92.254—Qualification as affordable housing: Homeownership.

(a) Acquisition with or without rehabilitation. Housing that is for acquisition by a family must meet the affordability requirements of this paragraph (a).

(1) The housing must be single family housing.

(2) The housing must be modest housing as follows:

(i) In the case of acquisition of newly constructed housing or standard housing, the housing has a purchase price for the type of single family housing that does not exceed 95 percent of the median purchase price for the area, as described in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section.

(ii) In the case of acquisition with rehabilitation, the housing has an estimated value after rehabilitation that does not exceed 95 percent of the median purchase price for the area, described in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section.

(iii) If a participating jurisdiction intends to use HOME funds for homebuyer assistance or for rehabilitation of owner-occupied single-family properties, the participating jurisdiction may use the Single Family Mortgage Limits under Section 203(b) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709(b)) (which may be obtained from the HUD Field Office) or it may determine 95 percent of the median area purchase price for single family housing in the jurisdiction, as follows. The participating jurisdiction must set forth the price for different types of single family housing for the jurisdiction. The 95 percent of median area purchase price must be established in accordance with a market analysis which ensured that a sufficient number of recent housing sales are included in the survey. Sales must cover the requisite number of months based on volume: For 500 or more sales per month, a one-month reporting period; for 250 through 499 sales per month, a two-month reporting period; for less than 250 sales per month, at least a three-month reporting period. The data must be listed in ascending order of sales price. The address of the listed properties must include the location within the participating jurisdiction. Lot, square and subdivision data may be substituted for the street address. The housing sales data must reflect all, or nearly all, of the one-family house sales in the entire participating jurisdiction. To determine the median, take the middle sale on the list if an odd number of sales and if an even number, take the higher of the middle numbers and consider it the median. After identifying the median sales price, the amount should be multiplied by .95 to determine the 95 percent of the median area purchase price. This information must be submitted to the HUD Field Office for review.

(3) The housing must be acquired by a homebuyer whose family qualifies as a low-income family and the housing must be the principal residence of the family throughout the period described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section.

(4) Periods of affordability. The HOME-assisted housing must meet the affordability requirements for not less than the applicable period specified in the following table, beginning after project completion. The per unit amount of HOME funds and the affordability period that they trigger are described more fully in paragraphs (a)(5)(i) (resale) and (ii) (recapture) of this section.

Homeownership assistance HOME amount per-unit	Minimum period of affordability in years
Under $15,000	5
$15,000 to $40,000	10
Over $40,000	15

(5) Resale and recapture. To ensure affordability, the participating jurisdiction must impose either resale or recapture requirements, at its option. The participating jurisdiction must establish the resale or recapture requirements that comply with the standards of this section and set forth the requirements in its consolidated plan. HUD must determine that they are appropriate.

(i) Resale. Resale requirements must ensure, if the housing does not continue to be the principal residence of the family for the duration of the period of affordability, that the housing is made available for subsequent purchase only to a buyer whose family qualifies as a low-income family and will use the property as its principal residence. The resale requirement must also ensure that the price at resale provides the original HOME-assisted owner a fair return on investment (including the homeowner's investment and any capital improvement) and ensure that the housing will remain affordable to a reasonable range of low-income homebuyers. The period of affordability is based on the total amount of HOME funds invested in the housing.

(A) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(5)(i)(B) of this section, deed restrictions, covenants running with the land, or other similar mechanisms must be used as the mechanism to impose the resale requirements. The affordability restrictions may terminate upon occurrence of any of the following termination events: foreclosure, transfer in lieu of foreclosure or assignment of an FHA insured mortgage to HUD. The participating jurisdiction may use purchase options, rights of first refusal or other preemptive rights to purchase the housing before foreclosure to preserve affordability. The affordability restrictions shall be revived according to the original terms if, during the original affordability period, the owner of record before the termination event, obtains an ownership interest in the housing.

