SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee announced on March 17 the doubling of loan amounts for the San Francisco Down Payment Assistance Loan Program (DALP), which provides financial assistance to low-to moderate income for first-time home buyers. The program allows a deferred-payment loan that requires no repayment for 40 years or at the re-sale of the unit.
According to a press release from the Mayor’s Office website, loans can range up to $200,000 to qualified buyers. “The expansion of the DALP program proves the immediate and tangible impact of the Housing Trust Fund to assist the City’s first time home buyers and provide homeownership opportunities for San Francisco residents,” said Mayor Lee. “This down payment assistance program has assisted many working families in our City and will continue to support our diverse workforce that is so critical to our economy.”
The program was created back in 1996 from Proposition A which provided loans of up to $100,000 for down assistance. The increase in DALP funds will allow residents of San Francisco who are first-time homebuyers with low to moderate income levels to purchase homes in a competitive housing market. Currently, the median price for a home ranges beyond $800,000.
The passing of the Housing Trust Fund, the DALP will now have close to $2 million in funds for 2014 to provide a larger down payment amount for individual down payment loans. The Housing Trust Fund is expected to have an additional $1 million for the First Responders Program this year.
The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) provides qualified buyers a selection of programs that can help first time homebuyers. The BMR – DALP Downpayment Assistance Program (CalHome) aids first time home buyers who are purchasing a Below Market Rate unit.
The MOHCD’s homeownership assistance programs have assisted more than 3,000 families purchase a home. Since the programs launch in 2013, more than 600 DALP loans have been made, and MOHCD has funded four First Responder loans worth more than a half-million dollars. Six other loans are in the process to close this year.
By LaDale Anderson
