To apply for an Equity Builder Program (EBP) grant, members must fill out and submit an application online. Funding is subject to the terms listed below. Links to program documents are available on the Forms and Applications page.

Affordability-Retention Requirements
Each home buyer is required to meet a five-year retention period. This requirement provides that if the home buyer sells or refinances the dwelling purchased with the EBP funds, an amount equal to a prorated portion of the grant will be recaptured and repaid to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston.

The member must ensure that each owner-occupied unit purchased or rehabilitated with EBP funds is subject to a legally enforceable retention mechanism for five years. To ensure compliance with the retention requirement, the amount of the grant must be secured by a retention mechanism in the form of the Bank's mortgage and note.

For more detailed information regarding the affordability-retention requirement, resale or refinancing, and the pro rata recapture of the EBP subsidy, please refer to the EBP User Manual, the specific retention documents listed under the Home-Buyer Enrollment and Disbursement Request section on the Forms and Applications page, or contact your community investment manager.

Commitment Expiration
For other than a matched-savings or IDA program, members will have up to 24 months to fund all home buyers, or until the pool is exhausted, provided that the program is progressing at a satisfactory pace.

Enrolling Home Buyers
All home buyers must be enrolled online through the Forms and Applications page. At the time of enrollment, all income documentation must be submitted for review and approval by Housing and Community Investment Department staff. Members are required to submit home-buyer enrollments at least five business days prior to the scheduled home closing.

Enrollments missing documentation after 10 days or submitted less than five days prior to closing may be denied at the Bank's discretion.

Funding and Reimbursement
EBP funds are provided to members on a reimbursement basis only. Requests for reimbursement are initiated online.

Prior to issuing a reimbursement of EBP funds to a member, the Bank's Housing and Community Investment Department will review the member's request for reimbursement and perform an eligibility analysis, including reviewing evidentiary documentation to determine compliance with the AHP regulation governing the EBP and the member's EBP application. Disbursements missing documentation after 30 days may be denied at the Bank's discretion.

Disbursement
An individual at the member institution authorized to transact business will be required to certify the home buyer's eligibility and that funds were used for an eligible purpose upon requesting reimbursement/disbursement of funds.

If EBP funds are being used for rehabilitation, the work must be paid before request for disbursement.

The EBP grant funds will be disbursed to the member's IDEAL Way Account within 10 business days of receipt of the subsidy-disbursement request and the supporting documentation.

Monitoring and Reporting
There are no reporting and monitoring requirements. However, members are required to maintain, within each household's files, all pertinent documentation, including (but not limited to) income verification (at the time of enrollment), underwriting worksheets, savings plan, counseling certification, HUD-1 forms, and other closing documentation evidencing the purchase of a home.

After closing, the Bank reserves the right to periodically request household files on a sample basis to confirm continued compliance with program requirements.

For More Information
For more information about the EBP, please see the EBP User Manual or contact your relationship manager or community investment manager.