Nearly a year after joining a state-sponsored initiative to help eligible residents buy first-time homes, Jefferson County has yet to receive details of when financing might become available two weeks after a similar program launched in 22 other counties.
The Montana Community Reinvestment Plan (MCRP), created in 2023 via House Bill 819, enabled counties to partner with a nonprofit “community reinvestment organizations” (CRO) to cover up to 30% of a new home cost for first-time buyers who make 60% to 140% of that county’s median income.
The legislation authorized $470,854 to be made available to county residents for mortgage buy-downs and last December, the County Commission selected Billings-based HomeFront as its CRO. In late July, HomeFront told the Commission it planned to start a construction program “to deliver occupancy-ready, attainable housing.”
It asked county leaders to send a list of potential building sites and urged the county to schedule a kick-off meeting after Sept. 1 “to launch this initiative and begin delivering much-needed workforce housing.”
HomeFront’s letter did not say when the program might start. And Commissioner Cory Kirsch said the county had since received no communications from the organization.
On Nov. 4, meanwhile, Neighborworks Montana launched its version of the MCRP initiative, called HomeStretch, in 22 partner counties, including neighboring Lewis & Clerk and Powell. “We are thrilled to be addressing housing needs for Montana’s workforce,” NeighborWorks Montana’s Executive Director Kaia Peterson said in a statement.
Neighborworks and HomeFront are the two entities approved as community reinvestment organizations. When it chose between the two last December, the County Commission judged HomeFront as better equipped to meet MCRP’s requirement that CROs raise a dollar in external investment for each dollar of state funding.
With the matching funds, HomeFront would be authorized to make interest-free loans to first-time buyers. The program stipulates that buyers don’t have to repay the loan as long as they live in the house. If they do sell, the sales price is capped at the original price plus 1% for each year since their purchase. HomeFront then recoups its initial capital, which it can then lend to new buyers.
As of Tuesday, a HomeFront spokesperson had not responded to several emails from The Monitor seeking comment. HomeFront CEO Patti Webster had previously referred questions to the spokesperson
