does not acquire the housing in accordance with the lease-purchase agreement, the owner must sell the housing to another eligible low-income homebuyer within 48 months from the execution of the original lease-purchase agreement. The next homebuyer is eligible for homeownership assistance from the participating jurisdiction. The owner is not permitted to sell the unit through another lease-purchase agreement. When the next homebuyer purchases the housing, the homebuyer shall be subject to the affordability requirements in this section.
(iv) If the owner is unable to sell the unit within 48 months from the execution of the lease-purchase agreement, the housing is subject to the requirements for affordable rental housing in § 92.252.
(8) Contract to purchase. If HOME funds are used to assist a homebuyer who has entered into a contract to purchase housing to be constructed, the homebuyer must qualify as a low-income family at the time the contract is signed.
(b) Preserving affordability of housing assisted with HOME funds. When there is a termination event for affordability restrictions, a participating jurisdiction may take the following actions to preserve the affordability of the property:
(1) The participating jurisdiction may exercise purchase options, rights of first refusal, or other preemptive rights to obtain ownership of the housing before foreclosure to preserve affordability, subject to the following requirements:
(i) The housing must be sold to an eligible homebuyer in accordance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section within 12 months of the date the participating jurisdiction obtains ownership;
(ii) The period of affordability for the eligible homebuyer must be equal to the remaining period of affordability of the former homeowner unless additional HOME funds