2009 Community Investment News

    Limited Availability of 2009 Home$tart Program Funding

    June 19, 2009

    Dear Home$tart Program Participant,

    Since the Seattle Bank’s 2009 Home$tart Program year began on May 1, 2009, we have experienced an unprecedented demand for funding—more than twice the demand we have experienced in previous years. Over the past six weeks, Seattle Bank members have enrolled more than 300 low- and moderate-income, first-time homebuyers in the Home$tart Program, representing $1.6 million of downpayment assistance.

    As a result, approximately $35,000 remains available in the first-come, first-served pool as of June 19.

    The purpose of this Community Investment News is to notify Home$tart Program participants of the limited amount of funding available in the first-come, first-served pool and how that might affect your access to Home$tart Program subsidy for the balance of the 2009 program year.

    We expect that additional funds will be returned to the first-come, first-served pool as homebuyers withdraw from the program throughout the year, and any unused guaranteed allocations will be returned to the pool on September 1. All of these returned Home$tart funds will be made available to participating members on a first-come, first-served basis.

    However, because we can not predict when these funds will be returned, we can not anticipate the amount of any additional funds or when they might become available.

    Who may be affected?

    • Members that wish to enroll homebuyers beyond their $10,000 guaranteed allocation will likely be affected by the limited amount of funds available in the first-come, first-served pool. Depending upon the amount of funding returned to the pool, you may or may not be able to enroll additional homebuyers at any particular time.

    Who is not affected?

    • Members that have not used their $10,000 guaranteed allocation will continue to have access to those funds through August 31. Guaranteed allocations that have not been used by that time will be made available to other participating members through the first-come, first-served pool, beginning September 1.
    • Enrollments that were accepted by the Seattle Bank on or before June 19, continue to have funds reserved for their use. Seattle Bank members can view a household’s enrollment status by logging on to the Community Investment Services section of the Seattle Bank’s Web site at: http://www.fhlbsea.com/Login/Default.aspx.

    If a household’s name is listed, the Seattle Bank has received the enrollment and funds have been reserved in the homebuyer’s name. To verify whether or not the household has been income approved and the enrollment formally accepted, select their name. If “pending income verification” is displayed in the comment field, funds have been reserved in the household’s name but their income has not yet been verified. If the comment field is blank and your institution has received a confirmation email from the Seattle Bank, the household has been income verified and the enrollment has been formally approved.

    The Seattle Bank will continue to accept household enrollments on a first-come, first-served basis according to the date and time that they are submitted. You can view the amount of funding available in the first-come, first-served pool at any time by logging in to the Community Investment Services section of the Seattle Bank’s Web site.

    Since the Home$tart Program’s inception in 1995, Seattle Bank members have helped to distribute more than $39 million to 7,987 low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers across our district. We are grateful for your use of this valuable program, and we thank you for your help in making this program such a success.

    Please do not hesitate to contact our Home$tart Program team with any questions you may have regarding the Home$tart Program.

    This Community Investment News contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risk and uncertainty. These forward-looking statements may contain terms such as “will,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “could,” “should,” and “anticipate” and describe our expectations regarding future events and developments. Future events are difficult to predict, and actual events, actions, or results may differ from those we currently anticipate. Any forward-looking statements made in this Community Investment News speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake to update any such statements.