Frequently Asked Questions

Program Qualification & Eligibility

  • The Program is not limited to first-time homebuyers. However, you must still meet the Program's eligibility requirements.

  • Only in certain circumstances. The Program itself does not establish a general residency requirement. However, when a property was developed with the assistance of other organizations or localities, properties may be sold through the program with prioritization for existing residents.

    For example, homes in the Airport Road Subdivision initially receive a prioritization for long-term Buchanan County residents or children of long-term Buchanan County residents.

  • No. Employer location was once a consideration for the program’s eligibility requirements, but CPC ruled out that requirement on the basis that many of our region’s residents work in neighboring counties, often right outside the border of our four counties.

    Many of our coalfield families know the trouble of wanting to stay near home when the only available work is over an hour from home.

  • The Program is intended to serve workforce households generally; it is not restricted to teachers, healthcare workers, government employees, first responders, or any other specific profession.

  • The 80%–150% AMHI range is a requirement for purchasing the home, not an annual income cap in order to stay in the home.

  • Under the Program rules, the eligible range is 80% to 150% of AMHI, based on household size.

    A household below the applicable 80% threshold would not qualify for the program at this time.

Financing

  • Your eligibility will be verified by your mortgage provider, or by CPC directly in the event of a cash-only sale. As long as your income still falls within the 80-150% AMHI range at the time of the sale, you will be allowed to complete the purchase.

    Being placed in the Applicant Pool is essentially a pre-screening step. Income, employment, and asset verification will occur before the sale, so a significant change in household circumstances could affect whether you remain eligible at that time.

  • Your creditworthiness is between you and your mortgage provider. Your lender may have its own credit-score, debt-to-income, employment-history, or other underwriting requirements.

    CPC determines Program eligibility, while your lender determines whether you qualify for the mortgage you are requesting.

  • We do not require pre-approval before you apply, though we recommend it in order to make the process easier for you.

    If you are selected for a home and decide to proceed, you’ll have 30 calendar days to provide CPC with proof that the financing process is underway. You’ll then have 60 days to complete the closing process.

  • No, but the CPC may partner with some lenders to help buyers find a mortgage provider and speed up the purchasing process.

    However, buyers may use any lender legally authorized to make residential mortgage loans in Virginia, provided that the lender agrees to the CPC’s Program restrictions.

  • Potentially. CPC does not restrict buyers to a particular mortgage product or lender.

    However, the proposed financing must be compatible with the Program's restrictions, and the lender must agree to perform eligibility verification to confirm that the buyer meets the Program’s requirements. Whether a particular loan program can be used will also depend on that lender's and loan program's requirements.

  • CPC does not determine a minimum down payment amount. The amount will depend largely on your lender and loan terms, especially after the lender considers the Program requirements into their mortgage terms. Buyers should therefore not assume that every WHDP home requires the same down payment.

  • Yes. Cash purchases are permitted, but a cash buyer still has to satisfy the same basic Program eligibility requirements and provide documentation allowing CPC to verify income, assets, employment or other applicable income information, and the lawful availability of the purchase funds.

    The ten-year affordability restrictions will still apply to the property regardless of whether the purchase is conducted in cash or through a lender.

  • Yes, before committing to the purchase. Once CPC identifies a selected applicant for a given property, the applicant receives information about the property and, if proceeding, a property offer containing details about the home and the sale price.

    Sales prices are non-negotiable. CPC sells homes without a markup for profit, but our program has limited funding, and we depend on home sales to recover the development costs of that property so that we can reinvest those funds into the next properties we develop. If we sold properties for a loss, we would no longer be able to continue building more homes.

  • Closing costs and down payment assistance are the responsibility of the buyer.

    CPC does not provide down-payment assistance, though some other organizations may offer down payment assistance programs, such as Virginia Housing.

Applicant Selection & Pre-Purchase

  • No. The selection process determines who among the Applicant Pool will be given the opportunity to purchase a given property.

    Even after you’re selected from the Applicant Pool, you must still complete CPC's eligibility verification and, if financing the purchase, obtain an approved mortgage before you can complete the purchase.

  • The Program Application asks for prerequisites in order to avoid offering applicants properties that don’t suit their needs.

    For example, if you must have at least 3 bedrooms, you can specify that in the Application, and we won’t include your name in the random drawing for a home if that home only has 2 bedrooms.

    This filtering also helps CPC avoid delays in sales by offering homes only to applicants who would consider purchasing the home. Each time an offer is sent out, the selected applicant has seven days to respond with a Yes/No on the offer.

