Are you thinking of buying your first home in Connecticut? Would you like a free gift of money to help you purchase that first home? Unfortunately, the state of Connecticut does not provide free grant money for its residents and need help with the down payment and closing costs as some other states do. However, there is still Federal Grant money available as well as grants from private foundations. This is free money that shouldn’t be passed up! The grant awards can be in the thousands of dollars. It will be well worth your time to educate yourself about the grant programs that are available to you.
At DECD, they want to help build quality housing, not only because everyone deserves a comfortable home – and they do – but because they know that housing is a key ingredient in promoting the vitality of every neighborhood, every community, and every city and town in the state. Their motto is, “When we build better housing, we’re building a better Connecticut.”
The Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) is the agency’s principal point of contact for financial assistance to local housing authorities and other non-profit and for-profit housing developers in the planning and development of new single and multi-family housing units as well as the preservation of existing multi-family housing developments. This office maintains a staff of housing specialists who are knowledgeable of the many local, state and federal housing programs and services in Connecticut. OHCD is also responsible for long-term compliance monitoring to assure adherence to statutes, regulations and financial assistance agreements for housing development and preservation activities funded by the agency.
The contact info for the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development is:
State of Connecticut
Department of Economic and Community Development
505 Hudson Street
Hartford, CT 06106-7106
Office of Housing Development and Finance Phone: 860-270-8183
Federal Grants Available For Connecticut Residents
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available in Connecticut through the Homes and Communities program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. On their website you’ll find complete grant information, application forms, description of available funds, as well as many other helpful tools.
Every potential first time home buyer should investigate what they have to offer. You can visit the website by going here: US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Also, there is a website that has a complete list of all grant programs available through the United States Federal Government: Grants.gov. Buyers should plan to spend the required time investigating to determine how many individual grants they may qualify for. You can visit the website by going to Grants.gov and doing a search on this website.
Other Grant Sources
In addition to the grant programs described above, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides home buyer assistance and grants in every state. There are multiple grant programs designed specifically for people that meet certain requirements, such as grants for people with disabilities so they can continue to live independently at home. It is worth visiting HUD’s website to see what assistance is currently available. For your convenience, simply go to this website.
Here is the contact information for the HUD office in Connecticut:
Hartford Field Office
One Corporate Center
20 Church Street
10th Floor
Hartford, CT 06103-3220
Phone: (860) 240-4800
Fax: (860) 240-4850
There are also these local programs:
Hartford Homeownership Appraisal Gap Financing (HAGF) (860) 588-4888
Hartford House Hartford Down payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program (HHP) (860) 757-9005
Manchester HOMEownership Program (HOP) (860) 647-3106
New Haven Livable City Initiative Down Payment/Closing Cost Loan Program (ALP) (203) 946-7807
Windsor Down payment Assistance Program (860) 298-9060
