City to Offer Loans for Home Buyers

Burbank will provide as much as $1 million in low-interest loans to help first-time home buyers this year, the city announced Wednesday.

People can borrow up to $20,000 from the city for 30 years to make a down payment on a single-family house or condominium in Burbank, said John Yang, a mortgage consultant at North American Mortgage Co., which is administering the program.

No loan payments will be due for the first five years. Payments begin in the sixth year at 5% interest, Yang said.

New Burbank homes worth less than $281,800 and older homes worth less than $239,790 may be purchased under the program.

The city’s definition of “first-time” is a loose one and includes people who have not owned a residence for three years.

Income guidelines also limit who may receive the loans. For example, a family of four must earn less than $61,550 a year to qualify, Yang said.

Burbank’s home buyer loan program matches similar ones established by neighboring Glendale, as well as other local governments, including Los Angeles County.

But Yang said real estate brokers seeking to minimize their paperwork too often discourage their clients from applying for the funds. “They try to steer their clients away from those programs, and that’s sad,” he said.

Anyone with questions about the Burbank down payment program can call Yang at (818) 801-7283.