The City of Napa’s First Time Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Program provides first-time home buyers with deferred payment loans to help purchase homes in Napa’s city limits. The program recently received new State funding that focuses on helping those who were economically or physically displaced by the 2017 wildfires or other qualifying 2017-2018 federally declared disaster.
The City now has two programs to help qualified first-time home buyers purchase a home of their own.
HOME Program/CalHome General Program
These funds are available to first-time home buyers–or anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years–to purchase existing single-family homes, condominiums or mobile homes in Napa. The applicant’s household income must be at or below 80% of Napa’s area median income (AMI), which is adjusted by household size. Eligible applicants can receive loans of up to $150,000 or 30% of the home’s purchase price, whichever is less.
CalHome Disaster Assistance Funds
To qualify for these loans, you must have been physically or economically displaced as a result of the 2017 Napa Complex Fire or one of the other qualifying 2017 or 2018 federal disasters impacting Butte, Lake, Los Angeles, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Orange, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Sonoma, and Ventura Counties.
Economically or physically displaced will be described as someone who was impacted by the California wildfires in that they either:
a) Lost a residence or was displaced
b) Suffered an economic impact (job loss, income loss, loss of hours at work etc.)
c) Experience a 5% or greater housing cost increase post-fire
The applicant’s household income must be at or below 120% of Napa’s AMI, which is adjusted by household size, to receive a loan up to $100,000.
Applicants who qualify for both programs may be eligible to receive a combined total of $250,000 in City homebuyer assistance.
In addition, the definition of first-time home buyers under these loan assistance programs has been expanded to include other eligible groups:
1. A displaced homemaker (defined as someone who has not worked full-time within the last two years and has been unemployed/underemployed and worked to care for their home and family) who owned a home with their spouse or resided in a home owned by their spouse.
2. A single parent who resided in a home with their spouse who is now unmarried or legally separated from that spouse or has at least partial custody of one or more children (or is currently pregnant).
3. Someone who has owned a residence during the last three years that was not permanently affixed to the permanent foundation or not in compliance with state and local codes.
Both loan programs offer 0-1% interest rates on 20-30 year loans with no required monthly payments. Applicants who are looking to purchase a manufactured home are eligible for a 20-year forgivable loan where 10% of the principal of the loan would be forgiven each year beginning on the 11th anniversary of the date of the loan.
The loans may be repaid at any time without prepayment penalty. The loan amount plus accrued interest is due if the property is no longer the recipient’s primary residence, the home is resold or the maturity date of the loan has passed.
For more information on these programs, eligibility or the application process, visit https://www.cityofnapa.org/200/Homeownership-Compradores-de-Casa or contact our housing specialist, Jonathen Sakamoto, at (707) 257-9254 or [email protected].