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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct a reporter’s error with the phone number and also income guidelines to qualify for the program.
The Northern Panhandle Home Consortium again has funding to assist lower-income residents wanting to be first-time homebuyers.
Melissa Thompson, community development specialist for the city of Wheeling, said the consortium has been told it will receive a $305,207 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for fiscal year 2021.
Of this amount, $228,000 will be designated for "eligible affordable housing activities," she said.
This includes the First-Time Homebuyer Program, which provides up to $10,000 for down payment and closing-cost assistance to those considered as having low to moderate incomes living in the Northern Panhandle.
In Ohio County, a family of two could have a combined income of $44,100 per year and qualify for the loan, while families of three or more could earn up to $49,600 to receive the assistance.
The cost of the home to be purchased cannot exceed $133,000.
The homeowner must occupy for five years, and then the loan is forgiven.
"It has been a very successful program in the Northern Panhandle," Thompson said. "We've seen very few foreclosures or defaults across the board."
Since 1998, 265 homebuyers have been assisted within the city of Wheeling, and another 84 within Ohio County, according to Thompson.
During that time, 1,006 homebuyers have been assisted across the Northern Panhandle, with $9 million being distributed.
"It's a good celebratory point — that we've assisted over 1,000 homebuyers," Thompson said. "That's a pretty big deal."
Those qualified in Ohio County wishing to buy their first home should contact Thompson at 304-234-3701.
Of the $305,207 received by the Northern Panhandle Home Consortium, 10 percent is set aside for administration while 15 percent must be directed toward a community housing development project.
The most recent of these community projects funded by the consortium was one completed in the last year by Greater Wheeling Coalition for the Homeless.