Community Heroes Grant for Homeownership

VHDA’s Community Heroes Grant Program Helps Educators and First Responders Buy Homes

The Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) has partnered with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta to create the Community Heroes grant program. This program will provide an $8,000 grant for down payment and closing cost assistance to help public school educators and first responders, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, to purchase their first homes.
 

Program Details

What makes this different from other similar grants on the market?

• It never has to be repaid.
• The income limits are substantially higher than most other grants.

Who is eligible for this program?

• Educators: An employee of an accredited or state-recognized public school; a certified teacher or administrator in a public school or education agency; an employee of a post-secondary level public educational institution; or a person who has retired as one of the above as may be determined by VHDA at their sole discretion.
• Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, and First Responders: An employee of a law enforcement agency or fire department administered by a federal, state or local government, or a sworn law enforcement officer responsible for crime prevention and detection or criminal incarceration; a sworn member of a fire department involved in fire suppression or prevention, emergency medical response, hazardous materials incident response, or management/response to terrorism; any other first responder, such as an emergency medical technician or National Guard or Reservist; or a person who has retired as one of the above as may be determined by VHDA at their sole discretion.

Community Heroes Grant Program Highlights:

• For first-time purchase transactions only (no refinances).
• Eligible borrower(s) must have household income that falls within the ranges listed on the following page.
• Must be used with a VHDA first mortgage product.
• Must work with a VHDA lender that is approved to offer this limited-time product.

For full program details, VIEW THE BROCHURE (PDF).
 

Additional Information

Virginia Housing Development Authority (VHDA) has a bunch of different programs, so we recommend you contact them to find out which grant program you would get the most benefit from. The customer service number for Virginia Housing is Toll Free: 877-VHDA-123 or Local: 804-782-1986.The contact person at VHDA is Brian Matt (Brian.Matt@VirginiaHousing.com).
   
There is also another program through the US Department of Agriculture where they provide home loans and home loan guarantees if you buy a home in a rural area.