Trolley Tour Details

• 7:30 a.m. – Entrance doors open
  If you’re driving and parking Downtown, please budget 10-15 minutes to walk to the Convention Center. Check below for parking and transportation options.
• 8:00 a.m. – Event check-in begins
  Arrive no later than 9 a.m. to guarantee a seat on the tour and to take full advantage of all that Trolley Tour offers.
• 1:00 p.m. – Event ends
  Please plan to stay with us for the entire time.

The Convention Center is quite large. We strongly recommend wearing comfortable shoes for easier walking.

Watch this short video for additional Trolley Tour information.

Entrance doors open at 7:30 a.m., and event check-in starts promptly at 8 a.m. The Trolley Tour event will run until 1 p.m., so please plan to stay with us the entire time. To secure a spot on the bus tour, please arrive by 9 a.m. at the latest.

Once you check in at Trolley Tour, you will be scheduled to attend two 45-minute workshops and a bus tour. See below for a full list of workshop options and the neighborhoods we will tour.

You can visit our exhibitors at the City Living Fair throughout the day to ensure all your homebuying questions get answered.

The Convention Center is quite large. We strongly recommend wearing comfortable shoes for easier walking.

Watch this short video for additional Trolley Tour information.

Trolley Tour’s main entrance is located at the Otterbein Lobby, situated on the south side of the Baltimore Convention Center along S Sharp Street. Attendees can still enter through the Pratt St. entrance, take the escalator to the second floor of the Convention Center, and walk south toward the Trolley Tour area.

Driving/Parking Information:

Live Baltimore has worked with the Stadium Authority to secure free parking at Camden Yards Lot C. Guests will drive to the gate, which will open automatically. Complimentary parking is available from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. After parking in Lot C, guests can walk to the event’s main entrance on S Sharp St (approximately a 10-15 minute walk).

Public Transportation:

Light Rail: Use the Convention Center Stop. View the Light Rail schedule.

Bus: Buses that stop near the Convention Center at Pratt & Howard include: 54, 76, 91, 94, 120, 154, 160, 163, CityLink Brown, CityLink Navy, CityLink Yellow, DWNT, and Orange. View bus schedules.

Rideshare:
If you are getting dropped off via Uber, set the destination to 350 S Sharp St to ensure you are dropped off at the correct entrance.

If you are using Lyft, set the destination to “Baltimore Convention Center,” and then choose the “Otterbein Lobby” on the list of possible drop-off locations.

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.

NO food or water is served at Trolley Tour. We recommend bringing snacks and a refillable bottle to stay fueled and hydrated throughout the day.

The Baltimore Convention Center also has drink and snack vending machines. Water bottle refill stations are available near the restrooms.

Your schedule includes two workshops of your choosing. Each time slot presents five options; select one for each. 

Which workshop should you attend? Depending on where you are in your homebuying journey, we have categorized the workshops into one or more topics:

🏠 Just getting started
💰 Focused on affording your home
🔍 Actively home-searching

Workshop Options for Time Slot 1:

Ask A Lender
🏠 Just getting started; 💰 Focused on affording your home
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.

Single And Searching For A Home
🔍 Actively home-searching
Join this workshop to discover tips and tricks for affording a home and navigating
the homebuying process as a single homebuyer.

10 Keys for Successful Homebuying
🏠 Just getting started
Get the tools and information you need to feel empowered to make informed decisions
when buying a home.

How to Purchase A City-Owned Property
💰 Focused on affording your home; 🔍 Actively home-searching
Join us for a brief overview of purchasing a vacant property from Baltimore City’s
Department of Housing and Community Development.

Purchase & Improvement Loan Program
💰 Focused on affording your home
The Healthy Neighborhoods Program provides low-interest purchase & rehab, refinance & rehab, and home improvement loans in over 40 Baltimore communities.

Workshop Options for Time Slot 2:

Down Payment Assistance 101
🏠 Just getting started; 💰 Focused on affording your home
This panel discussion will review the details and qualifications for various Baltimore City and Maryland Mortgage Program down payment and closing cost incentives.

What To Expect At Closing
🔍 Actively home-searching
This workshop helps first-time homebuyers understand title, why it matters, and how to prepare for closing day, so you know exactly what to expect when it’s time to get the keys.

6 Things First-Time Buyers Need To Know
🏠 Just getting started
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.

Getting A Home Inspection & Negotiating Repairs
🔍 Actively home-searching
This workshop covers what to expect from a home inspection, your options after the inspection, and the next steps.

Habitat Chesapeake First-Time Affordable Homebuying Program
💰 Focused on affording your home
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.

The Fall 2026 Trolley Tour will explore Central 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 list of neighborhoods we will be touring:

• Barclay
• Bolton Hill
• Charles Vilage
• Charles Village
• Downtown
• Greenmount West
• Harwood
• Inner Harbor
• Johnston Square
• Madison Park
• Mid-Town Belvedere
• Mount Vernon
• Remington
• Reservoir Hill

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. 

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 down payment 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. 

Incentive money is distributed at settlement. 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.

View the video below for full details of the $5,0000 Buying into Baltimore incentive.

$5,000 Incentive Timeline for Fall 2026 Trolley Tour:

• Oct 3: Trolley Tour Event
• Before placing an offer on a home, earn your Homeownership Counseling Certificate from a City-approved counseling agency
• Between Oct 3 and Oct 21 by 2 pm: Secure a contract on a home
• Oct 5: Lottery application portal opens
• Oct 21 by 2 pm: Applications are due; Verification appointment must be completed
• Oct 23 at 12 pm: Lottery held at facebook.com/livebaltimore
• Must close by: January 21, 2027

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.

$5,000 Incentive Timeline for Fall 2026 Trolley Tour:

• Oct 3: Trolley Tour Event
• Before placing an offer on a home, earn your Homeownership Counseling Certificate from a City-approved counseling agency
• Between Oct 3 and Oct 21 by 2 pm: Secure a contract on a home
• Oct 5: Lottery application portal opens
• Oct 21 by 2 pm: Applications are due; Verification appointment must be completed
• Oct 23 at 12 pm: Lottery held at facebook.com/livebaltimore
• Must close by: January 21, 2027

View the video below for full details of the $5,0000 Buying into Baltimore incentive.

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 October 3, 2026, the date of the Trolley Tour, and no later than October 21, 2026.

To be eligible to apply, your offer must be dated on or after October 3, 2026, the date of the Trolley Tour, and no later than October 21, 2026, by 2 pm.

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 Fall 2026 Trolley Tour:

• Oct 3: Trolley Tour Event
• Before placing an offer on a home, earn your Homeownership Counseling Certificate from a City-approved counseling agency
• Between Oct 3 and Oct 21 by 2 pm: Secure a contract on a home
• Oct 5: Lottery application portal opens
• Oct 21 by 2 pm: Applications are due; Verification appointment must be completed
• Oct 23 at 12 pm: Lottery held at facebook.com/livebaltimore
• Must close by: January 21, 2027

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

View the video below for full details of the $5,0000 Buying into Baltimore incentive.

Incentive money is distributed at settlement, not at Trolley Tour.

Live Baltimore is not responsible for the distribution of incentive funds. Incentive funds are provided and regulated by Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

Please note that 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.

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.