Service Name: FIRST TIME HOMEBUYER PROGRAM

Organization Name: CITY OF EMERYVILLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND HOUSING DIVISION

• Description: Offers down payment assistance to households at or below moderate income that are purchasing a market-rate or co-op home in Emeryville. Provides low-interest, deferred-payment loan. Key program details include the following:
  • The loan interest rate is 75% of the first mortgage interest rate, or 5%, whichever is less.
  • The borrower must make at least a 3% down payment and occupy the unit as a primary residence during the duration of the loan term
  The maximum loan amount from the City is the least of the following:
  • 150% of buyers down payment
  • 20% sale price in contract
  • 20% of maximum price from the then-current housing affordability
  • The buyer's income must be at or below 120% of the area median income, based on household size
• Website: http://www.emeryville.org
• Email: emeryville@hellohousing.org
• Phone(s): (415) 863-3036
• Hours: Mon 9am - 5pm; Tue 9am - 5pm; Wed 9am - 5pm; Thu 9am - 5pm; Fri 9am - 5pm;
• Eligibility: Must meet income requirement. The total household income can be no greater than 120% of area median, adjusted by household size, as published annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), unless one of the buyers in the household is an employee of the City of Emeryville. b. No individual in the household may have owned a home for past three years unless one of the following criteria is met: 1. the individual is a single individual or single parent who previously owned a house within the past three years with a previous spouse; 2. the individual is an employee of the City of Emeryville; 3. the individual is an employee in the Emery Unified School District; or 4. the individual previously owned a house with a domestic partner within the past three years but the domestic partnership has been terminated. Proof of the establishment as well as the termination of the domestic partnership as defined by the State of California must be presented to City staff. c. Preference will be granted to Emeryville residents (#1), those working in Emeryville (#2), and those living outside Emeryville (#3). d. Eligible homes include single family, condominiums, limited equity coop units, and co-housing units. Assistance may be provided for the purchase of duplexes, or a single-family home with a second unit, if both the primary unit and the second unit are affordable to, and occupied by, moderate-income households. e. Units shall be owner-occupied. f. Underemployed or unemployed borrowers must demonstrate that they have a combination of income and/or assets to purchase at least 50% of the value of the unit. Examples of unacceptable applicants would be students or others in a very low income bracket, whose parents or others are providing the capital or income for a substantial portion of the FTHB Market Rate Program Guidelines Page 2 of 5 purchase price. g. Occupancy limits for purchasing unit will be based upon Section 503(b) of the Uniform Housing Code, which specifies allowable minimum and maximum household sizes based upon the number of bedrooms in a unit. Minimum occupancy is one person or the number of bedrooms minus one, whichever is greater. Maximum occupancy of unit is determined as follows: each bedroom may have a maximum of two people, one additional person may live outside of a bedroom within the unit. See table below for occupancy limits by unit type: Unit Type Minimum Occupancy/ Maximum Occupancy Studio 1 Person Minimum/ 2 Person Maximum 1 Bedroom 1 Person Minimum / 3 People Maximum 2 Bedrooms 2 People Minimum / 5 People Maximum 3 Bedrooms 3 People Minimum / 7 People Maximum 4 Bedrooms 4 People Minimum / 9 People Maximum II. Loan Terms a. Deferred payment loan, due upon sale or transfer of property. Recorded as a second deed of trust to the mortgage, unless subordinate to CalHFA High Cost Area Assistance Program (Hicap) or California Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) loans. At the end of the 30-year term, the accrued interest and principal is completely forgiven. Reasonable and customary non-recurring sales costs may be deducted prior to repayment of this loan, if the total outstanding loan balances exceed the current fair market value at the time of sale. b. Buyer must provide downpayment funds. Downpayment funds may be from any source other than loan funds, such as borrower's own funds, gift funds, or grant. FTHB Market Rate Program Guidelines Page 3 of 5 c. Simple fixed interest rate of 75% of the rate of the first mortgage, or 5%, whichever is less, if the property has not appreciated from the date of purchase to the date of repayment. In the event there is no other mortgage on the property aside from the City's loan, the interest rate shall be 3%. d. If the property has appreciated from the date of purchase to the date of repayment, Promissory Note and Deed of Trust include Shared Appreciation provisions so that the Agency recoups a percentage of the profit made from selling the home in direct proportion to the dollars loaned at the time of purchase. If the property has depreciated from the date of purchase to the date of repayment, the principal and interest due under the Agency's loan are reduced by a depreciation share. The depreciation share is equal to the appreciation share percentage. The principal and interest due under the City's loan are reduced by an amount equal to the product of the depreciation share multiplied by the depreciation amount. e. The First Time Homebuyers Program loan amount will be no greater than the 150% of the buyer's downpayment, with a maximum loan amount no greater than 20% of the price of the home or 20% of the maximum sales price for the unit type (e.g. Studio, 1 bedroom, etc.) as indicated in the current City of Emeryville Housing Affordability Table, whichever is less. f. For employees of the City of Emeryville and teachers in the Emery Unified School District, no downpayment is required and the First Time Homebuyers Program loan may be up to 20% of the purchase price of the residence or 20% of the maximum sales price for the unit type (e.g. Studio, 1 bedroom, etc.) as indicated in the current City of Emeryville Housing Affordability Table, whichever is less . g. Homebuyers with a rental unit will be required to execute a Rental Restriction Agreement restricting the rent for the rental unit for the duration of the City's loan. Annual reporting of the income from the rental unit will be required. Rental income will not be counted as part of the qualifying income for the homebuyer.
• Requirements: None
• Areas Served:
  • Emeryville Alameda United States
• Categories:
  • First Time Buyer Home Loans