Southampton board schedules hearing on expanding first-time buyer down-payment aid and volunteer forgiveness

Southampton Town Council members Michael Iacile and Tom Neely introduced a proposal to expand the town's first-time homebuyer down-payment assistance from 3% to up to 18% of an eligible home's cost and to include a forgiveness component for volunteer first responders.

"One of the biggest barriers to owning a home in today's market isn't the monthly mortgage payment. It's saving enough cash needed for the down payment," said Cara Back, director of Southampton's Housing and Community Services, in a statement read on East End News. The program changes would reduce the amount buyers must finance and could eliminate the need for private mortgage insurance, the statement said.

The proposed loans would need to be repaid only if the house is sold to a new buyer; volunteer first responders would receive forgiveness equal to 0.1 of the loan per year of service, leading to full forgiveness after 10 years, according to the broadcast. The proposal reportedly has bipartisan support from the other three town board members. A public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8 at Town Hall at 1 p.m.

The program details and eligibility criteria were not exhaustively described on the broadcast; the article summarizes the on-air statement and the hearing schedule as presented by East End News.