Start with a Homeownership Counseling Partner
The first step in getting started is to contact a partner agency below. ESL has partnered with several counseling agencies to help you enroll, pay for, and complete your homeownership counseling course and enrollment process as part of the ESL First-Time Homebuyer Grant. Partners include:
Key Features with Lasting Benefits
- ESL will match up to 10 times what you save2 toward owning your new home
- Grant dollars can be used toward eligible down payment and closing costs
- Pre- and post-homebuying education available
Helping Our Community Thrive and Prosper
The purpose of the First-Time Homebuyer Grant program is to advance racial and ethnic equity in Greater Rochester through one of the most important wealth-building tools—homeownership. ESL is committed to supporting eligible buyers in diverse neighborhoods who have experienced lower levels of homeownership due to systemic inequities. Through this unique grant—made available annually on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible buyers—ESL hopes to make homeownership more accessible and attainable for those negatively impacted by these inequities.
Eligibility Requirements
To enroll in the ESL First-Time Homebuyer Grant you must meet the following requirements:
- Be a member of ESL Federal Credit Union.
- Be an eligible Black or Latino first-time homebuyer.
- Purchase an eligible property within the ESL 10-county mortgage lending area which includes: Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties in the State of New York.
- Meet the household income guidelines at the time of enrollment which is at or under $69,680 for one- and two-person households and at or under $80,132 for a three-person+ household.
- Commit to making regular, monthly deposits into an ESL First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account over a minimum of six months.
- Achieve homeownership within 18 months from the enrollment start date.
- Complete a homeownership counseling program with one of the ESL partner agencies.
- Homebuyer(s) must agree to obtain mortgage financing from ESL with a qualifying mortgage product.
- Homebuyer(s) must agree to a legally enforceable retention document, such as a second lien on the purchased property, that would allow ESL to recapture a proportion of the grant funds received for a five-year period.