A few lucky LI home buyers could receive grants of up to $11,000 

A few lucky Long Islanders who meet income limits could receive up to $11,000 to help with home-buying costs.

People’s United Bank offers the grants — in the form of no-interest loans that are forgiven after five years — and other assistance through the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston’s Equity Builder Program. Connecticut-based People's United has stand-alone branches and locations in Stop & Shop supermarkets throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.

On Long Island, “the prices are really high, and income has stayed stagnant,” Gonzalo Puigbo, vice president and senior affordable lending manager for the bank, said in an interview Tuesday. The grants, he said, “lower the loan amount and in essence lower the payment, and hopefully provide homeownership for someone who could not afford it if they didn’t have this assistance.”

People’s United can offer a total of $110,000 in grants to 10 home buyers in its coverage area, which includes New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and other states. Last year, two Long Island homebuyers — in Islip and Mastic — received grants through the program. 

The grants, which can help with down payments, closing costs and repairs, are available to buyers who earn less than 80 percent of the median income for the area. On Long Island, the limit for a single buyer is $61,350. A family of four can make up to $87,600. The grants are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Homebuyers can also seek grants through a separate program offered by the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York. The program, called the First Home Club, is available through Nassau Financial Federal Credit Union and Suffolk Federal Credit Union, among other lenders. That program provides matching funds of up to $7,500 to home buyers who save for their purchase.

Local not-for-profit groups such as the Community Development Corp. of Long Island and the Long Island Housing Partnership also offer assistance to home buyers. The grants available through People's United can be combined with help from those groups, Puigbo said.