BUENA PARK : $400,000 Approved for Home Program

The city has set aside $400,000 to help low- and moderate-income families buy homes.

“It is an innovative program to help some folks get started,” said Mayor Don L. Bone after the City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the First Time Home Buyers program.

The program, which begins April 15, will benefit first-time home buyers and homeowners forced to move because of redevelopment projects, said May Hui, the city’s director of economic development.

The loans will be for a maximum of 15% of the purchase price of the home or $30,000, whichever is less. Borrowers will have 20 years to pay back the loan at an interest rate of 5%.

About $100,000 of the $400,000 is earmarked for people affected by redevelopment projects. Hui said many people who have been forced to move because of redevelopment projects often cannot afford homes in other areas of the city.

Among the first to be eligible for the new program will be a group of 15 homeowners who will be displaced by a redevelopment project.