BANGOR, Maine — If you've been wanting to buy a home in the city of Bangor, now might be the right time to do so. The city is boosting its homebuyer assistance program to help low to moderate income individuals and families buy a home with as much as $20,000 in grant money to use.
Tyler Collins, Bangor's community and economic development officer, said the program has been offered in Bangor since 2014. The funding is split into two categories: down payment assistance and closing cost assistance.
Previously, qualified applicants could get 50 percent of the down payment covered up to $5,000, and up to $3,000 for closing costs. Now, those applicants can get 50 percent of the down payment covered up to $10,000, and up to $10,000 for closing costs.
Collins said the funding is provided to their department from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development.
Collins said his department is hopeful these additional funds will help lower income families who have been marginalized by the current housing market.
"Bangor being a service community you know we're an obvious, attractive community to people in Maine and people from outside of Maine, not just because of our service center but because of a lot things that Bangor has to offer," Collins said. "So you come into Bangor and it just makes homeowner affordability that much more attainable."
Collins added the program is only offered to people looking to buy a home in Bangor and does not apply to mobile homes.
"To take advantage of the program just call... come into city hall or call our department and Jeff or I will walk you through the application process and determine eligibility and then, you know, assuming an individual or family is eligible, we just would show up at the closing with a check for our portion... it's that easy," Collins said.
To see if you qualify, you can contact Bangor's community and economic development office. For more information and to fill out an application, click here.
To learn more about housing assistance programs offered throughout the state, click here.