The Neighborhood LIFT program, a major effort to help stabilize neighborhoods profoundly affected by the foreclosure crisis, is coming to Florida, according to an announcement by Wells Fargo & Company.

With a free, large-scale homebuyer workshop at the Miami Airport Convention Center (MACC) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., the program will commence in Miami on June 1 and 2.  Miami is the sixth city to launch the Neighborhood LIFT program along with Atlanta, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

The program was established to aid communities overcome the two-fold challenge of high inventories of unsold homes while providing assistance to prospective buyers. In an effort to help fund hundreds of residents to become homeowners in four cities, including Miami, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, Wells Fargo is committing $30 million to the state of Florida.

The four participating cities in Florida were chosen based on their high concentration of homeowners, foreclosures, delinquencies and overall housing inventory.

“Florida was one of the states hardest hit by the housing crisis,” said Shelley Freeman, Wells Fargo’s Florida regional president. “Today, despite low home prices and historically low interest rates, many Floridians are still unable to purchase a home because they simply cannot afford the down payment. Through Neighborhood LIFT, Wells Fargo is helping to address this issue by providing the down payment assistance needed to help get people into homes.”

In Miami, the program consist of a five-year goal of $300 million in mortgage purchase loans by Wells Fargo and a $9 million investment in down payment assistance grants. It also features homebuyer support programs to aid consumers achieve successful, sustainable home ownership. Wells Fargo will collaborate with the city of Miami, the non-profit organization of NeighborhoodWorks America and Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida, a local Miami affiliate, to execute the program.

“The downturn in the economy has created challenges for many of our Miami citizens to become homeowners,” said city of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado. “We are looking forward to collaborating with Wells Fargo, NeighborWorks America, and Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida on this important sustainable housing effort. It’s time to get our housing market moving again.”

The initiative for Florida Neighborhood LIFT also includes commitments of $7 million in Tampa with a homebuyer event on June 22-23; $7 million in Orlando with a homebuyer event on June 13-14; and $7 million in Jacksonville with a homebuyer event on June 27-28.

The Neighborhood LIFT event in Miami on June 1-2 is for anyone who is interested in purchasing and residing in a home in Miami.  There is a down payment assistance of up to $15,000 for those who qualify, buy and live in Miami. In order to qualify for down payment assistance, applicants must meet the following criteria annual income not exceeding 120 percent of the area median income; completion of an eight-hour homebuyer education session with the approved NeighborWorks America affiliate; a commitment to stay in the home for five years; and qualifications for a first mortgage on the property.

Potential homebuyers can find out if they qualify for the down payment assistance program for a mortgage and reserve funds for 60-days with or without intended property at the event. They also can obtain pre-approval for a mortgage and if they have credit issues they can sign-up for free counseling.

In addition, prospective homebuyers may come by the Wells Fargo Affordable Home Tour viewing center to preview the amenities and prices of about 100 available homes for sale in each city.  They can board a tour bus for a free ride to tour the homes.  The bus tours will leave from noon to 5 p.m. every day to the neighborhoods, and self-directed tours are encouraged too.

“This is a tremendous commitment by Wells Fargo to support homeowners and communities,” said Eileen Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of NeighborWorks America, the national non-profit collaborating with Wells Fargo on Neighborhood LIFT. “This is the kind of public-private collaboration that can help communities tackle difficult challenges and families realize their goal of sustainable home ownership.”