Pay down debt and build up savings. That is sound and seemingly straightforward advice for people who want to become homeowners. But it’s easier said than done as homeownership becomes less affordable and paychecks stretch thinner as prices everywhere rise.

A new pilot program aims to help Philadelphians become homeowners by removing or reducing common barriers to home ownership. The Revitalizing Neighborhoods and Increasing Homeownership program, which the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency announced last week, offers home buyer education, forgivable loans of up to 5% of a home’s sales price, and grants of up to $25,000 for down payments and closing costs.

Other home buyer assistance programs also offer help with up-front purchase costs. But in this program, home buyers can use excess funds from the grant to help pay their student loans, which can be huge barriers to financial stability and keep households from being able to afford to buy a home. And through this program, people who don’t have credit scores can show nontraditional sources of credit, such as a history of rent payments, to get approved for mortgages.

Buyers in the program also don’t have to pay mortgage insurance, which can help them save hundreds of dollars every month. Abraham Reyes Pardo, vice president of the nonprofit Urban League of Philadelphia’s office of housing and diversion services, said that despite the high costs of homes and elevated mortgage interest rates, he talks to people every day who are trying to become homeowners.

“The No. 1 item that is preventing some of these folks from getting to the finish line is down payment and closing cost assistance,” Reyes Pardo said. Many households don’t even consider the possibility that they could own a home, he said.