If you work in a career that helps others in the community like a teacher, nurse, firefighter or police officer, we know how important you are to our well being! As a way of saying thank you, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank) has a program to help with down payments and closing costs for home buyers like you. More than 12,000 home buyers since 1997 have been helped by the FHLBank which offers community partners like yourself grants that can be used for a down payment and closing cost associated with the purchase of a new home.  Don’t be confused by the name of the FHLBank.  Grants are available for homes located in the FHLB Atlanta’s district that includes Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Through the FHLBank Atlanta’s Community Partners program, health care workers, educators, law enforcement officers and firefighters may be eligible for up to $7,500 to assist with down payment and closing costs to buy a home. The grant is for eligible individuals and their families who work in one of these fields and are obtaining a mortgage through a participating member bank.

Nurses, teachers, firefighters, police officers and others who would like to access FHLB Atlanta’s Community Partners program must meet eligibility guidelines and request funds through a participating bank.

Eligibility criteria include:

  • The home being purchased must be used as the home buyer’s primary residence.
  • Home buyers must contribute a minimum of $1,000 to the overall cost of the down payment. FHLB will match $4 for each $1 the home buyer contributes up to a max contribution of $7,500. Therefore to receive the full $7,500 grant, the home buyer must contribute $1,875 of the down payment and closing cost.
  • The home buyer must have income that is less than or equal to 80% of the HUD median income for the area based on family size.

For more information, call 1st Mariner Bank at 877-733-4411 and ask about the Community Partners program.  To start your home search, give the Lise Howe Group a call at 240-401-5577 or email us at info@lisehowe.com.