So … who exactly qualifies to buy a Turn the Key home? Here’s the scoop:
- You must be a first-time buyer who has never owned a home, or not owned one three years prior to applying for Turn the Key.
- Additionally, you have to go through one-on-one homeownership counseling before you sign an Agreement of Sale—in fact, many homeowners find this to be a plus. (TTK homebuyers get an average of 8 hours of free housing counseling!)
- Finally: Your household income can’t be any higher than the Area Median Income, which is based on the size of your household. For instance, if you are a single-person household, the limit on income is $80,300. For a family of two, it’s $91,800; for a family of three, it’s $103,250 and for four, it’s $114,700. (And so forth;
the list goes on.)
If you meet these requirements and want to own a new home in Philly, then the next step is to
fill out this form
and let us help determine if you’re further qualified. You should check it out: With the Turn the Key process, a new home is more affordable and accessible than you probably think. Our average buyer has an annual income of $40,000 to $60,000, and a credit score of 620.
Also? Our buyers come from all over Philly—different backgrounds, different ages, different professions, different stories. (Want to know more?
You can hear from our homeowners themselves here!) Here’s what they all have in common now, thanks to the tools that Civetta and Turn the Key have to offer first-time homebuyers—access to the affordable homes themselves; down payment assistance for renters; first-time home ownership assistance (including moral support!): the joy and pride, investment and stability of home ownership.
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So how, exactly, does all of this work? Well, firstly, it begins with the city-led mission: Making homeownership in Philadelphia easier for more Philadelphians. (Why? Because more homeowners means more of us are building wealth for our families and building up our neighborhoods and building up the city. Win-win-win.) Mayor Cherelle Parker has said she aims to see some 30,000 homes either built or preserved for Philadelphians who want to live and work in Philly, who want to put down roots in their city—and Turn the Key is a huge part of that goal. The initiative has called on and enabled a handful of experienced, civic-minded developers
(including us here at Civetta!) to buy up vacant land in neighborhoods around the city, and then build new homes on it—and not just any homes, but
price-controlled homes, located conveniently near transit, designed specifically and thoughtfully with Philadelphia’s first-time buyers and working people in mind.
Not only are the homes price-controlled, which means that the average TTK starting home price is $280,000, but in addition to the low asking price, Turn the Key also offers its buyers who have never owned a home grants, loans, tax abatements and mortgage buydown programs via the city and the Philly Housing Development Corporation and the Turn the Key preferred lenders, which saves our homebuyers up to $75,000 or more off that price—hence the average mortgage amount of $183,499, a game-changing price for so many of our neighbors. That includes people who want to stop renting and start owning, people who aren’t sure if they can afford to buy a house in Philly (or in certain neighborhoods in Philly), and people who feel they just need a little bit more help buying a home for the first time. All of these people can find real help and a much-needed boost from their city and Turn the Key.
In fact, that—the joy of helping people find homes—is why we here at Civetta Property Group have been so excited to be a part of Turn the Key. Once upon a time, our firm was focused mainly on market-rate housing development, both big and small—a world in which we have decades of experience. But when we heard about an opportunity as developers to help boost affordable workplace housing, we were intrigued—we, too, live and work in this city, and have a vested interest in helping Philly and its people thrive.
So we gave it a shot, and found that the more we did, the more we wanted to keep doing. We’ve seen firsthand the way this program creates
new paths for people who want to stop renting and buy a home in any number of
neighborhoods
around Philadelphia. We’ve seen hard-working people whose only main obstacle to homeownership was saving enough money for a downpayment finally get the tools they needed to make it happen through Turn the Key. We’ve seen families who never thought they could afford new construction—or any home at all within city limits—settle into their brand-new Philly home, and spend less money buying than they would have spent renting.
It’s all been extremely gratifying, and we truly can’t wait to work with more of our fellow Philadelphians in the coming year. And maybe that’s you! Please
contact us
at Civetta Property Group if you want more information about these affordable new-construction houses, about Philly’s Turn the Key program, or about any questions you have about finding first-time home buying help. Turn the Key might just be the boost you need to give yourself the gift of a new home this year.
