It is no joke. If you are a disabled person or a person who will be living with a homebuyer who is disabled, you may qualify for this fantastic loan offered through the
California Housing Finance Agency
. The loan is a 4% 30-year fixed loan. That means fixed monthly payments of principal and interest for the full 30 years of the loan! To qualify you must meet the following basic criteria:
- Be buying a home in California
- Be disabled, or planning to live with a disabled person
- Be a first time home buyer (defined as someone who has not owned their own principal residence for at least 3 years)
- Have a credit score of at least 600
There are a few limitations and restrictions that should also be considered:
- The borrower’s income must not be above allowable limits...currently about $100,000 per year in Bay Area counties.
- The borrower may not have any bankruptcies in the past four years
- The loan cannot be used to purchase a home with a price that exceeds the state’s purchase price limits. These vary by county. In Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the limit is currently $643,070.
- The maximum loan amount is $417K, and no secondary loans are allowed (although you can combine the loan with down payment assistance programs)
- You cannot use this loan to buy a multi-unit property, such as a duplex or triplex
This is a terrific loan. There are few other loans available anywhere with a 4% interest rate for a full 30 years. And best of all, qualifying borrowers need only contribute $500 of their own cash for the down payment. When combined with generous down payment assistance programs offered by the state and by many cities, this loan is a powerful option for disabled buyers.
For more information, please contact
Stephen Beard, Real Estate consultant and accessibility specialist. Call him, Phone: 510 899 8163, or visit his website. This article first appeared in his Accessible Real Estate Update for the the Bay Area Volume 1 Issue 3, Autumn 2006 on page 3.
