FHLB Cincinnati has launched the Hundred Homes Initiative, which will offer $5 million in funding to move 100 households living in mobile homes constructed before June 15, 1976 into updated housing.
The program – which focuses on improving the quality of housing stock in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee – offers $50,000 grants per household to be used for downpayment, closing costs, principal reduction assistance, purchase of land (as needed), disposal and/or recycling of vacated mobile home, and any legal work and fees necessary to decommission the old home and salvage the title, FHLB Cincinnati says in a release.
On June 15, 1976, HUD updated requirements for mobile homes to meet specific safety and construction standards—marking the transition from mobile homes to manufactured housing. These standards ensured manufactured housing after this date was stronger, more fire and wind resistant and energy efficient.
“At FHLB Cincinnati, we regularly look at new ways to meet the housing needs of the communities in our District of Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee,” says Andy Howell, president and CEO, FHLB Cincinnati, in the release. “Through the Hundred Homes Initiative, we will work in partnership with our members, housing sponsors and residents to increase the quality and safety of housing stock throughout our District.”
To be eligible for funding, homebuyers must:
- Own and reside in a mobile home constructed prior to June 15, 1976.
- Have a household income less than or equal to 120 percent of the Mortgage Revenue Bond Limit for the county in which the new home is located.
- Be subject to a 5-year forgivable retention mechanism, with the new home being taxed and titled as real estate on a single-family home.
- Contribute $500 of their own funds to the down payment.
- Work with the sponsor to provide certification from a third-party company of the destruction or decommission of the mobile home being replaced.
If financed with a permanent mortgage, the mortgage must originate from any FHLB Cincinnati member, a federal government agency or enterprise, a state government agency or enterprise, or be a sponsor (nonprofit housing development organization) provided mortgage.
The distributed funds will include $5 million in direct grants which are voluntary contributions in addition to the FHLB’s required 10 percent of net earnings set-aside to fund the organization’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP).
Since the inception of the AHP in 1990, the FHLB has disbursed over $640 million in subsidies towards the creation or preservation of affordable housing. In 2024 alone, FHLB Cincinnati contributed $110 million to support housing and community investment programs.
Photo: Janek Valdsalu