(B) Certain housing may be presumed to meet the resale restrictions (i.e., the housing will be available and affordable to a reasonable range of low-income homebuyers; a low-income homebuyer will occupy the housing as the family's principal residence; and the original owner will be afforded a fair return on investment) during the period of affordability without the imposition of enforcement mechanisms by the participating jurisdiction. The presumption must be based upon a market analysis of the neighborhood in which the housing is located. The market analysis must include an evaluation of the location and characteristics of the housing and residents in the neighborhood (e.g., sale prices, age and amenities of the housing stock, incomes of residents, percentage of owner-occupants) in relation to housing and incomes in the housing market area. An analysis of the current and projected incomes of neighborhood residents for an average period of affordability for homebuyers in the neighborhood must support the conclusion that a reasonable range of low-income families will continue to qualify for mortgage financing. For example, an analysis shows that the housing is modestly priced within the housing market area and that families with incomes of 65% to 80% of area median can afford monthly payments under average FHA terms without other government assistance and housing will remain affordable at least during the next five to seven years compared to other housing in the market area; the size and amenities of the housing are modest and substantial rehabilitation will not significantly increase the market value; the neighborhood has housing that is not currently owned by the occupants, but the participating jurisdiction is encouraging homeownership in the neighborhood by providing homeownership assistance and by making improvements to the streets, sidewalks, and other public facilities and services. If a participating jurisdiction in preparing a neighborhood revitalization strategy under § 91.215(e)(2) of its consolidated plan or Empowerment Zone or Enterprise Community application under 24 CFR part 597 has incorporated the type of market data described above, that submission may serve as the required analysis under this section. If the participating jurisdiction continues to provide homeownership assistance for housing in the neighborhood, it must periodically update the market analysis to verify the original presumption of continued affordability.

(ii) Recapture. Recapture provisions must ensure that the participating jurisdiction recoups all or a portion of the HOME assistance to the homebuyers, if the housing does not continue to be the principal residence of the family for the duration of the period of affordability. The participating jurisdiction may structure its recapture provisions based on its program design and market conditions. The period of affordability is based upon the total amount of HOME funds subject to recapture described in paragraph (a)(5)(ii)(A)(5) of this section.

(A) The following options for recapture requirements are acceptable to HUD. The participating jurisdiction may adopt, modify or develop its own recapture requirements for HUD approval. In establishing its recapture requirements, the participating jurisdiction is subject to the limitation that when the recapture requirement is triggered by a sale (voluntary or involuntary) of the housing unit, the amount recaptured cannot exceed the net proceeds, if any. The net proceeds are the sales price minus superior loan repayment (other than HOME funds) and any closing costs.

(1) Recapture entire amount. The participating jurisdiction may recapture the entire amount of the HOME investment from the homeowner.

(2) Reduction during affordability period. The participating jurisdiction may reduce the HOME investment amount to be recaptured on a prorata basis for the time the homeowner has owned and occupied the housing measured against the required affordability period.

(3) Shared net proceeds. If the net proceeds are not sufficient to recapture the full HOME investment (or a reduced amount as provided for in paragraph (a)(5)(ii)(A)(2) of this section) plus enable the homeowner to recover the amount of the homeowner's downpayment and any capital improvement investment made by the owner since purchase, the participating jurisdiction may share the net proceeds. The net proceeds are the sales price minus loan repayment (other than HOME funds) and closing costs. The net proceeds may be divided proportionally as set forth in the following mathematical formulas:

(4) Owner investment returned first. The participating jurisdiction may permit the homebuyer to recover the homebuyer's entire investment (downpayment and capital improvements made by the owner since purchase) before recapturing the HOME investment.

(5) Amount subject to recapture. The HOME investment that is subject to recapture is based on the amount of HOME assistance that enabled the homebuyer to buy the dwelling unit. This includes any HOME assistance that reduced the purchase price from fair market value to an affordable price, but excludes the amount between the cost of producing the unit and the market value of the property (i.e., the development subsidy). The recaptured funds must be used to carry out HOME-eligible activities in accordance with the requirements of this part. If the HOME assistance is only used for the development subsidy and therefore not subject to recapture, the resale option must be used.

