{"id":283432,"date":"2017-11-16T10:41:46","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T15:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=283432"},"modified":"2017-11-16T10:46:55","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T15:46:55","slug":"universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/","title":{"rendered":"University\u2019s Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade"},"content":{"rendered":"

A decade ago this coming March, the University launched a new home purchasing program for its employees. The University Home Ownership Incentive Program<\/a> was created in collaboration with the City of Rochester, participating local lending institutions, and neighborhood partners with the dual purpose of helping employees become new homeowners by assisting with that first big down payment, and encouraging home ownership in the historic neighborhoods nearest to the University.<\/p>\n

The program works the same way it did when it was created: the University, the City of Rochester, and one of the partner banks or credit unions each provide $3,000 toward the new mortgage of a home purchase in 13 qualifying Rochester neighborhoods. As long as the full-time or part-time University employee owns the house as their primary residence for a minimum of five years, there is no required repayment of the $9,000.<\/p>\n

In the founding year of the initiative, two financial lenders came on board; today seven local banks and credit unions participate. In the program\u2019s first two years, 120 employees took advantage of it. As of fall 2017, approximately 430 employees have closed on a home, and more than $1 million in financing incentives have been provided.<\/p>\n

\"Community<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe University\u2019s Home Ownership Incentive Program has thrived and grown over the years because of its popularity with our employees, as well as the committed partners who continue to make it possible,\u201d says Peter Robinson, vice president of government and community relations at the University. \u201cThe program has helped many University employees get into and afford a first home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robinson adds that the program remains popular in part because city neighborhoods have become more popular.<\/p>\n

\"graphic<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago, the program was created as an incentive-based initiative to help enrich the city\u2019s historic communities. Today, however, our employees need much less incentive to buy in the city because urban living has become so desirable with its many social, economic and sustainable benefits,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Erica Owens, a human resources representative at the University, purchased a historic 1890s home in the Highland Park area of the city about five years ago through the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking for an older house with character, which is exactly what I found,\u201d says Owens. \u201cSome of the features include the original wood floors, stained glass windows, tin ceiling, molding throughout, several built-ins, a large cedar closet, and an enclosed porch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI also really appreciate the proximity to Highland Park, the canal path, College Town, and the South Wedge.\u00a0The neighborhood offers a mix of restaurants, stores, and parks within walking distance, while maintaining a relatively quiet, residential feel and great neighbors. With my proximity to the University, I can walk or bike to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original neighborhoods in the University Home Ownership Incentive Program have remained, including Highland Park, the 19th Ward, Plymouth-Exchange, and the South Wedge. In August 2017, more regions were added\u2014 Beechwood, EMMA (East Main, Mustard & Atlantic Avenue) and Marketview Heights\u2014to encourage even more employees to purchase homes in the city, and in areas where public transportation is abundant for ease of commuting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think any program that promotes home ownership in the city should be supported,\u201d says Dan Hurley, president of the Upper Mt. Hope Neighborhood Association. The Upper Mt. Hope residential area borders the Medical Center campus and is part of the University Home Ownership Incentive Program. \u201cWhat makes the program unique is its ability to persuade employees to live close to their place of employment. This creates a stable neighborhood, reduces stress associated with transportation, and improves the carbon footprint associated with commuting. This also helps solidify the relationship between the University and neighborhoods in the city,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

NeighborWorks Rochester has been a partner from the beginning. A community-based nonprofit agency devoted to strengthening city neighborhoods, NeighborWorks provides pre-purchase education, one-on-one counseling, and post-purchase education to buyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI greatly appreciated the resources made available through the University Home Ownership Incentive Program, namely the affiliation with NeighborWorks,\u201d says Owens. \u201cAs part of the program, I attended a homebuyer\/ownership class, and the instructors provided valuable insight into the buying process, which helped set the stage for a relatively stress-free experience. It all allowed me to buy sooner than I originally thought and helped me think through my budget and finances.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more details on Rochester\u2019s distinct neighborhoods, visit http:\/\/celebratecityliving.com\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of fall 2017, approximately 430 employees have closed on homes as the program continues to help first-time home-buyers purchase homes in Rochester’s historic neighborhoods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":283442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[9436],"class_list":["post-283432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-news","tag-community"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHome Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As of fall 2017, nearly 430 employees have closed on homes as the program continues helping home-buyers purchase homes in Rochester's historic neighborhoods\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As of fall 2017, nearly 430 employees have closed on homes as the program continues helping home-buyers purchase homes in Rochester's historic neighborhoods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-11-16T15:41:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-11-16T15:46:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sara Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sara Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sara Miller\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/27e096963bc860db530195ce8e8547f7\"},\"headline\":\"University\u2019s Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-16T15:41:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-16T15:46:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":729,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"community\"],\"articleSection\":[\"University News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-11-16T15:41:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-11-16T15:46:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/27e096963bc860db530195ce8e8547f7\"},\"description\":\"As of fall 2017, nearly 430 employees have closed on homes as the program continues helping home-buyers purchase homes in Rochester's historic neighborhoods\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/11\\\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"The City's 19th Ward is among the neighborhoods and regions included in the University Home Ownership Incentive Program, which in partnership with the City of Rochester, expanded in 2024 to encourage even more employees to purchase homes in the city. (University photo \\\/ J. Adam Fenster)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"University\u2019s Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"News Center\",\"description\":\"University of Rochester\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/27e096963bc860db530195ce8e8547f7\",\"name\":\"Sara Miller\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/author\\\/smiller\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade","description":"As of fall 2017, nearly 430 employees have closed on homes as the program continues helping home-buyers purchase homes in Rochester's historic neighborhoods","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade","og_description":"As of fall 2017, nearly 430 employees have closed on homes as the program continues helping home-buyers purchase homes in Rochester's historic neighborhoods","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/","og_site_name":"News Center","article_published_time":"2017-11-16T15:41:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-11-16T15:46:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sara Miller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sara Miller","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/"},"author":{"name":"Sara Miller","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/27e096963bc860db530195ce8e8547f7"},"headline":"University\u2019s Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade","datePublished":"2017-11-16T15:41:46+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-16T15:46:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/"},"wordCount":729,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg","keywords":["community"],"articleSection":["University News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/","name":"Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg","datePublished":"2017-11-16T15:41:46+00:00","dateModified":"2017-11-16T15:46:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/27e096963bc860db530195ce8e8547f7"},"description":"As of fall 2017, nearly 430 employees have closed on homes as the program continues helping home-buyers purchase homes in Rochester's historic neighborhoods","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/fea-city-rochester-19th-ward.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"caption":"The City's 19th Ward is among the neighborhoods and regions included in the University Home Ownership Incentive Program, which in partnership with the City of Rochester, expanded in 2024 to encourage even more employees to purchase homes in the city. (University photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/universitys-home-ownership-incentive-program-going-strong-decade-283432\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"University\u2019s Home Ownership Incentive Program going strong after a decade"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/","name":"News Center","description":"University of Rochester","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/27e096963bc860db530195ce8e8547f7","name":"Sara Miller","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/author\/smiller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283432"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":283542,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283432\/revisions\/283542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}