The Welcome Home Program Opens March 3, 2025

The FHLB is pleased to announce the Welcome Home Program (WHP) will open at 8:00 a.m. ET on March 3. The WHP offers grants to fund down payment and closing costs for low- and moderate-income homebuyers purchasing or constructing a primary residence. Grant funds will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds have been reserved.

New for 2025:

• Each Member is eligible to receive up to $600,000 of WHP funds;
• All homebuyers can receive up to $20,000;
• A minimum grant of $10,000 must be requested for all households; and,
• Welcome Home Program and Forms and Determining Income webinars will be pre-recorded and available on our website in February.

Below is an abbreviated list of the program guidelines:

• The total income for all occupants must be at or below 80 percent of the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) limit for the county and state where the property is located;
• Homebuyers must contribute at least $500 of their own funds towards down payment and/or closing costs;
• All first-time homebuyers are required to complete a homeownership counseling program;
• Grant funds are intended only for homebuyers who qualify for the first mortgage based on their own merit. Co-signors and non-occupant co-borrowers are not permitted;
• The maximum interest rate for the first mortgage may not exceed 9.875 percent; and,
• All eligible property assisted with WHP funds is subject to a five-year retention mechanism, which may require the household to repay all or a portion of the subsidy, if the home is sold or refinanced within five years from the closing of the transaction.

All 2025 program documents and forms are available at www.fhlbcin.com.

This is our most widely used program, ideally suited to the needs of community lenders and their customers. Since its inception in 1998, the WHP has disbursed $199 million on behalf of more than 39,000 households.

Please contact the Housing and Community Investment Department at 888-345-2246 with any questions.