City Assisting Home Buyers

The City of Key West’s Community Development Office will have, by the end of December, assisted 53 households with buying their own homes. Already, the Homebuyers Assistance Program has provided down payment and closing costs for 33 new homeowners. Another 20 families will have assistance with down payments and closing costs through the “At Home” program for homes at the Lofts of Bahama Village Condominiums.

In total, the programs have provided $1,060,000 in down payment and closing costs assistance to qualified families.
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“This is an amazing accomplishment,” said Community Development Director Tina Burns. “And it shows how much of a need there is in the community.”

The City’s Community Development Office, under the direction of Burns, took the dormant Homebuyers Assistance program and revitalized it to help residents. That program is funded through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and generated through a percentage of parking fees. The “At Home” program was created by the Bahama Village Redevelopment Advisory Committee. That funding comes from a special taxing district called tax incremental funding: money raised within Bahama Village to be spent specifically within the district.

“By the end of December,” said Burns, “the City of Key West will have enabled 53 families to realize the dream of home ownership.”

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