“[PolicyMap’s] quick turnaround for the timeline that we had was what spoke to AHFA most highly and how eager [they] were to serve a client. [PolicyMap] was quick to ensure our satisfaction and had great turnaround.” -Julie Adams, Single-Family Business Analyst
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Challenge

In 2023, the Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA) supported homeownership by providing $176 million to help 984 families across 52 counties. A key service offered by AHFA is the First Step Program, which provides homebuyers with mortgage revenue bonds featuring below-market, 30-year fixed interest rates. Participants must meet federally established income and sales limits as well as target/non-target area qualifications. The target/non-target area determination process for lenders and potential homebuyers involves assessing census tracts to determine program eligibility.

To simplify eligibility checks, AHFA needed a solution that allowed easy access to detailed visualizations of Alabama’s federally determined target/non-target areas.

Solution

PolicyMap developed an interactive map called the Target Area Status Map, available on the Alabama Housing Finance Authority website. This public tool simplifies the process for lenders to determine eligibility for the First Step Mortgage Revenue Bond program and Mortgage Credit Certificate program. The map visualizes every census tract in Alabama, clearly showing their eligibility status. Lenders seeking property eligibility prior to closing can search by address or tract to see whether a property is in a target or non-target area. Tracts marked in green are target areas, where eligible borrowers can be either first-time or repeat homebuyers. Non-target areas, shaded in gray, indicate that eligible borrowers must not have owned a home in the past three years. If a tract is marked in orange, lenders must submit a Target Area ID Request to confirm eligibility, as these are designated mixed target areas.

The First Step Program’s mission boils down to accessibility. The program seeks to reach potential low- to moderate- income homeowners in both served and underserved communities. The first stage of that journey is ensuring lenders can easily obtain time-sensitive, key information needed to define a borrower’s eligibility. “With PolicyMap’s assistance and rapid turn-around, we took an important step in making a previously laborious task, easily accessible for both borrowers and lenders.”