(310 ILCS 115/15)

Sec. 15. Teacher homebuyer assistance program.

(a) Subject to appropriation, the Authority shall establish and administer a teacher homebuyer assistance program and allocate funds in accordance with this Act. The purpose of this program is to provide down payment assistance to teachers for purchasing residences within the jurisdiction in which they are employed.

(b) The maximum down payment assistance to a teacher under this Act shall be determined by the median home price in the school district where the teacher is employed, as follows:

(1) Any teacher employed in a school district with a median home price over $300,000 is eligible for maximum down payment assistance of $20,000.

(2) Any teacher employed in a school district with a median home price from $150,000 to $300,000, inclusive, is eligible for maximum down payment assistance of $15,000.

(3) Any teacher employed in a school district with a median home price below $150,000 is eligible for maximum down payment assistance of $10,000.

(c) Assistance under this Act shall be in the form of a deferred payment, low-interest subordinate mortgage loan with a term not longer than the term of the first mortgage loan. Interest on this subordinate mortgage loan shall accrue at a rate of up to 5% per annum.

(d) The borrower's obligation to repay the loan shall be evidenced by a lien consisting of a deed of trust, subordinate in priority to the borrower's first mortgage loan financing required to purchase the property. If the borrower has continuously been a teacher for the 5-year period immediately following the date of recordation of the subordinate mortgage loan deed of trust and there has been no termination of employment, then repayment of the subordinate mortgage loan shall be forgiven and considered a grant so long as the borrower produces employment records, to the Authority's satisfaction, that the borrower has continuously been a teacher during that 5-year period.

(e) Repayment of the principal and accrued interest is due and payable at the earlier of the following events:

(1) sale of the residence;

(2) the borrower's failure to continuously occupy the residence in accordance with paragraph (3) of Section 20 of this Act; or

(3) satisfaction of the first mortgage loan.

In no event shall this loan be assumable.

(f) In the event of termination of employment by the borrower within the first 5 years following recordation of the subordinate mortgage loan deed of trust, the borrower shall be obligated to repay to the Authority, in addition to other amounts due on the loan, the pro rata amount of principal and accrued interest on the loan that directly relates to the period of time within that 5-year period in which the borrower was not a teacher. In order to qualify for any pro rata forgiveness of repayment of the loan, the borrower shall produce employment records to the Authority's satisfaction that the borrower was a teacher for the period in which the pro rata forgiveness of loan is sought. If the borrower produces evidence acceptable to the Authority that the borrower has satisfied all of the requirements specified in this Section to qualify for forgiveness of the loan in total, the Authority must execute any documents that may be necessary so that the borrower may clear title.

(Source: P.A. 95-449, eff. 8-27-07.)