Buying Into Baltimore ($5,000 Trolley Tour lottery)

At a glance

Amount

$5,000 toward down payment and closing costs, awarded by lottery

Type of help

Forgivable loan

Where

Baltimore City

Run by

Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development, Office of Homeownership, with Live Baltimore

First-time buyer

Repeat buyers welcome

Income limit

None

Price limit

Yes, see below

Homebuyer education

Required

Your own funds

At least $1,000

How the forgivable loan works

A second loan with no payment that is forgiven over time or after a set number of years in the home.

• Interest: 0%
• Monthly payment: None
• Forgiveness: Five-year forgivable loan. The city describes its incentive loans as forgiven when you stay five years as your primary residence; for its first-time buyer incentive it has published a 20% per year reduction.
• When you would repay: Sell, refinance, or stop living in the home as your primary residence before year five and the unforgiven balance is due.

Who qualifies

• Repeat buyers welcome. Open to repeat buyers as well as first-time buyers.
• Income. No household income limit (checked 2026-09-22).
• Price. No published price cap. Your mortgage cannot exceed the FHA limit for a single-family home, listed as $731,400 on the program page (checked 2026-09-22).
• You must register for and attend a Live Baltimore Trolley Tour and keep your admission ticket.
• Fixed-rate mortgage only. Co-signers, cash sales and owner financing are not allowed.
• You must live in the home as your primary residence.

How to apply

1. 1Before you make an offer, complete a homeownership workshop and a one-on-one counseling session with a City-approved counseling agency. The certificate is valid for 12 months and you need it to enter the lottery.
2. 2Register for the next Live Baltimore Trolley Tour and attend. Live Baltimore holds a tour and lottery every Winter, Spring and Fall; the Winter 2027 tour is Saturday, February 6, 2027. Keep the admission ticket.
3. 3Write your offer after the tour date, inside that round's contract window (about 12 business days; for Winter 2027 it runs from February 6 to 2 pm on February 24, 2027). Nothing in the contract process can be signed before the tour.
4. 4Enter the lottery by that round's deadline with your ticket, counseling certificate, proof of at least $1,000 of your own funds, and the ratified contract on a Baltimore City home.
5. 5Twenty buyers are drawn. Live Baltimore streams the drawing and emails every applicant. Winners settle through the city's Applicant Portal by the round's settlement deadline (May 27, 2027 for the Winter 2027 winners, drawn February 26).

Watch out for

• It is a lottery, not a sure thing. Twenty awards per tour. Have a backup plan for your closing costs in case you are not drawn.
• The contract window is short, about 12 business days after the tour. Be pre-approved and actively touring before the event.
• The city showed 60 Buying Into Baltimore awards remaining for the year as of 2026-10-19.
• You must apply and be approved before closing. The city does not pay retroactively.

Straight answers

Sources

• Live Baltimore, Buying Into Baltimore (read Oct 26, 2026)
• Live Baltimore, Apply for the Buying Into Baltimore Lottery (seasonal dates) (read Oct 26, 2026)
• Baltimore City DHCD, Homeownership Incentives (funding counts as of 10/19/2026) (read Oct 26, 2026)

Program details are summarized from public sources and change without notice. Funding badges reflect the last time we checked, not a guarantee of availability. This is buyer education from a real estate agent, not a loan pre-approval or a commitment to lend. Eligibility is decided by each program administrator and your lender. Equal Housing Opportunity.