Employee Incentive Program

To purchase a home within the City of Hercules under the Citywide Employee Incentive Homeownership Program, applicants must:

• Be employed within one of the “job categories” approved by the City Council, which include:
• Police
• Firefighter
• Full-time teacher; and
• Full-time Hercules City Staff
• Work a minimum of 30 hours per week and be considered a full-time employee by their employer and subject to all benefits and privileges of a full-time employee; and
• Have been performing the duties within the selected “Job Categories” for a period of no less than six (6) months with the same employer.

Terms and conditions of the program include:

• Assistance provided as a silent second and/or down payment assistance
• Maximum assistance = 10% of purchase price, not to exceed $35,000
• Assistance in a deferred loan subject to converting to a grant
• Deferral period of ten (10) years
• Repayment period of twenty (20) years from the end of the deferral period
• Interest rate = zero percent (0%)
• Loan starts to convert to a grant on the 121st month from the date of the purchase of home/property
• Loan principle is reduced (convert to grant) at a rate of 5% of original assistance per year
• An added five years credit for service provided as credit to employees who provided approved job category service prior to obtaining program assistance
• An equity share requirement
• Repayment required upon no longer continuing to serve the community of Hercules within one of the approved job categories

Download the Employee Incentive Homeownership Program Application (PDF)