Helping to shore up Ypsilanti's ranks of homeowners is LiveYpsi, a new home loan program being rolled out for
Eastern Michigan University employees. The program offers $7,500 grants to buy primary residences within Ypsilanti city limits. The proceeds may be used towards a down payment or other purchase costs and are forgivable on a pro-rata basis, at 20% of the amount each year; after five years, the entire amount is forgiven.
Funded by EMU, Washtenaw County, and the DTE Energy Foundation, the new program is a smaller-scale version of
Live Midtown, which offers forgivable loans for employees of Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System, and the Detroit Medical Center, to purchase homes in Midtown Detroit, according to Leigh Greden, EMU's executive director of governmental and community relations
"We believe that having EMU employees live in the city of Ypsilanti is a win-win-win for everyone," Greden says, in reference to the city, the university, and its employees. "It's a win for the city because it assures that our employees, who tend to be highly educated and to have stable employment with the university, will own a home in the community, they'll take care of the home, they'll pay taxes, they're more likely to walk to work, they're more likely to become involved in the community, and they're more likely to shop at local businesses here in Ypsilanti."
The pilot project becomes official and will begin taking applications within the next week, says Greden. Current funds available total $70,000, or enough for nine home purchases. EMU will continue to seek additional funding sources and partners.
"Based on the interest we've received so far...we think we'll run out of the money quickly because there's a lot of demand amongst our employees."
More information on the program is available
here.
Source: Leigh Greden, EMU's executive director of governmental and community relations
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
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