Preparing your Application

Steps to Start an Application

1. Contact LNYW and ensure eligibility
   

   You are encouraged to contact the LNYW coordinator at the start of your homebuying process if you anticipate applying for a LNYW grant. The program coordinator can assist you with any questions you may have about eligibility, homeownership counseling, and combining the grant with other incentives.

2. Register for a LNYW workshop
   

   LNYW provides workshops for employees so they know how to take full advantage of the available incentives and familiarize them with the process and neighborhoods.

3. Complete homeownership counseling
   

   To qualify for a LNYW grant, you must complete homeownership counseling BEFORE making an offer on a home and signing a sales contract. GO Northwest Housing Resource Center is UMB’s homeownership counseling agency of choice, but you may obtain your certification from any HUD-certified housing counselor. It is up to you, the buyer, to ensure that your counseling is completed before making an offer on a home. A copy of the homeownership counseling certificate is required as a part of the LNYW grant application.

4. Research additional homebuying incentives
   

   You may be eligible to combine the LNYW grant with other incentives available through the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland. Visit Live Baltimore to learn more. Live Baltimore is a local nonprofit that specializes in helping buyers determine which incentives they can use.

5. Get prequalified by a mortgage lender
   

   Borrowers must obtain mortgage financing from a federally insured lender to use a LNYW grant. The following types of loans cannot be used:
   1. No cash sales
   2. Co-signers
   3. Seller financing
   4. Adjustable rate mortgage
   5. Interest-only loan

6. Choose a real estate agent to help you find your home
   

   Once you are prequalified by a mortgage lender and know how much you can pay for a home, you can begin looking at properties for sale within the program’s qualifying neighborhoods.

7. Review important details about the LNYW Program
   

   Before submitting your LNYW application, be sure to review the program parameters to understand the expectations of the program and ask the LNYW Program coordinator any questions you may have.

8. Submit your LNYW application and required documentation

   1. Obtain a LNYW application on the website. Do not begin this application unless you have completed homeownership counseling and made an offer on a home.
   2. Once you have completed the employee portion of the application and the LNYW Coordinator has completed/signed the employer portion of the application, it should be submitted to the Baltimore City Office of Homeownership. The application will need to be submitted together with any of the documents listed below that are available at the time you submit the application to the city.
   3. Inform your lender that you have applied for the LNYW incentive.
   4. Once the city receives your signed LNYW application and initial documents, the Baltimore City Office of Homeownership will confirm the amount of LNYW grant that you are eligible for. This information will be shared with you, your employer, and your mortgage lender.
   5. Contact your lender to submit application documents to ensure a full-fund commitment.
   6. All application documents must be provided by you or your lender prior to any deadlines outlined below.
   7. As a participant in the LNYW Program, it is your responsibility to ensure that final documents reach the Baltimore City Office of Homeownership no later than 25 days prior to your settlement date.