Taylor approves restart of down payment assistance program, raises per-household cap to $40,000
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Summary
Council awarded administration of a restarted Home Down Payment Assistance program to National Faith Home Buyers and amended prior allocations to allow assistance up to $40,000 per household, combining roughly $400,000 across two grant years; staff noted forgivable-lien mechanics and that loan position is typically secondary.
The Taylor City Council voted June 17 to restart the city’s Home Down Payment Assistance (DPA) program, awarding program administration to National Faith Home Buyers and authorizing changes to per-household assistance limits.
Program staff told the council the city will combine previously approved 2020 HOME funds (approximately $230,000) with 2021 funds ($219,005.90) to make just over $400,000 available for program administration and assistance. The administration contract was described as $1,200 per client for administrative services and an additional $75 per hour for home-consulting services. Council approved the subrecipient agreement authorizing $219,590 for the 2021 allocation and separately amended the 2020 award to raise the per-household assistance cap from $14,009.99 to the maximum allowable $40,000.
Staff explained the forgivable structure: assistance at the $14,009.99 level typically carried a five-year forgivable lien; higher assistance amounts would require a longer forgivable period (staff cited prior examples of 10-year forgiveness when assistance exceeded the lower threshold). The program is funded through Wayne County HOME funds (federal HOME dollars routed via the county consortia) and will operate under the consortia’s established eligibility and lien rules.
Council members asked practical questions about the number of homes the funding could serve (staff estimated roughly 9–10 homes if the full $40,000 cap were used per household; more if smaller assistance amounts are used), the lien priority (staff said the city would most likely be a secondary lien behind a primary mortgage), and income eligibility (staff said typical thresholds are 80% area median income but some programs allow up to 120% depending on the grant rules; final eligibility will be published when agreements are finalized). Staff committed to returning to council with proration details and the exact forgiveness schedule.
The council approved the administrative award and the agreement amendments; staff were assigned to publish application materials and clarify lien/proration details before program rollout.
