Trolley Tour

The Trolley Tour event includes three activities to complete—a bus tour of neighborhoods, educational workshops, and the City Living Fair—spaced throughout the day. Please plan to spend the entire event time with us.

Check-in will begin promptly at 8 a.m. Please arrive before 9 a.m. in order to participate in all three activities. Attendees arriving after 9 a.m. may not be able to complete all three activities.

At check-in, you will receive an admissions ticket and your agenda for the day. Your agenda will include your bus tour loading time, a schedule of your available workshops, and information about the real estate experts waiting to speak with you at the City Living Fair.

Live Baltimore does not serve food to attendees at this event. We encourage you to eat a full breakfast before arriving and bring snacks that you can eat while standing.

Watch the video below for additional Trolley Tour information.

Each Trolley Tour features a different area of the City. Tour routes will change depending on the Trolley Tour location. Event registrants will be emailed additional information about the neighborhoods ahead of time. Please keep in mind that the $5,000 Buying Into Baltimore incentive can be used citywide. It does not need to be used in a neighborhood that we tour.

Yes! Events are not just for those interested in the $5,000 incentive. Attend the event if:

• You want to learn about the homebuying process.
• You’re looking for a lender, real estate agent, or other homebuying professional.
• You want to learn more about Baltimore City and explore its neighborhoods.
• You are interested in information about other city incentives, like Vacants to Value.
• You hope to use an incentive sometime in the future.

If you don’t think you’ll be ready to participate in the incentive lottery, you can attend the current Trolley Tour to get started and then attend a future Trolley Tour and apply to the lottery offered after that event. We host Trolley Tour three times a year in the Winter, Spring, and Fall.

Trolley Tour is perfect for those still exploring whether homebuying is right for them or just getting started with the process. The event gives you the opportunity to speak to various real estate professionals and get your questions answered. Many of the educational workshops are also geared toward those who are just getting started. The bus tour will help you become more familiar with a part of Baltimore that may be the perfect fit for you! 

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.

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.

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.

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 encourage participants to continue their day by visiting them.

The $5,000 Buying Into Baltimore Incentive is the only downpayment incentive that requires Trolley Tour attendance to qualify to apply.  

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. 

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.

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

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.

Following Baltimore City’s mask mandate, masks are not required in event spaces. Vaccination among participants is strongly encouraged but not a requirement.