HOME's Home Ownership Program

Program Information

The HOME First Time Home Buyer Program helps families through the process of buying a home. Since 1996, Home Ownership Made Easy (HOME) has been the lead counseling agency for the Fannie Mae Home Choice California Coalition to assist disabled individuals and their families. In preparation for the demands of homeownership, HOME educates, counsels and assists clients through the home buying process from beginning to end and beyond, into the post purchase phase. HOME coalition partners include lenders, real estate agents, Housing Authorities and other non-profit agencies to assist consumers throughout the State of California. When pursuing home ownership, disabled individuals and families living with a disability often face one or more of the following challenges: insufficient cash for a down payment; inability to make large monthly mortgage payments; lack of or poor credit history and/or undocumented income. HOME's homebuyer counseling and education programs address these issues and assists clients in making the "American Dream of Homeownership" a reality. All HOME counselors are bilingual (Spanish/English) and are trained through the NeighborWorks America® Training Institute. Most importantly, HOME has the experience and skills necessary to prepare and guide disabled first-time homebuyers and their families through the home buying process to successfully purchase a home that meets their housing needs.

Support includes:

1. Credit counseling
2. Budget management
3. Identifying low fixed interest rate loans
4. Identifying down payment assistance
5. Providing homebuyer education
6. Partnering with designated lenders to help borrowers apply for a mortgage loan
7. Identifying qualified realtors
8. Working with housing authorities that offer homebuyer programs
9. Working with municipalities that offer down payment assistance programs
10. Post purchase counseling (asset management & maintenance workshops)
11. Foreclosure prevention counseling
12. Identifying resources for modifications and improvements

Eligibility:

• Borrowers must be persons who meet the definition of disabled as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA) or the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1990 (ADA).
• Eligible borrowers include (1) people with disabilities; including individuals who have legal guardians (guardians must be court-appointed and may be required to document evidence of court approval to enter into mortgage contract on behalf of borrowers), and (2) households with disabled family members living with them.
• Income Requirements: households with incomes no more than 140% of the area median family income as established by the United Sates Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will be allowed to participate in the program.
• Credit in good standing (Bankcruptcies-4 year after discharge with re-established credit, minimum debt, and paid collections)
• Borrower must have at least $500 or more for down payment in bank account (down payment minimum is 3%, the balance can be a gift or a grant)
• Borrower must have one month reserves in bank account and another month identified.
• All participants are required to take an 8-hour home buyer education class.

Fannie Mae Home Choice Loan

• Loan terms: 15 to 30 years
• Loan Type: Fixed-Rate
• Loan Purpose: Purchase and Refinance
• Maximum Loan: $417,000 (conforming rate)
• Interest Rate: Can vary depending on bank/loan product
• Closing Cost: 3%
• Minimum Reserves: 2 months (1 month in bank and the other must be identified)
• Down payment: Minimum of 3% ($500 from borrowers own funds, the balance can be a gift or grant)
• Owner-occupied: principal residences required
• Maximum Loan-to Value Ratio: 97%
• Maximum Combined Loan-to-Value: 105%
• Maximum Housing Expense Ratio: 45%
• Maximum Debt to Income Ratio: 45%
• Eligible property types: single family detached, planned unit developments (PUD's), or condominiums, townhouses and duplexes
• Early Delinquency Intervention Counseling: Borrower must sign an authorization form agreeing to participate in an early delinquency counseling program in the event of default
• Loan Combination: some second mortgage loans, refinancing and loan assumptions may be allowed in conjunction with the Home Choice product.
• Mortgage availability: mortgage loans will be offered through selected Fannie Mae Home Choice approved lenders.
• Home Buyers Education/Counseling Certificate required.

Home Choice Section 8

The same qualifications apply as with the Home Choice loan with the added bonus that you can use your Section 8 certificate. Check with your local housing authority to see if they offer the program.

CalHFA Home Choice

The Home Choice program is designed to meet the homeownership needs of low and moderate income first time homebuyers who have disabilities or have family members with disabilities living with them. This unique pilot program blends resources from industry partners in an effort to provide needed assistance to the State's disabled residents. The program provides a 30-year fixed rate (4%) first mortgage along with a deferred payment, 3% second mortgage to be used for down payment assistance (a simple interest rate applies). Interested borrowers can purchase a home anywhere in California. This program is a partnership of Fannie Mae, CalHFA, Guild Mortgage Company and Home Ownership Made Easy.

Homeownership down-payment and closing costs assistance

Silent second and third mortgage loans may be available at City, County, State and Federal levels. Not all programs work together.

Community Land Trust

Please see the Community Land Trust page.

Credit ReBuilding Program

Citibank Foundation is sponsoring a series of monthly workshops to assist consumers in rebuilding their credit in preparation of homeownership. This series consists of 12 monthly classes to help clean up a credit report by learning how to pay down debt, bring up a credit score, establish a budget and learn the financial responsibilities of home ownership.

IDEA/IDA Matching Savings Plans

The Federal Home Loan Bank and United Way of Greater Los Angeles is sponsoring and funding Individual Development Empowerment Accounts (IDEA) and Individual Development Accounts (IDA), matched saving accounts for down payment and closing costs assistance. The FHLB, IDEA offers a three-to-one match. The United Way IDA offers a two-to-one grant.

Home Buyer Education Classes

The Seminar topics:

• Advantages and Disadvantages
• Credit
• Budgeting
• Determining what you can afford
• City Subsidy Assistance Programs Available
• Key Players in the home buying process
• What is needed to be approved for a loan
• What to look for in a home
• Protecting your Investment
• Avoiding Foreclosure

Participants receive (8) hours of classroom instruction by a certified instructor. Certificates of achievement are issued upon completion of the class.

A schedule of classes and locations can be found on the calendar page.

If you have taken the 8 hour Seminar and would like to download the test to either fax or mail it in, click here.

If you are interested in applying for the Home Ownership Program please call (888) 346-9700 to request an application.