Whats Up with the Down Payment Assistance Program?

M

mamaguza_IHB

New member
Its kind of frustrating. Through the Affordable Housing program in OC, there are grants for $40,000 for first time homebuyers, if you qualify as a lower income family. But the trick is that you have to purchase within a list of cities. Most of the cities listed are way too expensive for the types of income that would qualify for these loans. For instance, some of the cities listed are Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Coto De Caza, Dove Canyon, Yorba Linda, Ladera Ranch, etc. The loans are going through FHA, and the amount we qualify for with my husband earning 73k per year, is 240k. It just doesnt make sense. Why even bother having a program, if there is no way anyone will find a house in the cities listed for that price? Because anyone making over the median income wouldn't qualify for this program. I dunno,,,it just doesnt make sense. :(
 
[quote author="mamaguza" date=1245676650]Its kind of frustrating. Through the Affordable Housing program in OC, there are grants for $40,000 for first time homebuyers, if you qualify as a lower income family. But the trick is that you have to purchase within a list of cities. Most of the cities listed are way too expensive for the types of income that would qualify for these loans. For instance, some of the cities listed are Dana Point, Laguna Beach, Coto De Caza, Dove Canyon, Yorba Linda, Ladera Ranch, etc. The loans are going through FHA, and the amount we qualify for with my husband earning 73k per year, is 240k. It just doesnt make sense. Why even bother having a program, if there is no way anyone will find a house in the cities listed for that price? Because anyone making over the median income wouldn't qualify for this program. I dunno,,,it just doesnt make sense. :(</blockquote>


Providing affordable housing is a real challenge. Nobody has figured out how to do it effectively. There are many houses that are available only to low-income owners that are not being sold at market prices. The number of these is limited, so there is often a waiting list.



You will be able to find a house before the crash is over with. Your income is near the OC median. If you are priced out, so are 50% of the households in OC.
 
A median household income was never meant to buy an SFR that would fit the needs of a couple with 3 kids. It used to be that as a couple you started with a condo or an SFR in an area that was not desirable. We all have wants, but if we want to be a stay at home mom and home school three kids with an income of $73K, then buying an SFR in a good neighborhood without much savings to apply to DP has never been the norm. While it may be true that waiting a while longer will be better, if they want to own a home in their current situation, it's either going to be a starter condo in a decent neighborhood or a small SFR in a not so desirable area.
 
While I agree with stepping_up regarding expectations these days for stay at home moms with kids, there was a day when a construction worker with two kids and a stay at home wife could buy a house in Westside CM with little effort (I was one of the kids). Sad to say, those days are gone.
 
The SW of CM is still considered a mini ghetto. There have been a number of sales of S F R' s for under $350K , which seems reasonable for a construction worker. These guys make much more per hour than I do.
 
[quote author="stepping_up" date=1245755387]A median household income was never meant to buy an SFR that would fit the needs of a couple with 3 kids. It used to be that as a couple you started with a condo or an SFR in an area that was not desirable. We all have wants, but if we want to be a stay at home mom and home school three kids with an income of $73K, then buying an SFR in a good neighborhood without much savings to apply to DP has never been the norm. While it may be true that waiting a while longer will be better, if they want to own a home in their current situation, it's either going to be a starter condo in a decent neighborhood or a small SFR in a not so desirable area.</blockquote>


Thirty or forty years ago, a median household income could, in fact, buy a house in a decent part of town almost anywhere in the country.
 
Yes, that's true, but 30-40 years ago is not our generation... it's our parents or grandparents. Real incomes have been stagnant as whole and declining in many fields for the last 38 or so years.
 
[quote author="mamaguza" date=1245676650] Affordable Housing program in OC, there are grants for $40,000 for first time homebuyers, </blockquote>


Any links to info about the $40,000 grants to first time homebuyers in the OC?



Thanks :)
 
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