First-time buyers get sweet deal on homes

KENNEWICK — The city of Kennewick has a deal for a family that wants to buy a home for the first time.

Not only is the four-bedroom, two-bath home brand new, but the price will be only about $110,000. And the city will ante up $24,000 as a down payment with a zero-interest payback rate on the city's money.

The recently built, 1,563-square-foot house at 1002 E. Seventh Ave. is the first in Kennewick's Infill Housing Program. The city bought the lot, its condemned home and piles of trash a little over a year ago.

After razing the old structure and removing the trash, the city hired a contractor to build a replacement home of about the same size, with the goal of selling it to a first-time, low-income buyer.

The buyer will have to provide at least 2 percent of the purchase price to qualify. Applicants must be Kennewick residents and U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The maximum annual income allowed is $34,650 for a one-person household or $44,550 for a family of four people.

The city used $185,000 from the federal Housing and Urban Development's HOME program for the project, which included buying the eyesore property for $30,000.

"All the neighbors are very happy," said Carol Evans, the city economic development specialist who oversaw the project.

The infill program helps improve a neighborhood by replacing condemned property with new housing.

The new owner will be selected by lottery from the qualified applicants.

Evans said the city is already working on its next housing infill project, a nearby home at 704 E. Seventh Ave. It is scheduled for a total rehabilitation from the inside-out, Evans said.

It, too, will be updated with the latest energy-efficient technologies and made available to another low-income qualified first-time buyer, she said.