Hobart’s Run is pleased to launch a pilot program designed to help citizens cover closing costs on homes purchased as primary residences in the Hobart’s Run neighborhood in Pottstown, according to a press release.

The Hobart’s Run Homeownership Incentive Program (HIP) will promote homeownership in its namesake neighborhood improvement district by awarding approved applicants a forgivable loan of $5,000 toward closing costs.

The first loan will be granted in the fall of 2019, with subsequent incentives expected after the pilot loan is awarded. Funds from the rental of a home recently renovated by Hobart’s Run and now occupied will be utilized to provide more HIP forgivable loans.

Eligible applicants for this program must purchase a home within Pottstown’s Hobart’s Run district, which consists of approximately 600 parcels in the Borough within Queen Street in the south; North Adams on the west; Beech, Grant, and Jackson on the north; and Keim Street on the east. The successful applicant must maintain primary residence in the home until the loan is forgiven.

He or she does not need to be a first-time homebuyer in order to be eligible for these funds, but he/she may not have owned another home within the past two years and must be moving from a rental situation in the Borough and into Hobart’s Run homeownership. “While not a panacea, there is substantial research showing a tie between increasing homeownership and improved community stability,” says Twila Fisher, director of community and economic development for Hobart’s Run and The Hill School. “Homeownership often offers not only tangible economic benefits to families but also strengthens entire communities, through means ranging from increased civic participation of the owners, to enhanced property maintenance and improvements.

“The HIP program serves the Hobart’s Run mission to help make Hobart’s Run – and all of Pottstown – ‘clean and green,’ safe, and inclusive — and, of course, to encourage homeownership,” Fisher adds. “By strengthening this neighborhood, we hope to inspire additional revitalization efforts throughout the town.”

Applicants will need to fill out the Hobart’s Run HIP application and other related documentation. Interested parties should email hobartsrun.pottstown@gmail.com or call Fisher at 610-705-1016 to receive details and a copy of the application. For more information go to https://hobartsrunpottstown.org/.