Category |
Recommendations |
|---|---|
| Mortgage lending | Develop data-based criteria for responsible mortgage lending to lower-income homebuyers, including mortgage terms and underwriting standards |
| Adopt standards for responsible mortgages for lower-income homebuyers based on certain criteria | |
| Prohibit secondary market access and use of public-sector funds in conjunction with mortgages that do not meet responsible standards | |
| Conduct educational and outreach activities to make prospective borrowers aware of responsible mortgage products | |
| Increase availability and visibility of meaningful pre-purchase education and counseling resources | |
| Public subsidies for lower-income homeownership | Provide public subsidies to build or rehabilitate housing for lower-income homeownership sparingly, only when (1) adequate housing at affordable prices is not available on the private market; and/or (2) the housing will serve a compelling neighborhood revitalization or other public purpose |
| Use public funds for down payment or closing cost assistance rarely if at all | |
| Conduct research on the extent to which public down payment or closing cost assistance actually expands homeownership or provides meaningful net benefit for lower-income homeowners | |
| Increase housing quality | Increase efforts to inform prospective homebuyers about home-buying options |
| Provide easy access to affordable home inspection services for prospective homebuyers | |
| Enact local ordinances requiring certificate of occupancy inspections or similar requirements for new purchases | |
| Create programs with public funds to provide small loans to lower-income homebuyers to make home repairs and improvements to newly purchased homes | |
| Foster sustainable ownership | Expand availability of ongoing post-purchase counseling and crisis intervention services for homeowners |
| Create emergency assistance programs similar to the Pennsylvania HEMAP program at the state and local levels | |
| Explore the use of mortgage products and property tax changes to mitigate the effect of income disruptions or price shocks on homeowners | |
| Explore wider use of shared-equity homeownership models such as limited equity cooperatives and community land trusts |