply for the grants.

The grants will be given out to home buyers who make less than $83,300 for a family of 4, and buyers must have their homes under contract with 60 days of the registration event.  Buyers may have their houses under contract before the registration event.

The program is huge, and it will definitely send shockwaves through the Portland Real Estate Market.  In 2009 there was a Federal 1st Time Home Buyer Program, and it had a dramatic effect on our local market.  This event is huge because the grants are almost twice the size as the Federal Program, and the Portland Lift Program is not limited to 1st time home buyers.

The grants are limited to home purchases in the City of Portland, and condos, townhouses, single family residences and multifamily homes (up to 4 units) are eligible for the program.  They are for owner occupants only, and if the buyer lives in the home for at least 5 years, the grants will be forgiven.  Can you say free money :-)

Buyers will need to have a pre-approval letter from an approved lender before the event, and some home buyer education is required.

The number of grants are limited, so don't wait until the last minute to apply for this amazing program.  If you have any questions, please let me know 503-810-2219.

This program will also benefit sellers because the winter is typically the low real estate season in Portland, and the millions of dollars in grants will help hundreds of buyers to move forward with their decision to buy a home, thus helping to stimulate the local real estate market during the winter. 

Thanks, 

Amanda Folkestad and Brian Porter