City of Pasadena Home Buyer Assistance Program

help-for-pasadena-home-buyers

The city of Pasadena California has been working on modifying their first time home buyer assistance program for awhile now. It looks like the program is ready to be rolled out this July and will be available for buyers who are looking to buy their first home in Pasadena and fall into low to moderate income category.

A Homeownership Opportunity Program (HOP) will allow home buyers to get up to $200,000 towards their down payment as a 2nd trust deed. This loan will be amortized over 45 years, but the cool thing is that payments for the 1st 5 years may be waived!

The city will require Pasadena home or condo buyers to have a minimum 3% down payment and the home’s purchase price may not exceed $425,000.

Upon resale of the home or refinancing, the borrower is required to repay the outstanding amount owned on the HOP loan plus a potentially substantial share of the property’s appreciation in value. Homes purchased with HOP loan assistance must be owner-occupied.

Pasadena also requires applicants to attend a special home buyer program as part of the qualification process.

Several condos in the Pasadena area are coming up over the next month that will qualify for HOP. 7 1-bedroom condos will be available under $250,000 and some 2 bedrooms will be available in the low $300,000 range. Stay tune for more information.

Update as of October 29, 2009:

Homeownership Opportunities Program (HOP)

This program is being modified. Please check back for updates.

For more information contact Aldra Allison, Project Manager at (626) 744-8314 or email aallison@cityofpasadena.net.

Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Program

This program provides first-time homebuyers with a federal income tax credit which increases their ability to qualify for a mortgage.

The amount of the tax credit is equal to 10% or 15% of the homebuyer’s annual mortgage interest paid. The credit is taken annually as a dollar-for-dollar credit against the homeowner’s federal income tax liability.

The annual tax credit is 15% for homes purchased within an MCC Target Area and 10% for homes purchased outside the Target Area.

The program income limit is $83,160 for a household of 1-2 persons, and $97,020 for a household of 3 or more persons. Other criteria and restrictions apply.

MCC applications are available only from lenders participating in the program. This program is administered by the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission.
To request MCC information, including a list of participating lenders and Target Area map contact the County of Los Angeles at (323) 890-7034 or visit their First-Time Homebuyers Programs web page

In the meantime, if you are thinking of buying a Pasadena home or condo and would like to see if you qualify for the HOP program, please give us a call at 626-204-3340 or email me at Irina@PasadenaViews.com.

READ MORE:

Pasadena Real Estate Guide

Pasadena Foreclosure List

Altadena Foreclosures List

Burbank Foreclosure Home List

South Pasadena Foreclosure Home List