LAYTON -- There is no line or waiting list for Layton home buyers looking for free money to help with a down payment.
"We can't give away our down payment assistance," Layton Economic Specialist Ben Hart said of the city's Home Ownership Assistance program fund balance that remains untouched so far this summer.
Although the economy remains tight, homes are selling in the Layton market. The only explanation Hart can think of for the lack of interest in the funds is that the public is unaware they exist.
That did not seem to be problem last year.
In previous years -- the program has been offered for 21âÑ2 years -- the money the City Council has allocated for the down payment assistance program has been gobbled up by home buyers, Hart said.
But this year, not one home buyer has inquired about the funds, leaving Layton with a balance of $35,000 in a program that provides home buyers up to $5,000 in assistance.
"It really helped us out a lot," said Melanie Bartels. She and her husband Tracy received $5,000 in down payment assistance from Layton last year, which they used to get into their first home.
"Without that down (payment) we would not have been able to get into the home at all," Bartels said of their east Layton home.
Bartels said she and her husband, parents of three young children, hadn't saved prior to their move because they didn't think they were going to be buying a house. And when their lender told them Layton may have money available for down payment assistance, she said, they applied for and received the funds.
One reason why home buyers may not be applying for the funds this year, Bartels said, is because they may think they have to repay the money.
"It's $5,000 a pop," Hart said of the money the city offers with few strings attached.
The money can be used for a down payment on a new or existing home within the city, Hart said. The grant money does not have to be repaid if the buyer owns and lives in the house for at least five years.
The application process for the funds made available through the city's Community Development Block Grant program is also "user friendly," Hart said.
To qualify, applicants must meet income criteria based on family size. Those parameters are part of the application.
Layton is considered an entitlement city, based on having a population greater than 60,000. Therefore, it receives about $340,000 a year in CDBG funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city's Home Ownership Assistance program is a recipient of those funds.
Clearfield from 2006 to 2009 offered similar down payment assistance for home buyers by using a portion of the CDBG entitlement funds it receives yearly, City CDBG Coordinator Stacy Millgate said.
Based on income demographics Clearfield receives about $228,000 a year in CDBG funding.
"The funds went quickly," said Millgate.
The city made buyers aware of the program through the Davis County Housing Authority, she said. But the city council opted to phase out the program in order to use the funds for other programs.
"I hope sometime that it comes back," Millgate said.
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