Home Buyers Offered Down Payment Help

Talk about nice neighbors. The city of Fillmore is helping buyers defray the cost of their first home.

At 9 a.m. July 8, the city’s housing programs office will make available applications for its Down Payment Assistance Program, which seeks to create and preserve affordable housing.

The program is open to families with two or more members who intend to live within the city limits and make the dwelling their primary residence. Applicants must also meet the definition of low and moderate income--namely that the combined family income falls 120% below the area’s median income.

The program will award qualified applicants 15% or $25,000, whichever is less, toward the purchase price of their home.

Applicants, in turn, must be able to contribute at least 5% of the home’s purchase price and closing costs. For a $150,000 home, the minimum amount needed is about $12,000.

For information, contact Vance Johnson at Fillmore City Hall, 534 Sespe Ave., 524-3701.