The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County recently announced that it has relaunched its North County Workforce Homebuyer Program to offer 30-year deferred payment loans to assist first-time, low-income homebuyers with down payments on local homes.
The Housing Trust Fund previously had a North County program — that was actually its first program — from 2012 to 2014 that funded 28 loans.
Jennifer McGovern, the Housing Trust Fund’s president and CEO, said that of the 28 loans awarded in the original program, 18 have already been paid back.
The lack of state Housing and Community Development funding forced the North County program to be discontinued, but a renewal of state funding is allowing the Housing Trust Fund to bring the program back this month.
“With the renewal of state [Housing and Community Development] funding for the CalHome Program, HTF was able to competitively apply for and be awarded a $1.76 million grant,” McGovern said in a news release announcing the program’s relaunch. “This grant has been combined with a $445,000 grant from the County of Santa Barbara to enable HTF to fund 20 or more loans up to $100,000 for first-time homebuyers.”
With a combined total of $2.2 million, the North County Workforce Homebuyer Program is offering 30-year deferred payment loans up to 20% of the home purchase price or a maximum loan of $100,000 for low-income households. The funds can be used for a down payment and closing costs, and have an accrued simple annual interest rate of 3% per year.
The program allows applicants to purchase homes anywhere in Santa Barbara County, but there’s a primary focus on northern Santa Barbara County, “where home prices are more affordable.”
In order to be eligible for the loan, applicants must either be residents of Santa Barbara County or work in the county, be a first-time homebuyer — which the Housing Trust Fund defines as not having owned a primary residence in the past three years — and be a low-income household with total income of up to 80% of the area median income.
Applicants also have to agree to income certification, take a homebuyer education course, be pre-approved for a 30-year first mortgage loan from one of the Housing Trust Fund’s lending partners, and contribute 3% to 3.5% in cash toward the home purchase.
“It’s obviously a difficult market right now, so this will hopefully make a difference in getting people into their first home,” McGovern said. “It’s a great opportunity for expanding homeownership and wealth in households.”
McGovern added that the community partners that the Housing Trust Fund works with are what make the loan programs work.
“We have great partners,” McGovern said. “That’s really how this program operates.”
For example, the program partners with People’s Self-Help Housing for the homebuyer education course, and the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara conducts income certification, while the Housing Trust Fund also partners with several local first mortgage lenders.
“We help bridge the financial gap between the cost of housing and what people can afford to pay. … The program removes financial barriers to the dream of homeownership by lowering home acquisition and carrying costs,” McGovern said in the release. “The program enables qualified working families to purchase a home that provides a stable residence that strengthens the family and the neighborhood.”
Among other homebuyer assistance loan programs that the Housing Trust Fund offers are the South Coast Workforce Homebuyer Program — which offers low-cost, interest-only loans of up $125,000 to assist low- to upper middle-income households in the purchase of a South Coast home — and a Workforce Homebuyer Program for the City of Carpinteria.
More information on the Workforce Homebuyer Programs in Santa Barbara County, as well as eligibility for each program, can be found on the Housing Trust Fund’s website.
— Noozhawk staff writer Serena Guentz can be reached at sguentz@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.