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An innovative program presented
today includes incentives such as below market-rate mortgages
and low down payments designed to entice more Cincinnati Public
Schools' employees to buy houses within the district.
The CPS' Board of Education,
sitting today as a Committee of the Whole, heard details of
the proposal, which was engineered by Board President Rick
Williams. The proposed program is believed to be the first
such program in the country.
Firstar Bank has made
a three-year commitment to the Cincinnati Public Schools'
Employer-Based Home Ownership Program. Other groups in partnership
with the district on this program include the Cincinnati Federation
of Teachers, the Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati,
the University of Cincinnati and the Neighborhood Reinvestment
Corp.
The Home Ownership Program
aims to help reach goals important to the district, the City
of Cincinnati and Hamilton County: Recruiting and retaining
quality teachers, and increasing home ownership within the
city.
"This is an opportunity
for the district, a major employer in the city, to contribute
to reversing the trend we saw documented in the last census
of people moving out of the city," said Williams, who is a
management consultant with Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp.
"We can help create homeownership for the city. And for the
district, this is an opportunity to create a great benefit
for all employees. The timing is perfect, as we head into
a heavy teacher-recruitment period."
The program, available
to all full-time CPS employees buying houses within the school
district, includes:
- 3 percent down payment
(Borrower must provide the lesser of 2 percent or $1,000
and remainder may be gift or grant.)
- Low mortgage rates
(fixed, 15-30 years, no points; from 1/8 percent to 1/4
percent below market rate with no mortgage insurance; and
a combined loan-to-value of 110 percent so home repairs
may be part of a second mortgage.)
- Reduced closing costs
(maximum of $1,000, plus title insurance)
- No income limits
- Availability to first-time
and repeat homebuyers.
- Limited refinancing
available.
- 1 percent to 5 percent
home-improvement financing for repairs to the purchased
house
- Free construction consulting
services for repairs (estimating prices, finding a contractor,
monitoring work)
- Free homebuyer training
and counseling
- One undergraduate or
graduate credit from the University of Cincinnati for completing
a homebuyer training course offered by the Home Ownership
Center of Greater Cincinnati.
Employees interested in
participating in the program must begin the process by contacting
the Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati, 2820 Vernon
Place, Avondale, 961-2800.
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