ATTENTION LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRST TIME BUYERS: New HERO Program Offer More Eligible Areas for Down Payment Assistance
Last year, the Los Angeles Community Development Commission (LACDC) launched their new Housing Economic Recovery Ownership (HERO). The HERO Program was designed to offer financial assistance to first-time homebuyers in purchasing a vacant, abandoned and foreclosed home located in designated census tracts.
The HERO program offers eligible applicants interest free loans for up to $75,000. Payments for these "silent seconds" are deferred until the home is sold, refinanced, title transferred or no longer owner occupied. In other words, you don't have to pay back the money until you sell, refinance, move out or die.
So how does one qualify for this assistance? Well, here are some of the basic eligibility requirements:
- Applicants must be first time buyers - no previous homeownership in the last three yrs
- Only purchased foreclosed (REO) or abandoned properties are eligible
- There are income guidelines but basically, you must be a low-medium income borrower
- Sales prices limits are $493,000 for single family residences and $394,250 for condos/townhomes
- Property must be located within a HERO designated census tract
- Buyers must contribute a minimum of 1% of the down payment, which may be a gift.
- Buyers must complete a HUD approved homeownership education course.
Another caveat for this program is that the property must be purchased at a discount of 1% from the current market appraised value. One of the challenges with this program was that many of the designated census tracts were in the unincorporated areas of the county where there were little to no active and eligible properties listed.
Now the LACDC has launched the HERO State program that has the same benefits and requirement as the initial HERO program but with the HERO State program, there are 15 participating cities with designated census tracts in the incorporated areas of these cities.
For example, here in the San Fernando valley of Los Angeles county, there were only a few designated census tracts north of the 118 freeway in the cities of San Fernando and Altadena. Now, with the HERO State there are several designated census tracts in the cities of Burbank and Glendale as well as some in Pasadena too. Applications can only be submitted by approved lenders who have been through the HERO training from the LACDC.
If you're looking to purchase your first home in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and/or Antelope valleys, please feel free to contact me at 805.5278554 or donne4loans@earthlink.net regarding eligibility requirements, available census tracts or if you just have a question. I would love to be able to assist you with finding the most affordable loan option available to you in purchasing your first home here in Los Angeles County.
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