California Will Help First-Time Buyers With Down Payment

[bad debt]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Okay. Don't get upset. It's not what it appears. It's not a handout. It's not free money. It's more like a hand up that will be repaid back to the state.

https://www.kcra.com/article/califor...ments/43414284

First-time home buyers are finding it difficult to save that 20% down payment so the state giving them some assistance. When the home is sold, the state will re-coup that money or a very large portion of it.

It will operate much the same as anyone who receives Medi-Cal insurance. In this case, having actual assets, i.e. a home to sell, will guarantee the state gets back some of its investment. With Medi-Cal, you have have assets in an estate before the state can re-coup money paid in healthcare costs.

For the times we live in today, I guess this is a good thing. I remember all too well how difficult it was to save for that down payment but how good it felt when we could finally buy our first home. I hope those who receive this sort of help will appreciate it and remember they will be required to reimburse the state when they sell and move up to another home.

Dare I ask this?

What do YOU think of this program? Good? No good?

Be nice

It's not a complete disaster. At least they structured it as a loan that needs to be repaid and you also leave potential upside on the sale of the home because the state will get a percentage of the profit. Also, it's means tested so that not anyone is able to get the program which is reasonable.

Here's the issue. All you're doing is just stimulating more demand for housing by increasing the eligible buyer pool who can purchase homes. Guess what that does? Cause prices to go up even more!

If CA were actually really serious about making housing affordable for more people then they need to 1) abolish CEQA; 2) abolish any zoning that only allows for single family homes; and 3) abolish prop 13.

You do that and I guarantee that home prices will start falling dramatically. Politicians just aren't quite yet at the point where that's palatable to the current voters, so things will continue at the status quo.

[bad debt]

Originally Posted by Chimérique

I thought the same thing....what happens if you never sell your home....or you give it to a relative...or you wait 30 years before you sell the home?

Any change in ownership will trigger repayment of the down payment assistance loan. Along with the profit sharing amount.

[wac_432]

I love this! Just jacked my already sky-high property's value by another 20%! Probably more! Thank God prop 13 will keep the uber-wealthy from forcing me out, despite this massive market distortion of my home's worth.

Just when you thought demand was maxed-out, along comes this nonsense! The income eligibility maximums are so far above my pay, it's ludicrous!

The best thing about this program is that it is only for the rich. You have to be able to secure a home loan from gun-shy banks at the current super-high interest rates. So, basically, this is just a money-funnel to homeowners, that only the gentry can afford to utilize. So, houses sell for more to rich people with stellar credit and steady income. I certainly like this better than the state forcing my town to build low-incoming housing and homeless shelters.

I mean, it's blatant dumb pandering by Sacramento that's going to screw up the socioeconomic structure even more. It would be better if they did nothing, but I'll take getting hosed down with money over banning books or turning women into Handmaids, like some states are doing.