Trolley Tour Details

Live Baltimore is committed to making our events accessible to everyone. If you require an accommodation or service to fully participate in Trolley Tour, please get in touch with our Events Manager at events@livebaltimore.com at least two weeks prior to the event. In all situations, a good-faith effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations.

Please note that there are designated handicap parking spots in the parking area which are marked on the ground.

Children are welcome at the event and must always be accompanied by a parent or guardian. There are no child-specific activities or childcare available at Trolley Tour. Please make sure to register all children by selecting “child admission” when you register yourself on Eventbrite.

Your schedule includes the opportunity to attend two workshops led by experts. Each time slot offers five distinct workshop options, and you’ll select one from each. Click here to download a PDF listing the workshop descriptions and schedule.

1st Time Slot Workshop Options

Select one of the below as the 1st workshop you will attend.

• Ask a Lender: Experts suggest meeting three lenders before choosing one for your home loan. Knock out those interviews in this workshop featuring three pros ready to answer your burning mortgage questions.
• 10 Common Homebuying Mistakes to Avoid: Overcome mistakes that can cause delays, make you ineligible for certain financial incentives, or even keep you from buying your dream home.
• Single and Searching for a Home: Join this workshop to discover tips and tricks for affording a home and navigating the homebuying process as a single homebuyer.
• Purchase & Improvement Loan Program: The Healthy Neighborhoods Program provides low-interest purchase & rehab, refinance & rehab, and home-improvement loans in over 40 Baltimore communities.
• How to Purchase a City-Owned Property: Join us for a brief overview of purchasing a vacant property from Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

2nd Time Slot Workshop Options

Select one of the below as the 2nd workshop you will attend.

• Down Payment Assistance 101: This panel discussion will dive into the various Baltimore City and Maryland Mortgage Program down payment and closing cost incentives, including how to qualify.
• 6 things first–time Homebuyers Need to Know: Whether you’re new to homebuying in general or just new to buying in Baltimore City, we’ll walk you through six critical items you‘ll need to understand to make that big purchase a little easier.
• Home Maintenance: When it comes to owning a home, maintenance is a must! Learn  what you’ll need to do to keep your home in tip-top shape.
• Habitat Chesapeake First-Time Affordable Homebuying Program: Are you making enough to pay a monthly mortgage but not enough to qualify for traditional bank loans? Learn more about the Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake Homeownership Program, which offers a 0% interest loan to eligible buyers.
• Getting a Home Inspection and Negotiating Repairs: This workshop, co-presented by a home inspector and real estate agent, will cover what to expect from a home inspection, a buyer’s options after the inspection, and what happens next.

The Spring 2025 Trolley Tour will explore Northwest Baltimore City.

There will not be any stops along the tour. While we won’t be going into homes, our tours are always focused on residential neighborhoods, where many examples of homes will be on display. The tour includes neighborhood home price information and other metrics such as walk, transit, and bike scores. Live Baltimore also provides a list of open houses available the same day as the event and encourages participants to continue their day by visiting them.

Just to let you know, the $5,000 Buying Into Baltimore incentive can be used citywide. It does not need to be used in a neighborhood that we tour.

The neighborhoods included in the tour are listed below, but please keep in mind that this may change due to street closures or other factors beyond our control.

• Arlington
• Ashburton
• Callaway-Garrison
• Cross Keys
• Dorchester
• Forest Park
• Garwyn Oaks
• Glen
• Hanlon-Longwood
• Howard Park
• Medfield
• Mount Washington
• Pimlico Good Neighbors
• Walbrook
• West Arlington
• Woodberry
• Woodmere

No. Homebuyers who have not yet received their homeownership counseling certificate are welcome to attend Trolley Tour events.

However, please be aware that you must earn a homeownership counseling certificate from a City-approved agency in order to be eligible for the related $5,000 incentive. Because the number of these awards is limited for each event, Live Baltimore recommends that you complete counseling prior to the event date if you intend to apply for the incentive.

The $5,000 Buying Into Baltimore Incentive is the only downpayment incentive that requires Trolley Tour attendance to qualify to apply. Click here to view a video explaining the incentive process.

To participate in the incentive lottery, applicants must:  

• Earn a counseling certificate from a City-approved agency before making an offer on a home.  
• Attend the Trolley Tour event before making an offer on a home.  
• After the event, make an offer on a home and secure a contract within 12 business days. 

Twenty Buying Into Baltimore incentives are awarded by lottery after each Trolley Tour event. To learn more and apply, visit LiveBaltimore.com/lottery and follow the steps to submit your application.  

Lottery winners will be chosen from a pool of all eligible applicants at 12 p.m. on the 12th business day following each Trolley Tour event. All participants will be contacted via email after the lottery drawing. 

Incentive money is distributed at settlement. Please note, your chances of receiving the incentive depend on the number of eligible applicants and vary by event. Also note that one contract equals one entry; meaning two people buying a home together will not be entered into the lottery twice. To increase chances of receiving an award, Live Baltimore recommends that homebuyers complete homeownership counseling, obtain a mortgage loan pre-qualification, and meet with a real estate agent prior to attending Trolley Tour. 

$5,000 Incentive Timeline For Spring 2025 Trolley Tour:

• May 3: Trolley Tour Event
• Before placing an offer on a home, earn your Homeownership Counseling Certificate from a City-approved counseling agency
• Between May 3 and May 20 by 2 pm: Secure a contract on a home
• May 5: Lottery application portal opens
• May 20 by 2 pm: Applications are due; Verification appointment must be completed
• May 21 at 12 pm: Lottery held at facebook.com/livebaltimore
• Must close by: August 19, 2025

If you have any questions or issues during this process, please email lottery@livebaltimore.com or call (410) 637-3750 ext. 118. You can find additional homebuying information and resources here.

If you already have an offer on a home, you can still enjoy Trolley Tour. There will be workshops geared towards people very far along in the homebuying process.

Please note that if you already have an offer on a home, you cannot qualify to apply for the $5,000 incentive lottery. To be eligible to apply, your offer must be dated on or after the Trolley Tour date of May 3, 2025.

You may not enter into a contract of sale on the home you wish to purchase using the $5,000 incentive until the day of the Trolley Tour event. This means, do not make an offer on your target property until after you have attended the Trolley Tour event. There is a 12-business-day time frame from the day of the event in which homebuyers must secure a ratified contract of sale on qualifying properties. A limited number of homebuyers who successfully complete and submit their incentive paperwork will be drawn from a pool of eligible applicants and subsequently receive the incentive.

$5,000 Incentive Timeline For Spring 2025 Trolley Tour:

• May 3: Trolley Tour Event
• Before placing an offer on a home, earn your Homeownership Counseling Certificate from a City-approved counseling agency
• Between May 3 and May 20 by 2 pm: Secure a contract on a home
• May 5: Lottery application portal opens
• May 20 by 2 pm: Applications are due; Verification appointment must be completed
• May 21 at 12 pm: Lottery held at facebook.com/livebaltimore
• Must close by: August 19, 2025

Visit LiveBaltimore.com/lottery for the full details and steps on how to apply for the incentive.

Click here to view a video explaining the incentive process.

Read more about the incentive here or contact the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development’s Office of Homeownership at (410) 396-1319.