(6) Special considerations for single-family properties with more than one unit. If the HOME funds are only used to assist a low-income homebuyer to acquire one unit in single-family housing containing more than one unit and the assisted unit will be the principal residence of the homebuyer, the affordability requirements of this section apply only to the assisted unit. If HOME funds are also used to assist the low-income homebuyer to acquire one or more of the rental units in the single-family housing, the affordability requirements of § 92.252 apply to assisted rental units, except that the participating jurisdiction may impose resale or recapture restrictions on all assisted units (owner-occupied and rental units) in the single family housing. If resale restrictions are used, the affordability requirements on all assisted units continue for the period of affordability. If recapture restrictions are used, the affordability requirements on the assisted rental units may be terminated, at the discretion of the participating jurisdiction, upon recapture of the HOME investment. (If HOME funds are used to assist only the rental units in such a property then the requirements of § 92.252 would apply and the owner-occupied unit would not be subject to the income targeting or affordability provisions of § 92.254.)

(7) Lease-purchase. HOME funds may be used to assist homebuyers through lease-purchase programs for existing housing and for housing to be constructed. The housing must be purchased by a homebuyer within 36 months of signing the lease'purchase agreement. The homebuyer must qualify as a low-income family at the time the lease-purchase agreement is signed. If HOME funds are used to acquire housing that will be resold to a homebuyer through a lease-purchase program, the HOME affordability requirements for rental housing in § 92.252 shall apply if the housing is not transferred to a homebuyer within forty-two months after project completion.

(8) Contract to purchase. If HOME funds are used to assist a homebuyer who has entered into a contract to purchase housing to be constructed, the homebuyer must qualify as a low-income family at the time the contract is signed.

(9) Preserving affordability of housing that was previously assisted with HOME funds.

(i) To preserve the affordability of HOME-assisted housing a participating jurisdiction may use additional HOME funds for the following costs:

(A) The cost to acquire the housing through a purchase option, right of first refusal, or other preemptive right before foreclosure, or at the foreclosure sale. (The foreclosure costs to acquire housing with a HOME loan in default are eligible. However, HOME funds may not be used to repay a loan made with HOME funds.)

(B) The cost to undertake any necessary rehabilitation for the housing acquired.

(D) The cost to assist another homebuyer in purchasing the housing.

(ii) When a participating jurisdiction uses HOME funds to preserve the affordability of such housing, the additional investment must be treated as an amendment to the original project. The housing must be sold to a new eligible homebuyer in accordance with the requirements of § 92.254(a) within a reasonable period of time.

(iii) The total amount of the original and additional HOME assistance may not exceed the maximum per unit subsidy amount established under § 92.250. Alternatively to charging the cost to the HOME program under § 92.206, the participating jurisdiction may charge the cost to the HOME program under § 92.207 as a reasonable administrative cost of its HOME program, so that the additional HOME funds for the housing are not subject to the maximum per-unit subsidy amount. To the extent administrative funds are used, they may be reimbursed, in whole or in part, when the housing is sold to a new eligible homebuyer.

(b) Rehabilitation not involving acquisition. Housing that is currently owned by a family qualifies as affordable housing only if:

(1) The estimated value of the property, after rehabilitation, does not exceed 95 percent of the median purchase price for the area, described in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section; and

(2) The housing is the principal residence of an owner whose family qualifies as a low-income family at the time HOME funds are committed to the housing.

(c) Ownership interest. The ownership in the housing assisted under this section must meet the definition of “homeownership” in § 92.2.

(d) New construction without acquisition. Newly constructed housing that is built on property currently owned by a family which will occupy the housing upon completion, qualifies as affordable housing if it meets the requirements under paragraph (a) of this section.

Code of Federal Regulations

[61 FR 48750, Sept. 16, 1996, as amended at 67 FR 61756, Oct. 1, 2002; 68 FR 10161, Mar. 4, 2003; 69 FR 16766, Mar. 30, 2004; 69 FR 68052, Nov. 22, 2004; 72 FR 16685, Apr. 4, 2007]