Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP)

The Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) is a grant program that provides funding to national and regional nonprofit organizations and consortia to purchase home sites and develop or improve the infrastructure needed to set the stage for sweat equity and volunteer-based homeownership programs. The program aims to promote the production of affordable housing for low-income persons and families, including first-responders, veterans, and persons with disabilities, while fostering safe, stable neighborhoods in communities nationwide. • The SHOP grant program provides competitive awards to national and regional nonprofit organizations and consortia. • The SHOP units must be sold to homebuyers at below market prices, and homebuyers must be low-income and contribute a significant amount of sweat equity towards the development of their SHOP home. • The SHOP homes must be non-luxury units that comply with state and local codes, ordinances, and zoning requirements, and with all other SHOP requirements. • Applicants must propose to use a significant amount of SHOP grant funds in at least two states, and use the SHOP grant funds for only land acquisition, infrastructure improvements, and reasonable and necessary planning and administration costs. • The average SHOP expense for the combined cost of land acquisition and infrastructure improvements cannot exceed $25,000 per SHOP unit. • Applicants must leverage other public and private funds to pay for the construction or rehabilitation costs of every SHOP unit.