Little Haiti Home Buyer Assistance Program

•Purchase can be for single family home, condominium, town home or duplex with program preference for single-family home purchase;•Homebuyer must earn 80% to 120% of Area Median Income (AMI). Given home prices, households earning less than 80% will be impossible to finance sustainability, and monthly costs will not be affordable (below 30% of household income and a maximum debt-to-income ratio of 50%). See AMI chart.

•Primary applicant must have been a full-time resident of Little Haiti for at least the past two years.

•Applicant must not have filed for bankruptcy within the past 24 months.

•Eligible properties shall cost no more than $500,000 for single family homes andcondominiums, and $1M for duplexes in which the borrower will also make their primary residence. The program final financing must provide monthly payment that is less than30% of applicant’s annual household income. This standard should be the ultimate limit onwhat an applicant can apply for.

Little Haiti Revitalization Trust Forgivable Loan: 50% match up to 10% of the purchase price, and no more than $25,000 as required by primary lender. Applicant must supply remainder of the equity requirement and may utilize third party home ownership assistance programs.
•Homebuyer must attend an approved homeownership education program.

• Home must be located in Little Haiti.
• Must be primary, only residence.
• Buyer/recipient must live in the home for 20 years after purchase to achieve loan forgiveness. 

• This loan is forgiven after 20 years of residence in the home.

• If the owner sells and/ or transfers the house before the end of the Trust’s mortgage term, the 4 following provisions will apply: 

1. The borrower will be required to repay the original amount given as assistance.
2. The Trust shall share in any ‘gain’ realized, based on its pro-rated share ofparticipation in the original purchase. Furthermore, if the sales occur within the first3 years, the Trust shall keep 100% of its pro-rated share of the ‘gain’, from year 3 upto year 20, the Trust’s share of its pro-rated ‘gain’ shall decrease by 5% every year,while in turn, the owner’s share shall increase by 5% each year. At year 20, up to theTrust’s loan maturity, the owner shall retain 100% of the Trust’s ‘gain’.
3. This above share gain proposal terminates in the event of a foreclosure, with thelender required to provide the Trust the right of first refusal to purchase the loan ata negotiated price. In the event of a foreclosure, the Trust will recapture any amountof net proceeds available from the sale of the property.

Little Haiti ("area") described as follows: beginning at the intersection of Northeast 54th Street and Northeast 4th Avenue, traveling westward along the mid-block line between Northeast 54th Street and the street parallel to the south until it meets Interstate I-95, then traveling northward along the center line of Interstate I-95 until meeting the boundary of the city, then turning and traveling eastward along the mid-block line to include the frontage of Northwest 79th Street until reaching North Miami Avenue, then traveling northward along North Miami Avenue until it reaches the Little River, then traveling eastward following the northern boundary of the city along the Little River until reaching Northeast 2nd Avenue, then traveling southward along 

the mid-block line between Northeast 2nd Avenue and the street running parallel to the east including the eastern frontage of Northeast 2nd Avenue until reaching the northern boundary of Little Haiti Park, then following the park boundary until reaching Northeast 4th Avenue, then traveling south along the center line of Northeast 4th Avenue until reaching the beginning. 

1. Review all requirements to ensure you are eligible for the program.
2. Attend a Homebuyer Counseling workshop. See list of approved Homebuyer Counseling Agencies(PDF, 153KB)
3. Search for a home in Little Haiti based on your pre-approved loan amount and within the maximum sales price limit of $500,000 for single family homes and $1M for duplex for existing or new construction homes. Note: All properties within City limits with have a folio number that starts with 01.4.
4. Return to your lender to have them provide you with a full mortgage commitment based on the eligible property you have identified.
5. Collect all documents listed in the Little Haiti Home Buyer Assistance Program Checklist(PDF, 139KB) under the header “Provided by Homeowner."
6. Complete the program application (p. 7)(PDF, 743KB)  and submit the application with all your documents from the checklist to your lender. Your lender will add these to the required documents they (lender) must provide as indicated in the “Homebuyer Checklist.”
7. Have your lender submit all the required documents to the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust in one loan package (email to LHRT@miamigov.com).

The assistance will be provided on a first-ready, first-served basis. The Little Haiti Revitalization Trust reserves the right to cancel any and all applications based on lack of funding availability. 

For further information, please call (305) 960-2964.