What kind of new homeowner programs might I be eligible for?

August 11, 2016 9:17 AM

Hi! We're buying our first home in California this year. I am an educator (adjunct at several colleges, part time at one more college - all are post-secondary) and my spouse is a firefighter and federal employee. I'm the son of a military veteran. Are there any first time homeowner or home buying programs, assistance, mortgages etc. we might be eligible for?

The income based programs appear to be capped at around 60k in California which means our combined income puts us out of them. We've looked at HUD homes - nothing nearby where we're looking, though we're keeping an eye out. We thought given our combination of backgrounds, we might have a chance at something! We are not currently members of USAA, Firefighters credit union, etc., but we'd be open to jumping through hoops. Thanks!

posted by stewiethegreat to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Check out HUD department "Good Neighbor" program, which takes foreclosed mortgages that the federal government has picked up and offers them at half price to veterans, school teachers, police officers, firefighters, and EMTs. There isn't a lot of choice, because the federal government hates to end up owning foreclosed houses and does almost anything it can not to get them. But there will be a list of all available properties in your state and county and you can search it and see if anything fits your needs. I am on my iPad and I hate the torturous process to to paste the link into these comments but I think I've given you enough to be able to Google the program. Good luck!
posted by seasparrow at 9:29 AM on August 11, 2016

Does your father have any service connection disability? That sometimes opens access to some VA mortgage programs to their family members. A bit of a long shot, but might be worth investigating.
posted by goggie at 9:39 AM on August 11, 2016

Response by poster: Hi, we're already looking at the HUD homes - nothing remotely close to our area. But we're still looking! No service connection disability.
posted by stewiethegreat at 9:42 AM on August 11, 2016

Are either of you in a union, and does the union have a program? Some of our county employee unions have homebuying assistance programs.
posted by lazuli at 10:07 AM on August 11, 2016

Check out the CalHFA mortgage credit certificate program and the down payment assistance junior loan program here. The former gives you a portion of your mortgage interest back each tax year as a credit instead of a deduction, the latter is a simple (not compound) interest loan you can use towards a down payment.
posted by Wavelet at 10:51 AM on August 11, 2016

If your dad was in the military, you likely qualify for USAA insurance and loans. I have had great experience with their car insurance, and they can pre-qualify you for a loan and give you a mortgage percentage quote online quickly and easily. (My dad was in the army (didn't serve active duty), and I have USAA through him. If you have even .01% interest on a 30 year loan, it can really add up! Their car loan interest was a lot cheaper than other places I looked when I was researching.
posted by shortyJBot at 1:59 PM on August 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

Second shorty - do USAA, I'm the daughter of a vet and they've been great for car, homeowner's, mortgage, banking, etc. It
posted by Pax at 5:09 PM on August 11, 2016