The 3CALoan Downpayment Assistance Program Advantage

What is the Downpayment Assistance Program?

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) created the California Homebuyer’s Downpayment Assistance Program (CHDAP). The CHDAP, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, exists to help homebuyers with mortgage costs. This program grants applicants up to 3% of the purchase price or appraised value of the property. The amount can be used towards down payments, closing costs, principal reductions, and even repairs. Usually good for soft second or third mortgages and grants, the CHDAP allows the borrower to receive no interest rates, forgivable loans, or even deferred payments. In general, the lender adjusts the program’s benefits and qualification requirements based on the percentage range of the area’s home prices and median income.

The borrower must be a first-time homebuyer, occupy the home as her primary residence, and successfully complete a homebuyer education counseling course, in order to qualify. Moreover, the buyer’s income must fall under certain CHDAP limits, which varies based on the type of mortgage the buyer has. Finally, as mentioned above the applicant must meet the requirement of her lender and mortgage insurer.

What are the income limits?

In addition to the aforementioned qualifications, there are also some CalHFA caveats and perks associated with this program. For instance, CalHFA offers lower interest rates for low to moderate income first time homebuyers. Furthermore, income limits cannot exceed certain federal maximum limits. They differ for each of the following available programs:

• Conventional Income Limits
• FHA Income Limits
• Other CalHFA Programs
• Maximum Federal Income Limits