Moving families forward together

We’re a nonprofit that provides homebuying help to low- to moderate-income homebuyers. Our co-investment model, which is structured as a 0% second mortgage, eliminates the biggest barrier to homeownership — affordability.

Making the unafforadable affordable

How it works‍
When you buy a home with Forward, you only make payments on your primary mortgage. When you sell your home, you repay us the assistance we provided plus 1% of the appreciation for every 1% of the purchase price we invested. It’s important to understand that the second mortgage we provide is a non-recourse note. That means that if you can’t repay the loan with the proceeds from selling your home, the debt will be forgiven.
Purchase price of the home:
$250,000
Primary mortgage: $200,000 (80%)
Homebuyer's Investment: $5,000 (2%)
Forward's investment: $45,000 (18%)
Sale price of the home:
$350,000
Primary mortgage: $150,000 (43%)
Homebuyer's equity: $137,000 (39%)
Forward's equity: $63,000 (18%)
The family’s investment grows from $5,000 to $137,000. As of April 2021, the national appreciation rate was 14.5% year over year, but it’s important to acknowledge that appreciation is not guaranteed. Your home could lose value over time. If you are unable to repay Forward for the second mortgage when you sell your home, that debt will be forgiven.
  • In this example, the Forward family works with one of our partner agents to find a home they love
    $250,000
  • The family contributes 2% towards the downpayment
    $5,000
  • Forward contributes 18% towards the downpayment (a secondary mortgage at 0% interest)
    $45,000
  • The family takes out a primary mortgage for the remaining 80%
    $200,000
  • The family lives in the home for 10 years, only making payments on their primary mortgage. After 10 years, they sell their home for $350K, resulting in $100,000 of appreciation.
    $350,000
  • They pay off their primary mortgage
    -$150,000
  • They repay Forward the down payment assistance provided at time of purchase
    -$45,000
  • They pay Forward 1% of the appreciation for every 1% of the purchase price Forward contributed — 18% of $100,000
    -$18,000
  • The family keeps the remaining proceeds
    $50,000 (primary mortgage payments)
    $5,000 (down payment)
    $82,000 (appreciation)
    $137,000

Buying a home shouldn't be so hard

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