A new program that will give some individuals up to $7,500 toward the purchase of an Akron home was approved Monday by City Council.
The downpayment assistance program, which officials first floated last year, is expected to begin in August.
It will be funded with $300,000 in federal Department of Housing and Urban Development dollars and will target low- and moderate-income families who want to buy their first home in Akron. In its first year, the program is expected to help about 33 homebuyers.
“We’re dipping our toe; we want to see how it goes,” said Kyle Julien, Akron’s planning director. “There are a lot of folks in the city who are paying rent and the rents are comparable or even greater than a mortgage payment would be. Let’s try to help them build that family wealth, get that stability.”
Council members praised the program, calling it a very important way to help build home ownership. It was also one of the priorities of the Unify Akron plan, developed by a group of residents who came together to make recommendations about how to improve and expand housing in the city.
“I’m behind this program 101 percent,” said Council Member Johnnie Hannah.
Stay up to date: Read our recent coverage on housing in Akron.
Who is eligible for downpayment assistance?
The program will be administered by the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation, which will run the housing counseling class which potential buyers are required to take to become eligible for the money. That program requires eight hours of financial counseling, a program that EANDC runs every month except December.
To qualify, an individual homebuyer must make $56,000 or less a year. A family of four must have a household income of $80,000 or less. There are also limits on the price of homes: $219,000 for an existing home and $296,000 for new construction.
The buyers are required to put 1 percent of their own money down, and must purchase their homes with a 30-year mortgage. There’s also a maximum limit of $15,000 in liquid assets the buyer can still have after the purchase. Applicants who have more than that in the bank will get less than the $7,500 available to buyers.
Those who are eligible must remain in their home for five years to have the loan forgiven; it will be forgiven at a rate of 20 percent a year if the owner moves before that five-year period has ended.
There is no requirement that applicants live in Akron now, but the downpayment assistance is only available toward homes in the city limits.
“Our phone’s going to be ringing from day one,” predicted Karl Driggs, the chief operating officer for EANDC. “It’s not just buying a home. It’s building long-term financial stability for families.”
Akron’s program echoes one in Canton
The City of Canton has a similar program, said Kathy Catazaro Perry, the executive director of Community Building Partnership of Stark County, Inc., which runs that city’s program. Catazaro Perry called the Canton program “wonderful” — since 2017, she said, the assistance had helped 125 people buy homes.
Between 2017 and 2024, the downpayment assistance program had led to more than $10 million in investments in Canton, she said.
She said most applicants already live in Canton, and the down payment assistance program makes home ownership attainable for them.
“It’s such a good program,” she said. “Having that money to assist just really lifts people up.”
That’s what Akron officials hope happens locally, too. Julien said he is optimistic that access to funds will help nudge people who are on the fence about their ability to buy a home toward taking the leap.
Creation of the program is among a series of steps the city is taking to improve housing accessibility in the city. Increasing home ownership, Julien said, helps change the trajectory of Akron’s neighborhoods and can help create more stability.
“It’s more people in a neighborhood that are going to be there for the long haul,” Julien said. “It could be one of those things that tips the scales in favor of Akron.”
Assistance means the American Dream can stay within reach
Julien said the administration will evaluate the program every six months to see what, if anything, might need to change.
Driggs, with EANDC, said there are still some nuances to work out with the agreement with the city. He said there is a range of benefits from the program, including improved healthcare outcomes for people who are homeowners.
“It creates a stronger Akron community as a whole,” Driggs said. “There’s a lot of action being done to help raise those tides.”
Driggs said he and others were excited to get started, to make a difference in the city.
“Housing has felt out of reach for many, many years,” he said. “Home ownership, as that American Dream, can be real. It’s encouraging people not to give up on their dreams.”
