(AmericanProsperity.com) – Washington state has launched a housing program that would provide loans of up to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars with zero percent interest for homeowners solely based on their race.
The Covenant Homeownership Program offers home-buying assistance to those in Washington who were subject to discrimination before 1968, which was when the Fair Housing Act was passed.
A person’s household income must be below one hundred percent of the area’s median income, they must be a first time home buyer, and the buyer, parent, grandparent, or great grandparent must have lived in Washington before 1968. The person must also be Korean, Asian American, Black, Hispanic, Native American, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian.
The Washington Housing Finance Commission stated the purpose of the program, saying, “The Covenant program’s initial eligibility criteria are intentionally narrowly tailored. While many racial, ethnic and religious groups in Washington were subject to unjust and egregious housing discrimination, the Covenant program considers not only this history but also its current impacts.”
“Some of the groups discriminated against continue to show much lower homeownership rates compared with the general white population. These are named in the initial eligibility criteria,” it said.
Those who are eligible are able to apply for a zero percent interest loan though lenders to help with their down payments and closing costs. The full loan itself is not required to be paid back until the new homeowner sells or refinances the home.
This program comes when America faces a huge racial gap in homeownership, especially in places like Seattle. A study showed that the federal government and state and local authorities in Washington contributed to housing discrimination.
Copyright 2024, AmericanProsperity.com