  • There is no guaranteed minimum or maximum waiting period. The Applicant Pool is not a first-come, first-served waiting list.

    CPC conducts randomized drawings as individual properties approach completion, and the drawing is filtered by the applicants' stated housing needs and prerequisites. Depending on the homes being developed and the applicant's preferences, an applicant could receive an opportunity relatively quickly or remain in the pool for an extended period. The randomized drawing process ensures that the selected applicants are determined in the fairest manner possible.

  • No, but it also does not give you priority for the next property we make available.

    Selected applicants who do not complete the sale process will be placed back into the applicant pool unless they were found to not meet the eligibility requirements during the sale process.

    Applicants who turn down a home offered to them receive no penalty for turning down the home.

  • No. CPC is not a custom home-builder; we develop properties with no markup for profit, and all homes and properties sold through the program must be sold through the standard process of randomized selection from the Applicant Pool.

  • No. Sales prices are based on our development costs.

    Factors such as land acquisition, site work, utilities, foundation work, home cost, property size, permitting, and other site-specific expenses can cause prices to vary considerably. CPC's policy is to sell the homes without a profit markup.

  • Yes, before committing to the purchase. Once CPC identifies a selected applicant who is potentially interested in a particular property, the applicant receives information about the property and, if proceeding, a property offer containing basic home details and the sale price.

  • Yes. Selected applicants may arrange a walkthrough with CPC.

    Buyers are also welcome to obtain an independent professional home inspection before the initial purchase.

    All our homes are modular in design and inspected for compliance with Virginia DHCD standards before they leave the factory. Local building officials will also perform a property inspection as part of the building permitting process, but depending on your lender or your loan terms, you may be required to have an independent inspection performed as well.

    Payment for independent inspection services are the responsibility of the selected applicant / potential buyer.

  • Generally, yes — We plan to sell each home with the following standard appliances, providing a turnkey experience for the buyers:

    • Washer

    • Dryer

    • Refrigerator

    • Dishwasher

    • Stove / Range

    • Microwave

    • Water heater

    Obtaining any additional or upgraded appliances will be the responsibility of the buyer.

  • Not necessarily. CPC may sell homes directly to the selected applicants; they are welcome to obtain independent professional assistance, but should confirm beforehand who is responsible for any associated fees or commissions.

Program Application

  • Your eligibility will be verified by your mortgage provider, or by CPC directly in the event of a cash-only sale. As long as your income still falls within the 80-150% AMHI range at the time of the sale, you will be allowed to complete the purchase.

    Being placed in the Applicant Pool is essentially a pre-screening step. Income, employment, and asset verification will occur before the sale, so a significant change in household circumstances could affect whether you remain eligible at that time.

  • No. Eligible applicants are selected through a randomized drawing rather than by their position in a first-come, first-served line.

    Property-specific preferences, such as the Airport Road residency prioritization, may apply separately.

  • You can modify your existing application by resubmitting a new application through the application portal. An option is available to note that your new application is a modification of the previous application.

  • No.

  • Yes. In January 2028, the previous year’s applications will start to expire at the beginning of each new year.

    We didn’t want to have the first round of applications expire in January 2027, since most of our first applications won’t be submitted until October, November, and December 2026.

  • No. The application requires you to list each of the household members tied to your application.

    When multiple applications are submitted for one household for the purpose of increasing your chances of selection, CPC will remove all of those applications from our system and request that only one application be submitted for that household.

    Repeated offenses may result in ineligibility for the program for that household.

Ownership

  • Not during the Affordability Term (typically 10 years after purchase), and depending on how you purchase the home, you may not be able to rent it out until your mortgage is paid off.

    During the Affordability Term, the home must be the owner's principal residence, and rental, leasing, short-term rental, or any other income-producing occupancy are prohibited.

  • During the Affordability Term, yes, as long as they are included in your list of household members in your Program Application.

    However, the number of members of the household must still be appropriately sized for the home — no more than two persons per bedroom. For example, a household of five people is not eligible to purchase a two-bedroom home.

  • No— at least not during the Affordability Term. Doing so would be considered an income-producing occupancy, which is strictly prohibited.

    Whether you could do so after the Affordability Term expires is up to your lender.

  • Potentially. All capital improvements require CPC's review and written approval during the Affordability Term.

    Ordinary maintenance, repairs, or replacements are not of our concern, but a homeowner planning a substantial project should check with CPC before beginning work.

  • Potentially, but CPC must review and provide written approval beforehand.

    Refinancing, HELOCs, and other consensual liens are subject to the restrictions tied to the property during the Affordability Term.

