Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández and nine of her House colleagues introduced the Home of Your Own Act on June 12. The bill creates national one-time, $30,000 homeownership grants to help New Mexicans and Americans across the country become first-time homeowners.
The bill comes in the wake of the first successful home purchase for a constituent of NM-03 made possible by $750,000 in Community Project Funds Leger Fernández secured for a pilot program administered by Homewise. The home purchase, which closed in Santa Fe on June 5, is testament to the fact that this program is already working for New Mexicans. The same pilot project funds are projected to help 25 families in NM-03 purchase their first home.
Leger Fernández and Reps. Jim Costa, D-CA, Robert Garcia, D-CA, Sylvia Garcia, D-TX, Raúl Grijalva, D-AZ, Barbara Lee, D-CA, Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC, Delia Ramirez, D-IL, Andrea Salinas, D-OR, and Melanie Stansbury, D-NM, introduced the Home of Your Own Act because homeownership has become out of reach for too many Americans. The bill is also endorsed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Young adults whose parents bought a starter home now don’t see the same future for themselves. Even workers with good jobs face hurdles affording a down payment and closing costs. The Home of Your Own Act would create a national homeownership grant program to help address this housing crisis. This program would provide one-time, $30,000 homeownership assistance grants to eligible first-time homebuyers who earn at or below 120-150 percent of the area median income.
“We need a new homeownership assistance program so our teachers, nurses, and artists can afford to live and stay in their hometowns,” Leger Fernández said. “This program is going to help people when they need it most. Tax credits help on April 15 but people need money for when they’re closing on their home — that’s what my bill will accomplish.”
She also mentioned the efforts through the Homewise project.
“This program is modeled after a community funded project I secured for Homewise in 2023,” she said. “That program is already working for New Mexicans. Homeownership means hope for the future. We need to revitalize Americans’ hope in a shared prosperous future. We need to pass the Home of Your Own Act.”
The bill has been endorsed by America’s Credit Unions, Credit Union Association of New Mexico, Homewise, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, National American Indian Housing Council, National NeighborWorks Association, and UnidosUS. The bill is also endorsed by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).
The Home of Your Own Act:
Creates a new national homeownership assistance grant program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Provides one-time, $30,000 homeownership assistance grants to eligible first-time homebuyers who earn at or below 120-150 percent of the area median income.
Provides flexible financial assistance to homebuyers that can be used for down payment costs, closing costs, mortgage interest rate reduction, and/or necessary repairs prior to move-in.
Streamlines assistance to underserved communities by empowering community development financial institutions to partner with states to administer at least 25% of the funds to homebuyers.
Prepares participants for homeownership by requiring participants to complete a homeownership financial counseling program prior to receiving financial assistance.
Dedicates homeownership grant funds to all 50 States, U.S. Territories (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, & United States Virgin Islands), and the District of Columbia.
Sets aside 3% of the authorized funding as homeownership grant funds for tribal entities.
Authorizes $33.5 billion for the grant program over 5 years with $6.7 billion authorized per year.
“Congresswoman Leger Fernandez’s Home of Your Own Act will create a much-needed program to assist first-time homebuyers in a time when housing costs are high and too many Americans have been priced out of homeownership,” Homewise’s CEO Mike Loftin said. “And because the program has been tested via a pilot program the Congresswoman funded with a CPF grant, we know the program works and the nation can hit the ground running and help thousands of households become the owners of their own housing.”
By Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández
