COVINGTON, Ky. — Jennifer Aboussemah just signed the papers on a quaint, century-old Latonia house. For the California transplant, it's a dream come true — it's not just her new home, it's her first.
"I've been renting apartments my entire adult life," she said.
Aboussemah said she's eager to set up her furniture, paint some walls and start planting a garden. She spent nearly 10 years in Ohio before moving back to her hometown in the San Francisco area. She lived there for another two decades before moving to Covington in 2023.
Her apartment lease expires next week. She'll be moved into her home before then.
She said she's able to afford the down payment, closing costs and monthly mortgage payments on her own, but just barely, if not for help from the City of Covington. The latter two were completely covered by the Homebuyer Assistance Program.
"I didn't pay anything out-of-pocket," Aboussemah said. "I realized, wow, if I had known about this, or something like this where I was from before, I would have done this a long time ago."
The Homebuyer Assistance Program is funded through the federal HOME Program and administered by the Northern Kentucky HOME Consortium through the City of Covington’s Neighborhood Services Department.
The dollars are targeted not only in Covington but also in Ludlow, Erlanger, Independence, Florence, Newport, Bellevue and Dayton.
To qualify, homebuyers' gross annual household income must be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income, which is $56,650 for a single person or $80,900 for a 4-person household.
There are other qualifications, including credit and other requirements. If met, the program will grant them zero-interest, forgivable loans to assist with purchasing a home.
The loans can be used to cover down payments, closing costs and settlement charges. The loan will be forgiven over 10 years on a pro-rata basis. There are no monthly payments.
"Part of the process is you have to attend a counseling session and you have to take an online course, and I did both," Aboussemah said.
In the last 10 years, the City of Covington has assisted 426 families through the program. Most of the loans were given to homeowners in Covington's residential neighborhoods, including 187 in Latonia’s four areas, 42 in South Covington, 68 in Peaselburg and 21 in Eastside.
"But for these funds, not everybody has $20,000 or something like that in their savings," said John Hammons, CDBG/HOME program coordinator. "So they can still make these payments for these houses because they earn enough for them — it's just that nest egg they don't have, they can keep because we're providing these funds for them."
In addition to the past decade's 426 loans, Covington in 2023 gave 33 loans under a separate, one-time ARPA-funded program.
Hammons said 15% of the federal HOME funds must also be designated for home rehab projects, benefiting a non-profit community housing development. The city currently works with three of them.
"Homeownership really can help neighborhoods and change the character, not to say there's no need for rental. It's certainly changed the fabric and character of our neighborhoods in a positive manner and really helps the buyers because, but for this assistance, they wouldn't be buying these homes," Hammons said.
The program expanded to include the cities of Florence, Erlanger and Independence two years ago, the first expansion in the program's existence.
At the same time, Hammons said the federal government cut Covington's near $500,000 fund by 11%. However, approximately $70,000 additional dollars will be allocated in July to help cover the addition of the three new cities.
"So we weren't hurt as much as we could have been," Hammons said.
If homebuyers are serious about the process and the program, Aboussemah said they should be prepared to get their paperwork in order and stay in constant communication with program leaders.
"You need to watch your income-to-debt ratio, and that's something that they look at with this program too," she said. "It's totally doable. It's worth it for sure."
It's worth it because Aboussemah is now planning her future in her quaint Latonia home. With every intention of staying for at least 10 years, she's also looking forward to not having to pay back the city's loan.
"I don't want to keep moving around, I don't want to keep renting apartments so I'm going to stay here," she said. "That's what I'm excited about, is being a homeowner. I know a lot of other people want to do it too and they think that it's not possible. I thought that too, up until a few months ago, but it is possible."
To learn more about the program, you can find more information on Covington's Neighborhood Services webpage. You can also contact CDBG/HOME Program Coordinator John Hammons at jhammons@covingtonky.gov or 859-292-2105.
