SILVAR  :  Newsroom  : Real Estate Articles

Real Estate Articles

REALTOR®: The Housing Trust of Santa Clara County Provides Loans to First-time Home Buyers


Image about REALTOR®: The Housing Trust of Santa Clara County Provides Loans to First-time Home Buyers

Wednesday, February 10, 2010
First-time home buyers in need of financial assistance can turn to The Housing Trust of Santa Clara County. Dan Lachman, program manager of The Housing Trust, recently asked members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® to inform their clients about The Housing Trust's programs for first-time home buyers.

The Housing Trust makes loans and grants to increase the supply of affordable housing, prevent homelessness and assist qualified individuals and families to buy their first home, Lachman said. The Housing Trust offers three main financial assistance programs: the Closing Cost Assistance Program (CCAP), the Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP) and Equity Share Co-Investment (ESCO).

Under the CCAP, The Housing Trust will provide up to $6,500 to help pay for closing costs and other transaction expenses associated with purchasing a first home. A CCAP loan has a 3 percent deferred interest rate. The loan is not repaid until the house is sold or the owner refinances. Lachman said over 1,800 teachers, engineers and others have received CCAP loans since 2001.

The MAP is a second mortgage of up to $35,000 available to first-time home buyers in Santa Clara County. The Housing Trust MAP loan is a conventional second mortgage, with interest and principal payments due monthly and compatible with most banks and credit unions. It is a 30-year amortizing loan with the interest rate at 1.5 percent above the rate of the first loan.

To qualify for the CCAP and MAP, the income of a single-member household cannot exceed $88,600, or household income for a four-member household cannot exceed $126,600.

Lachman said The Housing Trust has teamed up with American Home Equity Partners to provide a new down payment assistance program for buyers, the "equity share co-investment" or ESCO program. In this program, The Housing Trust will advance as much as $75,000 to first-time home buyers. The money will be used to match a buyer's down payment. Payments on the ESCO loan will not be due until 15 years later or until the house is sold or the borrower refinances. The borrower repays the loan based on the appreciation of the home in equal proportions to the amount of the original down payments. To qualify for the program, the income of a single-member household cannot exceed $103,390, or the household income of a four-member household cannot exceed $147,700.

In the past 10 years, The Housing Trust has made 2,000 closing cost loans and helped 7,500 people. The Housing Trust also has a Homelessness Prevention program. "We're all about trying to get people in their homes," Lachman noted.

The Housing Trust receives funds from the different cities in the county, the state's Housing Community Development Department, from the federal government through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and from voluntary contributions from local Silicon Valley companies.

The Housing Trust is holding two workshops, which will provide more information about its First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Programs. The first, set for Wednesday, Feb. 17, 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, 101 West Santa Clara St. in San Jose, is for mortgage lenders, brokers, REALTORS® and other real estate professionals. The second is for prospective home buyers and the general public, and scheduled Sunday, Feb. 21, 3 to 5 p.m. at Martin Luther King Library, 150 E. San Fernando St. in San Jose. For more information about The Housing Trust, its programs or the upcoming workshops, visit www.housingtrustcc.org

The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

» Back to Real Estate Articles

Site Navigation