The City of Lompoc, in collaboration with the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County and Peoples’ Self-Help Housing, is offering 30-year deferred payment loans up to $50,000 to assist qualified first-time homebuyers in purchasing an entry-level home in Lompoc.
Those interested in the pilot City of Lompoc Homebuyer Assistance Program are invited to a workshop from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Plaza.
The workshop will go over the program, homebuyer qualifications, eligible homes, how to apply for the deferred payment loan and contact information for participating first mortgage lenders.
No payments are required on the loans until the home is sold, refinanced, no longer occupied by the owner or 30 years have passed, whichever occurs first. Interest will accrue at 3 percent. Funding is currently available for 20 loans.
“This is an amazing opportunity for low-income households to get a leg up as they search for a great place to raise families,” said John Fowler, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing president and CEO. “We’re proud to team with the City of Lompoc and the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County to bring this program to hard working families in our community.”
The program provides loans to eligible workforce borrowers up to 16.5 percent of the home acquisition price or a maximum loan of $50,000. Loan funds can be used for down payment and other home acquisition costs. Borrowers are also eligible for a closing cost grant up to $3,500 from the City of Lompoc.
Eligible borrowers must not have owned a residence in the past three years, must be U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens, live or work within Santa Barbara County and have a combined household income that does not exceed 80 percent of area median income, adjusted for household size.
Funding for the program has been provided by the City of Lompoc. The Housing Trust Fund and Peoples’ Self-Help Housing Corporation, which have operated successful homebuyer assistance programs in North County, are jointly managing the program for the City of Lompoc.
The program removes financial barriers to the dream of homeownership by lowering home acquisition and carrying costs so that qualified working households can purchase a home that is affordable and that strengthens the family, the neighborhood and community.
For more information about the City of Lompoc Homebuyer Assistance Program, contact Anna Vela-Villicana of Peoples’ Self-Help Housing at 805.540.2446 or annav@pshhc.org.
You may also contact Jennifer McGovern of the Housing Trust Fund, at 805.685.1949 or j.mcgovern@sbhousingtrust.org.
Additional information about the program is available online at www.pshhc.org.
— Angel Pacheco is a publicist representing Peoples’ Self-Help Housing.