Advertisement

Santa Ana Shows Interest in First-Time Buyers : Plans to Loan Up to $30,000 at 5% for Home Purchases in City’s Older Sections

Share
Times Staff Writer

The city of Santa Ana said Monday that it will begin making low-interest loans of up to $30,000 to first-time home buyers who agree to purchase houses in older sections of the city.

The program, believed to be the only one of its kind in the county, is aimed at encouraging owner-occupied housing in the central part of the city to help preserve existing dwellings.

The city believes that owner-occupants generally do more to maintain and upgrade their properties than absentee landlords, said Patricia Whitaker, housing manager for the city’s Community Development Agency.

Advertisement

The program, financed with $500,000 in city redevelopment funds, “is an attempt to help people who live or work in Santa Ana benefit directly from all the commercial development going on here,” she said.

“It also is an effort to enable families, including people who are now renting in the older downtown areas, to buy homes,” she said.

Most of the homes in the target areas were built between 1890 and 1940. The areas include the historic French Park and Washington Square sections of the city.

While the program is open to all qualified home buyers within the target areas, preference will be given to current city residents and employees of businesses located in Santa Ana, Whitaker said.

Under the program, qualified applicants must provide at least 5% of the purchase price and can borrow up to an additional 15%--or a maximum of $30,000--from the city. The city loan carries a 5% interest rate and is amortized over 20 years.

Applicants cannot have annual incomes that exceed the federal Housing and Urban Development Department median income for the county by more than 20%.

Advertisement

That means that a family of four could qualify for the program this year with a household income of as much as $56,280. That maximum would be $45,000 for a family of two and $65,280 for a family of six.

Whitaker said the city ran a pilot program last year with $120,000 in redevelopment funds and a $12,000 cap on an individual loan. She said the average loan was $7,000.

The city is required under state law to set aside for low-cost housing assistance a portion of the funds it draws from increased tax revenues in its redevelopment areas. The loan program is one of several housing assistance programs that Santa Ana offers, Whitaker said.

Applications for the loan program will be available from the Community Development Agency’s housing division at 500 W. Santa Ana Blvd. beginning May 30. A public information seminar will be held June 5 at 7 p.m. at Lowell Elementary School, 915 W. Richland Ave.

Advertisement