with out knowing all the terms then we have no thought. Some of these appreciation notes are for a much longer time than a normal note and the other thing is they have a time frame in some of them where you cannot for XX =years refi or even sell. Standard FHA always works but be sure what you are signing as trying to get out of a city note down the road can be very hard to do
additional
It sounds like you have throughly investigated the program but just by making some upgrades may not get you as much added value in this economy so spend that money wisely if you go with the city loan