    CPC generally will not approve financing that causes total mortgage debt secured by the property to exceed 95% of the then-current Maximum Resale Price.

  • Yes. The restrictions do not require you to remain in the home for the entire Affordability Term. Instead, they control how the home can be sold during that period.

    CPC must be notified that you intend to sell the property, as CPC has a Purchase Option, and the eventual sale remains subject to eligibility and maximum-resale-price requirements.

  • Yes, but due to the Affordability Term restrictions, you have very little if any opportunity to profit from the sale of the home until after the Affordability Term ends.

    The Affordability Term limits the price at which the property can be resold during the and contains provisions governing Excess Proceeds.

    The Program is designed to allow homeownership and equity-building without allowing the home to be immediately converted into unrestricted speculative profit.

  • Yes.

    Some affordable housing programs use a Community Land Trust (CLT) model, in which buyers own the home, but the land is owned by a Community Land Trust, which can ensure that affordable housing stays affordable over a long-term period.

    All of our standard home sales include both the home and‍ the land.

    Our sales model prioritizes the ability for working individuals and families to gain equity. The restrictions keeping the home and property affordable typically expire after 10 years.

    However, CPC has not ruled out potential future partnerships with other organizations that may result in some homes being sold under a Community Land Trust model.

  • When the affordability period ends, you’ll have the option of extending the term an additional 10 years.

    If you don’t extend the term, the affordability period expires, and you’re no longer bound by any of the restrictions — you’re free to sell the home just as any typical homeowner can.

    The standard Affordability Term is at least ten years, although a longer period may apply to certain properties where funding assistance has been provided by a partner of CPC. We’ll be clear up front if a property being sold has an affordability term longer than 10 years.

  • Warranty coverage will depend on the particular home and issue.

    CPC’s modular home suppliers will warranty certain issues regarding the construction of the home itself.

    CPC utilizes licensed contractors for other activities like foundations, HVAC, and electrical; their work will be covered under their own individual warranties.

    CPC will help new homeowners coordinate any issues that may arise, facilitating any warranty claims with those parties.

  • The homeowner is. After closing, the buyer assumes the normal responsibilities of homeownership, including maintenance, property taxes, applicable assessments, and full replacement-cost property insurance.

  • CPC's policy is to develop homes outside the mapped 100-Year Floodplain.

    Sites near the 100-Year Floodplain or within the 500-Year Floodplain will generally be avoided as well, as flood mapping and flood risk can change over time.

    We recognize that flooding has ravaged our communities, and hope that our program will help to build long-term resiliency by providing new housing opportunities in areas that are less prone to flood damage.

  • Not in most cases.

    Existing Homeowners’ Association (HOA) requirements may affect individual properties that CPC purchases for development, but our program does not impose the creation of an HOA on any of the properties we sell.

    Any HOA, subdivision covenant, fee, or similar property-specific obligations will be disclosed with the particular home when it is offered to selected applicants.

Pricing

  • No. Each home's price is based on its actual development costs. Factors such as land acquisition, site work, utilities, foundation work, home cost, property size, permitting, and other site-specific expenses can cause prices to vary considerably. CPC's policy is to sell the homes without a profit markup.

  • Yes, before committing to the purchase. Once CPC identifies a selected applicant who is potentially interested in a particular property, the applicant receives details about the property, including the sale price.

General

  • Workforce housing is housing intended to be affordable to working individuals and families whose incomes may be too high for traditional housing assistance programs but who still have difficulty finding quality housing they can reasonably afford.

  • No. The Workforce Housing Development Program is designed primarily for working households within the Program’s established income range. Buyers purchase and own their homes rather than renting subsidized units from CPC.

  • Affordable housing availability has become an issue in Southwest Virginia that affects virtually everything — strong communities, economic revitalization, and population growth/retention.

  • Primarily single-family modular homes, all real property set on foundations.

    Modular homes provide stick-built quality at lower cost while maximizing homeowners’ chances to gain value and equity over time.

  • We’re just getting started right now, but we hope to achieve a pace of 4-5 new homes per year by 2028.

    Part of our limitation is funding — we’re not able to pay for a lot of new homes at once, so we need to sell a few of them to restore our ability to build more.

  • Potentially — we are always on the lookout for new development opportunities.

    However, if public water is not available for the property, we likely won’t be able to utilize the land.

    Our sales model relies on minimizing development costs so that homebuyers can get the best deal possible — water and sewer extensions cause development costs to skyrocket. Even drilling for a well and installing a septic system can add $30,000 or more to a single property’s development cost.