California Down Payment Assistance Is Back.....Because We Have So Much Money :)

From the title of my post....I sound ungrateful, but I'm not. I'm thrilled!!! CALHFA is a program which helps first time home buyers of California with a 3% deferred loan to be used for the down payment. When used in combination with the FHA loans.....a first time buyer can now qualify to buy a home with only 1/2 % of the purchase price.

(FHA requires a 3.5% down payment......3% of that can be from the CALHFA program)

The mortgage industry calls this a silent second. This is a lien on the property, but the borrower makes no payments on this loan until they refinance or sell the property. So it just sits "silently." Because the FHA allows closing costs to be paid by the seller....this gives an opportunity to many more first time home buyers.

http://www.calhfa.ca.gov/whatsnew.htm

This is a bond-funded program....and there are several others too. Take a look at the link above for more information.