ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando launched a program to help people buy homes on Thursday, and potential buyers can now qualify for help with a down payment.
The program is designed to help Orlando - neighborhoods and to help stimulate the housing market. And some home-buyers could get as much as $15,000 to use toward a home, WFTV learned.
The program was unveiled at City Hall and is a partnership between the city, Wells Fargo bank and Incharge Debt Solutions.
Wells Fargo has committed to $200 million worth of mortgage in the city of Orlando and $7 million for things like home-buyer counseling and a two-day workshop for residents to apply for the program.
Those buyers can qualify for up to 15,000 in down payment assistance. Wells Fargo is also putting up $15 million in four Florida cities.
“The down payment assistance is going to help families that they might not have been able to afford earlier, and stabilize those neighborhoods and stabilize the situation in central Florida,” said AJ Adamczak of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.
Incharge Debt Solutions will help to make sure those buying homes in the program are prepared for home ownership.
"They have to understand about maintenance on the house, they have understand about a reserve. Emergencies come up and people need to be prepared beyond just making their mortgage payment," said Etta Money of Incharge Debt Solutions.
The city will decide where to target the home-buyer incentives, and officials said that no taxpayer money is going toward the program.
The workshop is happening at the Orange County Convention Center on July 13 and 14.
WFTV
