A Bank may establish, in its discretion, one or more Homeownership Set-Aside Programs pursuant to the requirements of this part.

A Bank shall accept applications for AHP direct subsidy under its Homeownership Set-Aside Programs only from institutions that are members of the Bank at the time the application is submitted to the Bank.

A Bank's Homeownership Set-Aside Programs shall meet the eligibility requirements set forth in this section. A Bank may not adopt additional eligibility requirements for its Homeownership Set-Aside Programs except for eligible households pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.

(a) Member allocation criteria. AHP direct subsidies shall be provided to members pursuant to allocation criteria established by the Bank in its AHP Implementation Plan.

(b) Eligible households. Members shall provide AHP direct subsidies only to households that:

(1) Have incomes at or below 80 percent of the median income for the area at the time the household is accepted for enrollment by the member in the Bank's Homeownership Set-Aside Programs, with such time of enrollment by the member defined by the Bank in its AHP Implementation Plan;

(2) Complete a homebuyer or homeowner counseling program provided by, or based on one provided by, an organization experienced in homebuyer or homeowner counseling, in the case of households that are first-time homebuyers; and

(3) Are first-time homebuyers or households receiving AHP subsidy for owner-occupied rehabilitation, in the case of households receiving subsidy pursuant to the one-third set-aside funding allocation requirement in § 1291.12(b), and meet such other eligibility criteria that may be established by the Bank in its AHP Implementation Plan, such as a matching funds requirement, homebuyer or homeowner counseling requirement for households that are not first-time homebuyers, or criteria that give priority for the purchase or rehabilitation of housing in particular areas or as part of a disaster relief effort.

(c) Maximum grant limit. Members shall provide AHP direct subsidies to households as a grant, in an amount up to a maximum established by the Bank, not to exceed $22,000 per household, which limit shall adjust upward on an annual basis in accordance with increases in FHFA's House Price Index (HPI). In the event of a decrease in the HPI, the subsidy limit shall remain at its then-current amount until the HPI increases above the subsidy limit, at which point the subsidy limit shall adjust to that higher amount. FHFA will notify the Banks annually of the maximum subsidy limit, based on the HPI. A Bank may establish a different maximum grant limit, up to the maximum grant limit, for each Homeownership Set-Aside Program it establishes. A Bank's maximum grant limit for each such program shall be included in its AHP Implementation Plan, which limit shall apply to all households in the specific program for which it is established.

(d) Eligible uses of AHP direct subsidy. Households shall use the AHP direct subsidies to pay for down payment, closing cost, counseling, or rehabilitation assistance in connection with the household's purchase or rehabilitation of an owner-occupied unit, including a condominium or cooperative housing unit or manufactured housing, to be used as the household's primary residence.

(e) Retention agreement. An owner-occupied unit purchased, or purchased in conjunction with rehabilitation, using AHP direct subsidy, shall be subject to a five-year retention agreement described in § 1291.15(a)(7).

(f) Financial or other concessions. The Bank may, in its discretion, require members and other lenders to provide financial or other concessions, as defined by the Bank in its AHP Implementation Plan, to households in connection with providing the AHP direct subsidy or financing to the household.

(g) Financing costs. The rate of interest, points, fees, and any other charges for all loans made in conjunction with the AHP direct subsidy shall not exceed a reasonable market rate of interest, points, fees, and other charges for loans of similar maturity, terms, and risk.

(h) Counseling costs. The AHP direct subsidies may be used to pay for counseling costs only where:

(1) Such costs are incurred in connection with counseling of homebuyers who actually purchase an AHP-assisted unit; and

(2) The cost of the counseling has not been covered by another funding source, including the member.

(i) Cash back to household. A member may provide cash back to a household at closing on the mortgage loan in an amount not exceeding $250, as determined by the Bank in its AHP Implementation Plan, and a member shall use any AHP direct subsidy exceeding such amount that is beyond what is needed at closing for closing costs and the approved mortgage amount as a credit to reduce the principal of the mortgage loan or as a credit toward the household's monthly payments on the mortgage loan.

A Bank shall approve applications for AHP direct subsidy under its Homeownership Set-Aside Programs in accordance with the Bank's criteria governing the allocation of funds.

(a) Disbursement of AHP direct subsidies to members. (1) A Bank may disburse AHP direct subsidies under its Homeownership Set-Aside Programs only to institutions that are members of the Bank at the time they request a draw-down of the subsidies.

(2) If an institution with an approved application for AHP direct subsidy loses its membership in a Bank, the Bank may disburse AHP direct subsidies to a member of such Bank to which the institution has transferred its obligations under the approved AHP application, or the Bank may disburse AHP direct subsidies through another Bank to a member of that Bank that has assumed the institution's obligations under the approved AHP application.

(b) Reservation of Homeownership Set-Aside Program subsidies. A Bank shall establish and implement policies for reservation of set-aside subsidies for households enrolled in the Bank's Homeownership Set-Aside Programs. The policies shall provide that set-aside subsidies be reserved no more than two years in advance of the Bank's time limit in its AHP Implementation Plan for draw-down and use of the subsidies by the household and the reservation of subsidies be made from the allocation for the Homeownership Set-Aside Programs for the year in which the Bank makes the reservation.

(c) Progress towards use of AHP direct subsidy. A Bank shall establish and implement policies, including time limits, for determining whether progress is being made towards draw-down and use of the AHP direct subsidies by eligible households, and whether to cancel AHP application approvals for lack of such progress. If a Bank cancels any AHP application approvals due to lack of such progress, it shall make the AHP direct subsidies available for other applicants for AHP direct subsidies under the Homeownership Set-Aside Programs or for other AHP-eligible projects.