Portland Courant

Submit applications starting July 5, 2023 at 8:00am 

The annual cap on builder applications for the Homebuyer Opportunity Limited Tax Exemption (HOLTE) Program renews July 1, 2023.

PHB will accept applications beginning at 8:00 am on July 5, after the holiday. Email completed applications and supporting documents to indirect@portlandoregon.gov. 

Applications submitted prior to 8:00 am on July 5, 2023, will be rejected.

PHB will process complete applications in the order received but may prioritize applications with permits ready to issue. Please allow for longer processing times than usual, depending on the volume of applications submitted.

Portland City Council approved an increase to the annual HOLTE cap from 100 per year to 500 on June 28, 2023. For this to go into effect, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners must approve the increase as well and will vote on it on July 20, 2023. If the cap increase is approved, PHB will send out another notification and update the HOLTE website.

Complete applications include:

1. Application Form – One application for each unit. Email to indirect@portlandoregon.gov. HOLTE Builder Application
2. Building Permit – A building permit must be in process prior to applying for the HOLTE. The permit # must be on the application.
3. Property Ownership – The HOLTE applicant must be the same as the current legal property owner of record.
4. Signing Authority – For properties not owned by an individual, include documentation identifying who has authority to sign on behalf of the owner entity.
5. Legal Description – Include a recorded ownership deed or title report with a full legal description.
6. Green Building – Submit proof of current annual registration with a green building organization by contractor or owner.
7. Schematics – Submit internal and external display of unit to be built, including bedrooms.
8. Processing Fees – Send processing fee of $1,000 per unit to PHB upon the request of PHB, once an application is processed. (Fee can be sent in with SDC exemption processing fees.)

• The payment is due within 30 days of request from PHB, or applications will lose priority and move to the bottom of the applications received list. Other new applications could advance ahead, resulting in the HOLTE(s) no longer being available and application denial. If the payment is not received after another 90 days, the application(s) will be denied as incomplete.
• After PHB completes your application, the $850 per unit processing fee covering Multnomah County’s activation of the exemption will be due and is payable through BDS upon permit issuance.

See details on application requirements.

Incomplete applications will not be processed. PHB staff will notify any applicants with insufficient information to resubmit applications.

Because application slots are limited, please consider the following before applying for the HOLTE:

• Applications that are approved and later withdrawn or removed because homes will instead be used as rentals or selling over the price cap or to unqualified buyers still count against the application cap.
• Although applications are limited, applying before being ready to start construction could result in lost years of the tax exemption or prevent another builder who is ready to build from accessing the program.

HOLTE Program guidelines are available online. The 2023 price cap is $455,000, and the 2023 homebuyer income limit is $114,400.

Email indirect@portlandoregon.gov or call 503-823-3270 with any questions.

Additional Development Incentives for Affordable Homeownership Units include the following programs you may be eligible for:

• System Development Charge (SDC) Exemption
• Deeper Housing Affordability (DHA) Bonus & Three-Bedroom Unit Bonus
• Affordable Housing Construction Excise Tax (AHCET) Exemption
• Local Transportation Infrastructure Charge (LTIC) Exemption

The application for the SDC Exemption, Deeper Housing Affordability (DHA) Bonus, and Three-Bedroom Bonus Programs is available online.  

PHB encourages partnerships with PHB’s local non-profit Community Partners serving Portland’s BIPOC community who may have additional resources or programming to help homes be more affordable to lower income households. Additional homeownership information and resources are available through PHB partner Organizations with Homebuyer Services.

Original source can be found here