About Our Grant 

Our $10,000 home buyer grants are actually 5 year forgivable loans.  That means after 5 years of living in your home, your loan is forgiven!  If you choose to move before you 5 years are completed you are required to pay back the loan.  You are able to refinance your home as long as it does not pull equity out of the home. Only individuals on the mortgage are allowed on the deed for the purposes of our grant.

Our grant can be used for a down payment or closing costs.  You do not need to be a first time home buyer to use our grant.

This year we have 20 grants that can be used anywhere in Dundalk! Take a look at our neighborhood maps to see where Dundalk’s boundaries are–the answer might surprise you!

Home Buyer Grants

Qualify for $10,000 in 3 easy steps!

  1. Fill out our grant application.  Be sure to upload your tax return from last year and two months of current pay stubs.
  2. Schedule a meeting with Sonya, our housing and financial counselor, to review your income and home buying needs.
  3. Obtain a home buyer certification from a home ownership counseling program.

Grantees must have a savings of $7,500 or 5% of their annual income (whichever is higher).  All individuals on the deed MUST be on the mortgage to receive our grant.  Regretfully, we can not accept individuals or families who are under contract for a home.  There is a debt to income ratio that will be discussed with your initial meeting with Sonya Dease.  Please contact Sonya with questions (Sonya@DundalkUSA.org | 410.282.0261 ext 107).

Feeling overwhelmed? Download our Home buyer Grant Checklist to make sure you stay on track while you search for your new home!

Next Grant Qualifying Class

Home Buyer Education Class

Saturday, March 25 at 10am-4pm
Zoom

Sign Up

Income Eligibility 

As part of our work attracting Dundalk’s next generation of homeowners, our grants are for individuals and families earning between 80%-120% of the average median income for the Baltimore region. 

The chart on the right will give you the income range eligible for our Home Buyer Grant.  

Household size  

1

  

2

  

3

  

4

  

5

  

6

  

7

  

8
80%  AMI       $62,600 $71,500 $80,450 $89,400 $96,550 $ 92,700 $103,700 $110,850
120%  AMI       $80,125 $91,575 $103,025 $114,450 $123,650 $132,875 $141,650 $150,845

Area median income (AMI) is the median income for households in the Baltimore region. Households include everyone who will live in your home, including children. Income assessments are made from the household income.

When you send us your income documents, be sure to include all revenue streams from jobs worked in a year.

All individuals on the mortgage must be on the deed and all individuals on the deed must be on the mortgage to receive our grant.

I Don’t Fall Within the AMI

If you do not have the income needed for our grant program, there might be other grant options for you.

Other programs cater to a different income ranges or can help home buyers pay off their student loans. Find the program that works best for you.

We always recommend you start with a housing counselor before searching for homes or enlisting a realtor to help you.

Funding for low and moderate income, first-time home buyers below 80% AMI. The County can lend up to $10,000 to income-eligible purchasers to help pay closing costs required to purchase an existing home within the designated Community Conservation Areas of Baltimore County.

Assistance from SELP is a deferred loan that is forgivable if the homeowner occupies the property as their principal residence during the period of affordability, currently 7 years.

Buyers must attend a certification class from one of the first five providers on the list and complete their one-on-one counseling, and they must use a lender from the County’s Preferred Lender list.

These funds are administered by Baltimore County Housing Counseling Agencies.  Contact them to sign up for classes and find out if that agency has any remaining funds for the current year. The funds are provided via Baltimore County Department of Planning – 410-887-3124

This program is a combination of down payment assistance, tax credits, interest rate options and home buyer education resources. The main loan product types available are Grant Assist, Loan Assist and Rate Assist.
Contact Maryland Deptarment of Housing and Community Development or call 800.638.7781 or 301.429.7852

Selected state-owned homes available for sale and allows eligible home buyers to use special MMP financing to pay off their outstanding student debt as part of the home purchase. Other programs may be available for limited times for targeted locations or eligible groups.

Home buyers must have an existing student debt with a minimum balance of $1,000. Maryland SmartBuy financing provides up to 15% of the home purchase price for the borrower to pay off their outstanding student debt. Maryland SmartBuy 2.0 offers the same student debt relief of 15% of the home purchase price with a maximum payoff of $40,000.

More info.

Known as a ‘mortgage credit certificate’, is issued to the home buyer at the time of the purchase and allows the homeowner to claim a federal tax credit of up to $2,000 each year for the life of the loan. The amount that can be claimed each year is based on the mortgage interest paid on the loan. Fees may apply.

Many organizations and employers in Maryland have programs to help home buyers, including grants, loans and other helpful assistance. If you’re using the Loan Assist Program, any financial assistance you receive from these organizations is matched (up to $3,500) as additional down payment assistance.

Military veterans and active duty military recieve a special interest rate discount of 0.25% for a 30-year and a fixed rate mortgage.

All qualified borrower are also eligible to receive $5,000 for down payment and closing cost assistance through the Maryland Mortgage Program’s Down Payment Assistance Program plus any applicable Partner Match funds.

This program is not applicable to refinances. Talk to an approved Maryland Mortgage Program Lender about possible Down Payment Assistance options available to you.

Contact Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta or call 1.800.536.9650.  If you are already working with a counselor, lender or realtor they should know if funding is still available.

FHLB is a statewide settlement and down payment assistance program, up to $5,000, for first-time home buyers that meet the low-to-moderate household income requirements.

Workshop attendance and counseling are required, and the buyer must contribute at least $1,000. The buyer’s first mortgage and the request for the FHLB funds must be made by a participating FHLB member institution (bank, savings & loan, or credit union). The buyer is responsible for verifying their lender’s participation in this assistance program.

Funding is available for owned-occupied homes located within the United States and its territories; eligible properties include 1) owner-occupied 1-4 family properties 2) townhouses, condos 3) foreclosed properties 4) cooperatives 5) manufactured and mobile housing 6) new construction (within 30 days of closing) 

More Info 

Next Steps

Questions? Email Sonya@DundalkUSA.org or call 410.282.0261 ext 107.

Once you are income qualified you will then need to attend a marketing event, a home buyer education class, 1-on-1 counseling, and obtain home buyer certification.  After you complete those requirements and find your home, you will submit a complete copy of your ratified contract.

You are free to choose your own lender. We thank the MD DHCD for funding our home buyer grant program. We do encourage you to research the Maryland Mortgage Program; if you use one of their many loan products, you must use one of the lenders on their list (over 80 of them).