low income home ownership

[Runrooster]

Has anyone heard of this program?  I don't think it's local.
Basically, my aunt bought a condo for her mentally ill daughter 9 years ago through a low-income program.
Daughter makes maybe 10K through SSDisability.
Instead of moving in, daughter claimed she was too incapacitated to live alone and has rent it out.
Two months ago, her father died, so now she claims she and her mother need to live together.
They are letting her sell the 1-bedroom condo for some small gain, and buy a townhouse in the same program.
Mother is relatively well-off and could easily purchase said townhouse.
When they sell, it will be within the same low-income program, thus at a small gain.

My sister, who lives an hour away, is suggesting I apply for the same program.  I make more than 10K at a full time job.
Currently I live with my elderly parents, Mom is disabled and has a 40hr/week caregiver.  I help out evenings and weekends but not to the point of full time caregiving.  I am not too incapacitated to live alone, but my sister suggests I rent out this condo to her.
My sister...  has a habit of starting things and then changing her mind halfway through.  She moves a lot, changes jobs every 6 months, has a rotating roster of husbands and current boyfriend every 5 years.
If the program has any kind of asset test, I could easily afford to buy my own condo. 
I would consider the idea of moving into this condo if my sister wanted to move in with my parents and take over caregiving, which is a funny thought.  I am definitely not comfortable pretending to live somewhere and charging my sister minimal rent in exchange.

I guess, overall, nothing about this seems like a great deal to me.  The fact that you don't get most of the appreciation in the market, makes this less lucrative than home ownership.  I could buy a house the regular way and rent it to my sister if she'd sign a 2 year lease.  She has more money than me and could buy a house and live in it.  Am I missing something?

[Sibley]

Do you know the name of the program? Pretty easy to google it. If you can't get an actual name, then run.

[Runrooster]

My aunt couldn't remember the name, and I spent more than an hour trying to google it.  All I found was low-rent assistance.

[Freedomin5]

Perhaps one of the programs listed in this article?

https://www.moneygeek.com/mortgage/homeownership-for-people-with-disabilities/

[six-car-habit]

 I'm going to be the skeptic here and suggest that the purpose of the program as envisioned by the [ assumably governmental ]  agency that administers it - is not to get disabled people low interest rate loans -and/or-  below market value housing....so that they can build a rental portfolio.       The reason is likely so the disabled applicant  has a secure, affordable, long-term, place to live.
   I would imagine the house/ condo needs an inspection, or a pre-approval from the agency as well.  Meaning neither an opulent penthouse condo nor a moldy shack would qualify.

 From your limited description, and my pessimistic viewpoint, I think your aunt + cousin are looking at this situation with a greedy eye. Unless your cousin lived with her Dad until now [ without mom] and her situation had worsened considerably after buying condo # 1, and she needed full time care

 You are missing the opportunity to abuse a program meant to help those in more dire straights than yourself, should you demur and tell your sister no.

[Dicey]

There is never enough housing for people of limited means. Taking unfair advantage of this or any program if you are not in need is wrong on every level. Don't be complicit in anyone else's nefarious intent.

[Runrooster]

My brother has better google-fu than I do and found the program.  It is not designed for disabled people.
It has a 40K minimum income, which I guess my cousin has through combination of disability and rental payments.

My cousin is seriously mentally ill, to the point of not being safe to live alone.  I don't know what you mean by "needs full time care" - she can drive and take care of herself when she is well but she can also get seriously depressed and call the police over nothing.  She was living with both parents until father died. 

My income is, and has been for many years, in the right range for the program.  If I bought into it, I would do it with the full intent of living there, not to rent to my flighty, well-off sister.
Even aside from the obvious "don't use social services you don't need" angle, I don't think it makes economic sense to use it if you can afford to buy full price, which I can.

[affordablehousing]

There are many forms of these programs all over the country. The challenge is in the details. Some programs have the resale restrictions burn off after some number of years, some don't. The benefit of the lower purchase price has to be weighed against the duration and type of restriction. Some come in the form of having a no interest second mortgage, that becomes payable if you don't abide by the program rules, or forgiven at the end of the term if you do. If you know you want to stay somewhere expensive, where your income won't allow you to buy a home, that's what these programs are for. I think they generally work best in New York and San Francisco.

[six-car-habit]

My brother has better google-fu than I do and found the program.  It is not designed for disabled people.
It has a 40K minimum income, which I guess my cousin has through combination of disability and rental payments.

My cousin is seriously mentally ill, to the point of not being safe to live alone.  I don't know what you mean by "needs full time care" - she can drive and take care of herself when she is well but she can also get seriously depressed and call the police over nothing.  She was living with both parents until father died. 

   Maybe she needs full time 'companionship'  ?
  Because otherwise she is unsafe.  You say she needs someone else being in the same home as her, to the point of abandoning the idea of living alone, even though she     [ or  her mom ?]  had bought a condo for that express purpose {1 bedroom} . 

[former player]

What you are missing is that your sister is trying to take advantage and in the process will end up hurting everyone else, both you (who will be buying a property you don't want) and the people for whom the program is designed but will have lost the opportunity because of your sister.

Usually in my jurisdiction the eligibility requirements for such programs require the recipient to live in the property as their main residence.  Your cousin may have been able to get around this requirement through her disability but will be meeting it in her new property she will be living in with her mother.  You would be in a very awkward position if you bought a property with such a restriction and then let it to your sister.

I would suggest you steer well clear of any financial involvement with your sister, and particularly this one.  What your cousin and aunt do is on them but at least they do seem to be regularising their participation in the program now.

[ryan_themoneyguy]

I think you're on the right track considering investing in full homeownership and realizing gains rather than taking advantage of the program, especially if you still need to live at home and care for your parents. If you do plan to move out, it doesn't seem like the program is the right option.