The biggest obstacle for many first time buyers in the Bay Area remains coming up with a sufficient down payment. Putting down the conventional 20% on a $400K purchase is a discouraging $80,000. That is a lot of saving for some younger people who are just getting a start in their financial life. What if you could buy a house for less than $10K down? Still too high? What about less than $1K? Through some first time buyer programs, it is possible. Many of the area cities have set up Down Payment Assistance programs to help these first time buyers. If you have started building some credit, and have set aside even a little bit of money, you may be able to utilize these programs to become a homeowner. The cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, Tracy, Alameda, and Oakland, all currently have Down Payment Assistance programs available (on 10/26/2016 – availability changes often – click on the links of each city to see if they are still offering assistance). If you want to become a homeowner, but felt it was out of reach, this may be your time. Let me know if you want to see if it is something that would work for you. I would be happy to discuss your options in a FREE, no obligation consultation. You could be closer to being a homeowner than you think.
