What's Hot: Douglas Development Files PUD For Large Warehouse At New City Site Along New York Avenue
One Presidential Candidate's $100 Billion Housing Proposal
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.
This year, there has been a good deal of coverage of housing disparities and displacement in the U.S., and concerns about housing availability and affordability have come to the fore in the 2020 presidential race on both sides of the aisle. Now, one presidential candidate has released a proposal which would address both issues.
This weekend, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris unveiled her proposal to help close the homeownership gap by providing homebuying aid in previously redlined areas. Under the plan, $100 billion in federal grants would be used to offer prospective homebuyers in certain neighborhoods up to $25,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance.
In order to qualify for the assistance, the applicant must have lived in the same redlined community where they hope to purchase a home for at least a decade, and the community must still be low-income. Households which receive the grant must earn no more than $100,000 for a family ($125,000 in high-cost areas like DC) or $50,000 for an individual ($75,000 in high-cost areas). The home also cannot be priced higher than $300,000.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
The proposal would also address the Fair Credit Reporting Act, specifically requiring that payments on rent, phone and utility bills be calculated in credit scores. Expanding what can be included in credit score calculations has long been acknowledged as a means to give more low-income earners a means to build credit. The proposal would also require that, when making debt-to-income calculations for Federal Housing Administration loans, mortgage underwriters compare monthly debt expenses to monthly income rather than comparing total debt to annual income.
Some of the provisions in Harris’s plan, including down payment assistance, were included in the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act reintroduced in the Senate by candidate Elizabeth Warren earlier this year.
See other articles related to: credit score, homebuying, homebuying assistance, homeownership, presidential candidates, redlining
This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/one-presidential-candidates-proposal-to-close-the-racial-homeownership-gap/15625.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
![First-Timer Primer: Tax Relief for DC Homeowners](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2013/02/Homestead_Exemption_280.jpg)
When you buy a home in the District, you will have to pay property taxes along with y... read »
![A 127-Unit Luxury Condo Building In The Works For Downtown DC](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/07/resized/950%203rd%20Street%20Dusk%20EXT_image_560x420.jpg)
The largest condominium building in downtown DC in recent memory is currently under c... read »
![HPO Recommends Approval For 160-Unit Office-To-Residential Conversion in Dupont Circle](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/06/resized/1201-Conn_image_560x420.jpg)
The plan to convert a Dupont Circle office building into a residential development ap... read »
![Beautifully Constructed Condominium in The Bridge District is Now 50% Sold](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/07/Riviere%20article/resized/2305%20Nicholson%20St%20SE%20405-0003_image_560x420.jpg)
The Rivière includes just 20 homes located on the eastern banks of the Anacostia Riv... read »
![Monday's Must Reads](https://assets.urbanturf.com/dc/images/blog/2024/07/resized/bubble_image_560x420.jpg)
Why Tyra Banks is serving ice cream in DC; a bike shop/record store opens in Adams Mo... read »
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro