Hundreds of low-income families living in twelve Illinois communities can now realize the dream of homeownership because of $7.1 million in American Dream Downpayment Initiative (ADDI) funding announced on June 2, 2004 by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson and HUD Midwest Regional Director Joseph P. Galvan (see chart below).

"The single greatest obstacle to homeownership is the downpayment and closing costs," said Jackson. "This program, will give first-time homebuyers downpayment assistance grants up to $10,000 or six percent of the home's purchase price, whichever is greater. Not only will these grants help to defray the upfront costs of purchasing a first home, they can also be used to help offset the costs of rehabilitating the property."

To be eligible for this assistance, individuals must be first-time homebuyers interested in purchasing one- to four-family housing, condominium unit, cooperative unit or manufactured housing. In addition, individuals who qualify for this assistance must have incomes not exceeding 80 percent of area median income. If you are interested in obtaining downpayment assistance through this program, please contact your local community.

Jackson said, "During the Bush Administration, a record number of new homeowners, specifically minority families, have achieved a home of their own. I encourage Congress to fully support the President's request to continue this important new homeownership tool so even more Illinois families can realize their American Dream."

"With just this initial help, hundreds of hard-working Illinois families can unlock the door to home ownership and share in the American Dream," said Galvan. "Homeownership represents a path to prosperity that makes people more invested in their neighborhoods."

The American Dream Downpayment Act will be administered under HUD's HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). Since its inception, the HOME Program has assisted more than 300,000 families to become homeowners, 55 percent of which are minorities.

June is National Homeownership month - a month-long educational outreach effort designed to provide important homebuying information and financial tools, particularly to minority families. The Census reports that, for the first time in our nation's history, more than half of minority families own their own home. But minority homeownership rates still fall well short of the national homeownership rate of nearly 70 percent. In June 2002, President Bush issued The Homeownership Challenge to close this 'homeownership gap' by adding 5.5 million minority homeowners by the end of the decade. Since then, more than two dozen organizations are working to create more than $1 trillion in mortgage financing for minority homebuyers.