Baltimore City Vacants to Value Booster

At a glance

Amount

$10,000 toward down payment and closing costs on a formerly vacant home

Type of help

Forgivable loan

Where

Baltimore City

Run by

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

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).
• Property-specific: the home must have been under a city Vacant Building Notice for at least one year before a developer rehabbed it or before it was sold to you.
• The home needs a Certificate of Occupancy.
• 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.
2. 2Confirm the property qualifies. Ask the listing agent or the city's Office of Homeownership whether the home carried a Vacant Building Notice for at least a year before the rehab or the sale. Many rehabbed rowhomes advertise V2V eligibility, but verify it.
3. 3Get pre-approved for a fixed-rate mortgage and set aside at least $1,000 of your own money.
4. 4Get a ratified contract with at least 30 days between the application and settlement. Register and apply in the city's Applicant Portal (Neighborly) with your title company's EIN.
5. 5Once approved, the city sends funds to the title company in about 10 to 15 business days.

Watch out for

• This one follows the house, not the buyer. If the property was never a city-noticed vacant, it does not qualify no matter how good your file is.
• First come, first served. The city showed 67 Booster awards remaining as of 2026-09-21.
• Settlement must be at least 30 days after you submit the application. Funds are not retroactive.
• Rehabbed vacants deserve a thorough inspection. The incentive does not change the condition risk.

Straight answers

Sources

• Live Baltimore, Vacants to Value Booster (read Sep 22, 2026)
• Baltimore City DHCD, Homeownership Incentives (funding counts as of 09/21/2026) (read Sep 22, 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.