Why Buy a home in Oliver
Since the end of 2009, we have, under the Come Home Baltimore initiative, presold, and are close to completing construction on almost twenty previously abandoned houses in the Oliver section of East Baltimore, just north of Hopkins Hospital. Almost all of the houses have been sold, and almost all of the buyers have qualified for market rate financing. By their own account, most of our homeowners were attracted by the promise of a community that is both rooted in history and undergoing healthy, organic change that is intended to be respectful of the interests of existing residents. We see entire blocks of sustainable green homes, a network of buildings interconnected by public green spaces — self-sufficient and safe neighborhoods where existing and new residents participate as equals to generate meaningful and environmentally conscious community cultures. Come home Baltimore, come home to Oliver.
Getting started
When you buy a home with Come Home Baltimore, the process is about you as much as it is about the Home you are about to own. It’s about service — minimizing stress and maximizing confidence. It’s about getting results. That’s why Come Home Baltimore started Mortgage Concierge.
Concierge: noun. Definition: Making homeownership easy – before, during and after the purchase. Saves time and money. A concierge facilitates solutions to the intimidating, stressful aspects of selecting, financing, buying and moving into a new home.
The Come Home Baltimore Concierge service pairs you with a CHB Home Ownership Specialist, We will be beside you during the entire home buying process, from start to finish and even afterwards. is available to buyers of homes constructed or renovated in accordance with the quality and energy efficient Come Home Baltimore standards.
to make sure that your credit is acceptable to commercial lenders, and if it isn’t, to engage and supervise credit counseling/credit repair services. We work closely with many buyer assistance programs, whether live-near-you-work grants, government grants, gas & electric rebates or nonprofit homebuyer assistance programs. We will make sure the lender approval process goes smoothly and insure that all follow-up, post closing work on your new home is done timely and in accordance with your needs and expectations. Every Come Home Baltimore Home includes a 10-year warranty.
Step by step what to expect.
When you buy a Come Home Baltimore Home here is what to expect:
Step 1. A Come home Baltimore Home ownership specialist will speak with you and get some basic financial information.
Step 2. Come Home Baltimore works with our preferred network of lenders to pre-qualifies you for a home loan and determine your buying budget.
Step 3. Your Home Ownership Specialist will work with you to identify any and all Incentives & Grants that you are eligible for. Most of our homes qualify for at least $22,000 in Grants and incentives toward closing costs. We have even had buyers receive as much as $43,000.00 towards their new home at closing. Some of those incentives include:
$2,500 – CHB Thank You grant – Are you a Military Veteran? Yes? The Come home Baltimore Foundation will give you $2,500 which can be used for down payment or settlement costs on any CHB home in Oliver.
$5,000 – CDA w/DSELP – As long as you meet CDA guidelines, which are similar to FHA, this program provides $5,000 which can be used for down payment or settlement costs.
$5,000 – FHLBA – This is a matching program. Whatever you put into the transaction (deposit, appraisal, home inspection, insurance, etc), they match, multiplied by 4. If you put $1,250 into the transaction, they will put 4 X $1,250 into the deal on your behalf, which you can use for down payment or closing costs.
$5,000 – CDBG – Provided towards down payment and closing costs. Income restrictions apply.
$3,750 – BCEHP – between $3,000-$3,750 for employees of city and quasi-city agencies.
$6,500 – Baltimore City BRAC Homeownership Initiative – for Military men and women being relocated through the Base realignment who purchase in Baltimore City.
$10,000 – Vacant to Values – Many of our homes have been vacant for more than a year. This program provides an incentive for homeowners to occupy properties in Baltimore City that have been vacant for more than a year. Of course, ours are fully remodeled.
$17,000 – Live near Your Work/HK4E/SK4E – Up to $17,000 provided to homeowners from their employer, the City of Baltimore, and the State of Maryland as an incentive to buy within 10 miles of where you work. We have a list of the participating employers including Johns Hopkins, MICA, Under Armour, and over 65 other agencies
And there are dozens of others. Your Come home Baltimore Home ownership specialist will help you find and apply for the right combination of programs to maximize your buying power.
Step 4. Next we will assist you in choosing the right property, one that meets you specific needs. You can see a list of Come Home Baltimore properties that are currently being offered on the “Our Homes” page – current property listings [link]
Step 5. We then schedule your design appointment. We work with you to pick a layout, form an amenities list and to incorporate any custom options that you may require into the construction plan. At the end of this session we will know the final Sales Price of your new custom home. At this time we will also schedule your appliance shopping spree.
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Step 6. Your Come Home Baltimore will work with you and your lender to finalize financing and procure letter of commitment. At this point we assign a construction team to your future home and set our construction schedule.
Step 7. Next come the Ribbon cutting ceremony. This day is a big deal in the life of a Come Home Baltimore Home. It’s the day that Construction actually starts. We invite you, your family, friends, local dignitaries, neighbors and our staff to celebrate. We even send you home with the scissors!
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Step 8. Fast-forward approximately 3 months later depending on the specific Home, amenities, and finishes, and construction of your home will be complete. We set up a walk trough just days before closing so that can make sure every thing about your new home is just what you wanted.
Step 9. Once the house is complete, every thing is exactly how you wanted it, and you’ve done your final walk through we will meet to actually close on your new home. We will sit down with you, go over and sign you mortgage documents, sign them and then hand you’re your keys. Congratulation, You’re a homeowner! You may think that we would be done but as we have said before Come Home Baltimore does not just build Homes we also build Community, so there is still on last step.
Step 10. The Come Home Baltimore “New Neighbor Cookout” At come Home Baltimore we truly believe in Building strong Communities and that starts with getting to know your neighbors. As a thank you for deciding to become part of the Come Home Baltimore Family we throw you a cook out / block party. You can invite your friend family and coworkers. We invite the neighbors from the block. Go ahead, eat, drink, have fun, meet your new neighbors, it all on us. And you never know you may even get the opportunity to share a hotdog with your Councilman, The district Police Commander, or even the Mayor, they have all been known to stop buy.
Qualify with one call
To see if you qualify to own one of our Luxurious home for just 1000.00 down contact our Come Home Baltimore Home ownership specialist today.
Karim Harried
CHB Home Ownership Specialist
443-829-7290
Karim@comehomebaltimore.com