Sonoma County Housing Authority (SCHA) Homeownership Program is an option for households who are current participants of SCHA’s Section 8 rental assistance to use their subsidy towards a mortgage instead of rent.
To be eligible participants must meet all the below criteria:
Have 3% of home purchase price available for a down payment, of which 1% must be from your own (Ex $600,000 home must have $6,000 in personal bank account and $12,000 minimum deposit assistance approval)
Be a first-time home buyer. Defined as no one in your household may have owned or had ownership interest in any residential property for the past 3
Complete a first-time homebuyer
Be pre-approved from a lender for a
Be in good standing with the Housing Authority including not having any debt owed to the Housing Authority and not having any serious or repeated lease violations within the past year.
Have an annual income of which exceeds $14,500 or $8,088 if disabled household (income limits subject to change)
Have an adult household member employed not less than 30 hours per week continuously for 1 year oryou are an elderly or disabled household.
SCHA uses the same payment standards to help pay for a homeownership. Households seek a home loan and home that work with in the payment standard. Payments instead of being issued to a Property Owner/Manager are issued to the tenant or to the lender to pay the mortgage.
The amount of down payment depends on the price of the home and your lender’s requirements. Your minimum down payment must be 3% of the purchase price. At least 1% must come from your own savings; the other 2% may come from any city, state, or other homebuyer program that offers down payment assistance or can be a gift from friend or relative. You are responsible for closings costs.
Participants are responsible for securing their own mortgage financing. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and Rural Housing Services have standards for mortgage loans originated by local lenders that will supply loans to households receiving homeownership assistance. A good way to start searching for local lenders is to contact mortgage lenders in the community who originate FHA-insured loans, and/or use Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed loans.
Single-family houses, single dwelling units in a cooperative or condominium development, and manufactured homes that are permanently installed on land that is owned or where the family has the right to occupy for at least 40 years are eligible.
Homes must pass a home inspection conducted by an independent inspector selected and hired by the family as well as an inspection by the Housing Authority.
Yes. Households are still in the Section 8 rental assistance program and the same regulations apply for annual inspections, annual recertifications, and interim change reporting.
All income changes are to be reported to the Housing Authority so that your payment portion can be calculated. If you default on mortgage payments you are subject to action from your mortgage lender.
If you need to move or chose to sell the home you must notify the Housing Authority. Not all Housing Authorities offer the Homeownership option. If a Household is looking at homes in other jurisdictions you will need to check with the Housing Authority in the jurisdiction of the move to see if they offer Homeownership, enrollment criteria, and if they are accepting new participants.
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