Henrico County is proud to offer the Employee Home Purchase Assistance Program (EHPAP)!
The purpose of this program is to assist eligible County employees with the purchase of their first home. Rising home prices throughout the region have made homeownership less affordable for a substantial number of employees, especially first-time homebuyers.
Program Overview
EHPAP provides up to $25,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance, in the form of an interest-free forgivable loan, for the purchase of a home within Henrico County. To have the full loan amount forgiven, employees must: maintain full-time employment with the County and occupy the home as their primary residence for five years from the purchase date. If these conditions are not met, the employee will be obligated to repay any remaining unforgiven loan balance.
Eligibility Requirements
- Full-time permanent employee of Henrico County Government, Henrico County Public Schools, or a Henrico County constitutional officer (Sheriff’s Office, Commonwealth Attorney, etc)
- Must have a minimum of 12 months of consecutive full-time service
- Performance appraisal rating must be “acceptable” or better at the time of application
- First-time homebuyer (may not currently own or have held any ownership interest in real estate within the last 5 years, including real estate in other states or countries)
- At least $1,000 of personal funds must be contributed to the purchase
- Credit score must be 600 or better
- Outstanding judgments, collections, etc. may not total more than $1,000
- Bankruptcies must have been discharged for at least 2 years
- Foreclosures must be at least 5 years old
- Total household assets (cash, checking accounts, savings accounts, stocks, money markets accounts, etc.) may not exceed the current program limit of $50,000. Please note that your primary vehicles and the value of your retirement accounts are excluded from your total household assets.
- The home being purchased must be located in Henrico County, VA
Income and Sales Price Limits
Gross household income and the sales price of the home must not exceed the limits established by Virginia Housing. Please note that household income must account for the income of ALL individuals aged 18 or older residing in the home, regardless of relationship or familial status. Household income must account for all sources of income such as salary/wages, child support, retirement, alimony, Social Security, etc.
- Gross household income may not exceed:
- $92,760 for 1-person households
- $140,000 for 2-person households
- $160,000 for households of 3 or more
- The sales price of the home may not exceed $500,000
Purchase Agreements
Employees should not have an executed purchase agreement or enter into a purchase agreement prior to participating in the program’s mandatory counseling. Employees who are under to contract to purchase a home at the time of application may not be eligible for the following reasons:
- Housing affordability
- Type of home and sales price limits
- Repairs and inspection considerations
- Processing time
- Availability of funds
Application Process and Program Requirements
- Submit a request for your initial employment eligibility verification through HRMS. Instructions can be found here
- After Human Resources confirms you meet the initial employment eligibility criteria, follow the steps in the eligibility verification email to complete a pre-screen. Save a copy of your HR eligibility verification as a PDF to attach to your pre-screen, as this PDF must be attached in order for your pre-screen to be processed
- After you have completed the pre-screen and received a letter from the Department of Community Revitalization (DCR) stating that you meet the additional eligibility criteria, follow the steps in the letter and submit a program application and credit authorization to Henrico County’s third-party program administrator
- Complete a 2 part mandatory homebuyer education course offered by the program administrator and submit financial documents for review
- Complete 6 hours of housing counseling and case management
After an employee has completed the application process and met all program requirements, a review committee will make a determination as to whether or not funds will be reserved for the employee’s closing. Applying to EHPAP and completing the above program requirements does not constitute an approval for down payment and closing cost assistance or guarantee funds.
EHPAP Information Session
If you were unable to attend one of our EHPAP information sessions, you can view a recording of the session here
