HOME SWEET OGDEN

Home ownership in Ogden is more attainable with the help of Ogden City Community Development’s Home Sweet Ogden and Own in Ogden programs.

A current Home Sweet Ogden listing on Kershaw Street. Photo by Deann Armes / The Ogdenite

Buying a home in Ogden is harder due to dramatic changes in the local real estate market. House prices have nearly tripled over the past decade and interest rates hiked to over 7% this year. This isn’t breaking news, but what’s not widely known is that Ogden City Community Development has federally-funded programs to help more people in Ogden become homeowners.

The city department “flips” homes to sell exclusively to owner-occupied buyers, not-for-profit and with a price cap, and low-interest loans of up to $10,000 are available for a down payment.

“Everything we do is to encourage more home ownership,” says Jeremy Smith, Community Development Manager who has been with the department for fourteen years.

They also work to buffer gentrification and beautify the city’s neighborhoods.

Under the Home Sweet Ogden program, established in 1991, Ogden City purchases and renovates worn-down homes and sells them to owner-occupied buyers within set income restrictions. They also build new homes in Ogden's older neighborhoods in a style consistent with historic homes in the area.

Buyers at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI) can, and sometimes must, attain the Own in Ogden loan of up to $10,000 for a down payment. Teachers, Ogden City employers, firefighters, police, etc. may receive more. These are zero percent interest, deferred-payment loans that are repaid in full in the event of sale or if it is no longer the primary residence of the buyer.

Additional low-interest, equity-based loans include the Emergency Home Repair Program (EHRP), Home Exterior Loan Program (HELP), and a newly added program that offers assistance to renters.

Ogden mayoral candidate Taylor Knuth mentions the need to expand these programs on his website. It is also mentioned by City Council District 4 candidate Dave Graf on his website.

Both Knuth and Graf spoke about the Home Sweet Ogden and Own in Ogden programs in a Salt Lake Tribune article that published statements from all of the Ogden candidates in response to a question about affordable housing.

“I have proposed the creation of a Housing Stability Department in Ogden City, the expansion of the Own in Ogden program, and increasing incentives for quality private development projects that align with our city’s new General Plan,” stated Knuth in the article.

Knuth, who now owns a historic 132-year-old Victorian home in Ogden with his husband Sean, has publicly stated at debates and on the campaign trail that they utilized the Home Sweet Ogden and Own in Ogden programs to help them purchase their first home Ogden home.

“I honestly can’t imagine how life would look if the pieces didn’t fall into place when they did for us,” Knuth says.

Community Development Project Coordinator Elaine Ehrenberg says they would love to have support from the new administration to expand their programming.

“The crazy housing market has made it harder for low-to moderate-income households to be approved for a home and save enough funds for a down payment/closing costs. The Own In Ogden Program has subsequently become very popular along with the State’s Down Payment Assistance Programs, which can be used together to aid in funding a home purchase,” she says.

”To help the Program keep up with inflation and rising home costs, we recently obtained City Council’s approval to raise the cap of the home price from $380,000 to $428,000 (or $432,000 for a new construction home) and we do not collect interest on these deferred-payment loans. These homes are inspected for safety, as the residents of Ogden City are our focus.”

There are currently two “Home Sweet Ogden” homes for sale, and four others under construction.

Read more about the Ogden City Community Development programs here.