OwnPGH program to offer low-income, first-time homebuyers up to $90K in help

Pittsburgh’s Urban Redevelopment Authority on Thursday set guidelines for the OwnPGH program, which in partnership with the city’s Housing Authority will provide financial assistance to low-income, first-time homebuyers.

The program will provide up to $90,000 to eligible homebuyers who make 80% of the area median income or less.

OwnPGH will offer grants of up to $50,000 for eligible homeowners from the URA, using $15 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money.

The Housing Authority also would offer a second, deferred mortgage of up to $40,000. It would require no regular payment from the borrower, carry a 0% interest rate and be forgiven at a rate of 10% of the original balance each year.

Homeowners receiving assistance from OwnPGH who stay in the program for 10 years or more will have their second, deferred mortgages forgiven completely.

The program guidelines were tweaked slightly since they were initially presented to the URA board last month, said Derek Kendall-Morris, the authority’s manager of consumer lending.

The URA adjusted the backend debt-to-income ratio eligibility requirements for its portion of the program. That number originally needed to be at 35% or below, but the URA upped that to 43%.

“The backend debt-to-income ratio is a calculation that is done to determine whether that applicant can afford to make the mortgage and loan payments they would be taking on” along with existing bills such as credit card or car payments, Kendall-Morris said.

“It’s a way for us to ensure those homebuyers are going to be successful homeowners,” he said.

By allowing for a higher debt-to-income ratio, he said, the URA hoped to provide “greater flexibility in terms of who would be eligible” for the $50,000 grant. The deferred mortgage provided by the Housing Authority will still require a 35% or less ratio.

The URA board unanimously voted to approve the guidelines for the program. The official launch date for the program has not yet been announced.