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DASH FUND

DASH FUND

DASH, or Developing Affordable Starter Homes, is a program creating a fund that will result in positive race and wealth equity outcomes from increased neighborhood stabilization, minority homeownership, and job creation.

Aerial view of Baltimore with arterial street

The DASH Fund provides flexible and well-priced debt capital to small entrepreneurs who acquire, renovate, and re-sell single-family homes to owner-occupant neighborhoods that have historically suffered from disinvestment, improving the homeownership stock and growing their own small businesses.

Goals of the DASH Fund:

  • Provide flexible capital and project management support to small developers.
  • Renovate and rehab existing single-family assets to create good quality, affordable homeownership opportunities for low and moderate-income (LMI) households.
  • Expand small developer capacity and business activities.

DASH Fund in Practice: Baltimore City Project

The pilot city for the DASH Fund is Baltimore City. NCST has partnered with Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund (“NIIF”) and the Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development (“DHCD”) to launch DASH in Baltimore. Baltimore-based Dominion Financial Services is providing DASH with loan servicing.

 

The DASH Fund benefits from capital support from the City of Baltimore and the Neighborhood Impact Investment Fund (NIIF).

 

Watch a webinar about the DASH Fund program from The Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development’s Baltimore Builds webinar series.

An aerial view of homes in Baltimore

Eligibility for DASH Loans

Borrower Minimum Eligibility Criteria:

 

A borrower (or in the case of a company borrower, each Company Principal owning at least 10% of the Company) must meet the following criteria:

  • Eligible applicants are required to have completed or have been substantially involved with at least three (3) renovation and rehab transactions that the Fund will verify. Where there are multiple guarantors to a loan, at least one of the guarantors must not be a first-time investor.
  • Borrowers are subject to credit and background checks.
  • Borrowers are required to show at least $5,000 plus 20% of the committed construction loan amount in cash reserves dedicated to the proposed transaction.
  • No open, pending, or active bankruptcy.
  • No tax liens.

If you are a small developer in Baltimore and want to learn more about applying for a loan, please send an email to [email protected].

DASH Loan Terms

Standard DASH Loan terms include:

 

  • 7% Interest only on committed loan amounts; 3% financing fee (deferred until repayment)
  • Monthly payments
  • Interest due in arrears
  • Maximum 12-month initial loan term
  • Full recourse to the borrower
  • 50 bps extension fee may apply
  • 14% default rate of interest
  • Late fees: 10% of the overdue amount with a $50 minimum
  • NSF: $50
  • Min draw: 15% of budget or $5k, whichever is higher
  • Draw fee: $150 (up to 7 draws, thereafter, fee TBD)
  • $35 wire fee
  • Eligible property/collateral must be located in the NIIF “Eligible Neighborhoods” as defined on NIIF’s website: www.baltimoreniif.org

Stay Connected

If you are a small developer in Baltimore and want to learn more about applying for a loan, please send an email to [email protected].

 

If you are interested in partnering with the DASH Fund or want to stay up-to-date on future projects, please signup for updates here.

 

NCST receives generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation and the PNC Bank Foundation to support the DASH Fund project.

 

In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of the Treasury policy, this  institution is prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, age,  or disability. Submit a complaint of discrimination, by mail to U.S. Department of the  Treasury, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity , 1500 Pennsylvania  Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20220, (202) 622-1160 (phone), (202) 622-0367 (fax), or email  [email protected] (email).

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NCST’s work increases access to homeownership, promotes resilient neighborhoods, and advances racial equity by advocating for policy change.

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