Down Payment Assistance Programs in the Inland Empire (Riverside, Banning: fit in, apartment complex)

[bouncethelight]

I just came across this, and thought it might be useful for anyone considering purchasing their first home, in the city of Banning!

Down Payment Assistance (up to $20,000.00)
If you are considering purchasing your first home and are in need of down payment assistance, the City of Banning First Time Home Buyer Program may be able to help.
Only applicants with household incomes at or below 120% of Area Median Income (AMI) are eligible for the Down Payment Assistance Program.
http://rhdc.us/down_payment_assistance0.aspx

As far as I can tell it's the only program of this kind still in existence in Riverside County. Most of the similar programs have been put on hold for the last several years, due to budget woes.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by bouncethelight

I just came across this, and thought it might be useful for anyone considering purchasing their first home, in the city of Banning!



As far as I can tell it's the only program of this kind still in existence in Riverside County. Most of the similar programs have been put on hold for the last several years, due to budget woes.

If we were to go back to the IE, we'd fit in the income threshold for sure ($00,000), because I can't bring my job with me!

That's really awesome though, I could totally dig Banning.

[Curmudgeon]

I see a caution here. If someone needs income assistance for a down payment it's likely they would be over-extending themselves to purchase a home. As the recent past has shown, that type of thing is a future foreclosure in the making.

[bouncethelight]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I see a caution here. If someone needs income assistance for a down payment it's likely they would be over-extending themselves to purchase a home. As the recent past has shown, that type of thing is a future foreclosure in the making.

I do understand your point, but I think in this case it's more workable than it might be in other areas. Banning is inexpensive - even by Inland Empire standards. So if someone has a stable job - even if they don't make all that much - they can easily afford the payments. And if the down payment is the only thing keeping someone from home ownership?

Just to give an idea on how affordable the houses are in that area, the local newspaper has been running an ad for a new housing development in Banning's sister city, Beaumont, with houses starting at $149,000. Obviously these houses would not be eligible, since they're in Beaumont, and not Banning, but the two cities are so close together, it can still give you an idea of what type of housing is available, for that price. The New House - Precision built homes in Southern California

Personally I much prefer old houses, and while you won't find many really old homes, you can find little cottages from the 1930's for under $80,000.

For the right person, this program might be a great thing!

[seain dublin]

Sorry, the reason this country is in the economic mess it is today started with the mindset that everyone has a right to own their own home.

No, they do not.

It all started with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac making loans to people who had no business trying to buy a home and snowballed into what we have today with no signs of recovery in sight.

[Ulysses61]

Seain, just repped you. NO ONE "deserves" a home unless they have a dual income and can afford it. Otherwise, live in a mobile home, an apartment or a tent. And stop b---ing at those of us who earned the right to own their own home and have credit scores of 820.

[Brumbygal]

No one deserves a home? Is this person serious? Wow with a mindset like that, no wonder this country is in the mess it's in!!!

[OrthodoxAtheist]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I see a caution here. If someone needs income assistance for a down payment it's likely they would be over-extending themselves to purchase a home. As the recent past has shown, that type of thing is a future foreclosure in the making.

FYI there are some of us here who fit the need for the down payment assistance perfectly. I'm earning $50k+, have a 760 credit score, but no savings, since I've diligently paid down debt for 5 years which has been accruing at 15%+, instead of savings which in this economy would grow at closer to 3%. My total debt is now less than one month's net income. I'm a perfect candidate for the program, except I probably earn too much, but... that's easily solved. Instead I'm shelling out over $1,000 to an apartment complex each month that would be higher than a mortgage on a house 2-3 times the size, but due to the increase in down payment requirements, I'm stuck renting.

If I thought the market was going to move more than 3% upward in the next 5 years I'd focus on savings for that down payment but it'll actually drop in 2012 a little further so there's no hurry. So... I'll pass on that program.

Just wanted to let you know, be it a small minority or not, that program can help people like me, and we do exist.

[Kaldasky]

Originally Posted by Brumbygal

No one deserves a home? Is this person serious? Wow with a mindset like that, no wonder this country is in the mess it's in!!!

Sorry, you're not entitled to anything. You have to earn things in life. I know, it's a hard thing to learn, but it's important. Now, if you're homeless, then yes, you deserve help. But, if you want a home just because and you make enough to get an apartment, then just get an apartment and SAVE UP. You don't get a house just because you feel like you deserve it. You get a house because you can afford it. (And not with loans you can't afford.)

This is exactly why this country is in the mess it's in. Gov't offers people money to buy a home they can't afford and pay the difference with tax money. That takes funding from other, much more deserving gov't projects. Like education. But I guess we can just print more money, right? Since everyone deserves a house, we all better pay for it with our taxes.

So take your entitlement to the Occupy movement. Maybe get in a drum circle.

[bouncethelight]

Originally Posted by Kaldasky

Now, if you're homeless, then yes, you deserve help. But, if you want a home just because and you make enough to get an apartment, then just get an apartment and SAVE UP. You don't get a house just because you feel like you deserve it. You get a house because you can afford it. (And not with loans you can't afford.)

I think there is some confusion in this thread over the word "home" - some people are using it to mean a house, as opposed to an apartment, but my impression wast that Brumbygal was using it in the broader sense, as in everyone deserves a place to live - which would include an apartment or trailer or whatever.