First Time Home Buyer Program - Chula Vista (San Diego, Temecula: for sale, real estate)

[jjjjjjjjason]

I have been looking into first time home buyer programs, and it seems the maximum income for a family of 4 is 68,000 dollars annually. A quick mortgage calculator shows that at 68k, you can afford a 241,000 dollar house.

Am I missing something? There aren't any homes for sale at that price, much less a livable 2 bedroom.

Does the 78k total available gap financing mean that you can now afford a 319k house? The websites throw a lot of numbers at you with very little explanation.

If anybody has gone through the process I would appreciate any feedback

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by jjjjjjjjason

I have been looking into first time home buyer programs, and it seems the maximum income for a family of 4 is 68,000 dollars annually. A quick mortgage calculator shows that at 68k, you can afford a 241,000 dollar house.

Am I missing something? There aren't any homes for sale at that price, much less a livable 2 bedroom.


Does the 78k total available gap financing mean that you can now afford a 319k house? The websites throw a lot of numbers at you with very little explanation.

If anybody has gone through the process I would appreciate any feedback

Are you including a down payment in your calculations?

For instance, add in a $30,000 down payment and you have $270K to work with, which should get you into a condo or nice manufactured home in certain parts of the county (east county, south bay) or a place like Temecula/Murietta.

There are also single family homes that have sold for close to that in some areas of the county (i.e., Campo) in the last few months.

Add in a bigger down payment, and you start having more options.

Of course, the tricky part is saving a down payment when you're supporting a family on $68K. That takes a lot of discipline and sticking to a strict budget in a high cost of living place like San Diego. Or it takes a wealthy relative willing to give you a cash gift.

You may want to talk to a good mortgage broker about your financing options. They can usually explain those first time home buyer programs and help you find the best choice. And, talk to a few real estate agents about the comps (what houses are actually selling for) in the area(s) that interest you as well; that's a better gauge of the market than just looking at list prices.