BMO’s Welcome Home Grant program expands to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, Anaheim and Riverside. Applicants may be eligible to receive up to $26,500 for down payment and home closing costs
Corporate News
LOS ANGELES, November 29, 2023 – BMO today announced a $2 million commitment to expand its Welcome Home Grant program, which helps California households in disadvantaged communities move toward realizing the dream of home ownership. The program is expanding to seven new markets, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, San Jose, Anaheim and Riverside. The program, which launched in March 2022, is available in seven other markets, including Chicago, Phoenix, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
A recent BMO Digital Real Financial Progress Index revealed that nearly two-thirds of Americans are postponing purchasing a home because several factors have complicated financial access to housing. The expanded Welcome Home Grant program offers up to $16,000 in funding to eligible applicants, helping them with down payment and closing costs for the home purchase contract. In this way, buyers from less favored communities will be able to access the credit they need, accelerating the process of purchasing their own home. By combining this program with other housing financing programs, eligible people in California can receive up to more than $26,500.
“BMO is committed to helping qualified homebuyers make real financial progress toward becoming homeowners, which historically has been an important element of getting ahead financially,” said Eric Smith, vice president of BMO. “The Welcome Home Grant program removes barriers that prevent minority and low- to moderate-income communities from becoming homeowners. At BMO, we are motivated by our Purpose to Boldly Develop the Good in business and life, and be an engine of change to achieve an inclusive society, including resources that help close the racial wealth gap.”
“The expansion of this program allows BMO to further serve homebuyers in underserved communities across the country, assisting individuals and families with a critical boost to realize their dream of homeownership,” he said. Brenda J. Rodríguez, executive director of the Affordable Housing Clearinghouse in California.
The program demonstrates BMO’s efforts to drive inclusive economic progress in the United States. The program is an integral part of EMpower 2.0, BMO’s more than $40 billion community benefits plan, which consists of a series of commitments that seek to eliminate key barriers to economic inclusion by supporting and investing in communities and organizations in the United States, with a commitment of more than $16 billion to California.
