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How To Buy San Jose Real Estate With Zero Down Payment

May 28, 2020

Looking For Zero Down Home Loans for First Time Home Buyers in San Jose?

If you are a first time home buyer looking to buy San Jose real estate, or real estate anywhere in Northern California there are several different types of Down Payment Assistance government programs that are available to you. These programs allow you to purchase a home or a brand new home with zero down payment. Both CalHFA -FHA, Conventional, VA and USDA loan types are available. It can get a little confusing knowing and understanding all the different programs that are available in California and if you qualify. This guide will help give you the information you will need to have a better understanding, and to be better prepared before meeting and sitting down with a lender. The state of California offers these programs to first time home buyers, however with some of these programs you don’t have to be a first time home buyer.



First Time Home Buyer?


So, what is a first time home buyer? A first time home buyer is someone who currently doesn’t own any real property, or someone who used to own real estate but sold it at least 3 years ago. This means that if you used to own real estate in San Jose or anywhere else in California and you sold it three years ago or more you would be a first time homebuyer and you would qualify for these programs.



The Down Payment Assistance Program


Depending on the lender, you would need at least a 640 credit score to qualify for most of the down payment assistance programs. A lot of great new changes have been made for 2020 to help make these programs more available and accessible to home buyers and communities.


These programs are great for first time home buyers and they’re actually put in place to encourage the community to become homeowners, and enjoy all the benefits that come along with home ownership. Down Payment Assistance programs have been around for a long time, but what makes the current program so nice and different from the traditional ones of the past is that you actually don’t have to make any monthly payments on the money you borrow to pay for your down payment and/or closing costs. 


Sounds a bit strange? Well, here’s how it works...The “My Home” down payment assistance program is a deferred payment loan offering you assistance on covering your down payment and closing costs by offering you a second mortgage. So, you will have your first mortgage which could be either a regular Conventional Loan or FHA Loan, and then you would have a second mortgage to cover your down payment and/or closing costs. In order to help you keep your monthly mortgage payments down, you would only make monthly payments on the first mortgage loan. You would only pay the second mortgage when you decide to sell your house and pay it off in full, through escrow, or when you decide to refinance your home. That is why the second mortgage is called “silent seconds”. Because it’s sort of like you won’t even know they are there. 


The second mortgage needs to be 3.5% of the purchase price, and there is a $10,000 cap unless you're purchasing new construction, or you’re a school employee or a fire department employee.



CalHFA Program


This program is an FHA program offering you a 30 yr fixed interest rate first mortgage loan and 3.5% down payment. To qualify the home you are buying has to be your primary residence, so you do have to live in the home. You also are required to complete a homebuyer education counseling class, obtain and present a certificate of completion. If you prefer to take the course with the online option there is a $99 fee, and it’s 8 hours total. If there are two people on the loan, only one of the borrowers are required to take the course. What’s so nice is, for those needing assistance with their closing costs and down payment this program can be combined with the My Home Second Mortgage.



CalPLUS FHA Program


This is an FHA program with a 30 year fixed rate that has a slightly higher interest rate than the regular FHA Loan. This program is combined together with the CalHFA Zero Interest Rate Program to cover your closing costs. Your new home has to be your primary address, so you must occupy your new home to be eligible and complete the homebuyer education counseling course, and just remember only one of two buyers living in the home will need to take the course.. You must also meet the income limits for the program for example for Santa Clara and Alameda County the new income limit is $236,000, however effective June 1st, 2020 CalHFA will no longer have sales price limits for buyers purchasing single family homes. As of April 2020 the Maximum Debt-to-Income Ratio is now 43% which is good news for first time home buyers because it allows home buyers purchasing real estate in San Jose and throughout California where real estate can be a bit pricey to qualify for a little more.



CalHFA Conventional


This program offers a conventional loan to home buyers, and it doesn’t require you to be a first time home buyer. The minimum down payment is only 3% of the purchase price of the home, so if your purchase price is $700,000 your down payment would be $21,000. With this conventional program a minimum credit score of 680 is required. In most cases since you are putting down such a low down payment you may want to ask your loan officer if there is PMI or Private Mortgage Insurance. Private Mortgage Insurance is a monthly insurance that’s included and added to your monthly mortgage payments. It is generally required for borrowers with an 80% or higher LTV who are putting down less than 20% to purchase their home. Because of the lower investment from the buyer toward their down payment they are deemed as a higher risk to the lender, so PMI protects the lender in case the buyer ever defaults on the loan. The interest rates for this program are generally low, however there are different factors that will be considered by the lender such as your credit scores, and financial circumstances in order to determine your score. Since interest rates can change from day to day, and are pretty low right now it is good to have your loan officer lock you into a good rate once you have been approved.



Cal PLUS Conventional


This is the second mortgage that goes with the CalHFA Conventional if you need help paying for your closing costs and/or down payment. With this loan you will have a zero down payment. Income limits  do apply for this program so you will need to check with your loan officer to see if you qualify. However starting June 1 2020 there are no purchase price limits. The new home must be your primary residence, and the first time homebuyer class and certificate is required before close of escrow. This program covers several types of San Jose Real Estate such as single family homes, condominiums, one- unit residences, manufactured homes are ok, and guest houses.



Conventional 97 Mortgage/ Fannie Mae HomeReady Loan/ Freddie Mac Home Possible Loan


If you are wanting to use a lower down payment; these loans are a great product. These programs only require a minimum credit score of 620, and the minimum down payment is just 3% compared to the traditional 5% on a Conventional loan. There is PMI, however it goes away after 10 years of owning your home.



CALHFA USDA


This is a USDA Guaranteed First Mortgage loan that is limited to rural areas, but there are plenty of rural areas outside and around San Jose, the South Bay and the Bay Area. This could be a great option for anyone interested in living in a rural area, and don’t mind the commute. This is a NO DOWN PAYMENT loan, and it has a 30 year fixed rate. The CalHFA USDA could be combined together with the My Home Program mentioned earlier if you need assistance with your down payment and/or closing costs. This loan requires no PMI Private Mortgage Insurance, which helps to reduce your monthly payments, and allows you to qualify for a bit more house. Minimum credit score for this program is 640. It also has income limits that are lower than some of the other programs. The program is for first time home buyers, and you have to take the required first time home buyer education counseling course and receive the certificate to qualify. You could buy a single family home, condominium, or manufactured home with the CalHFA USDA loan. There is of course a 5 acre limit on the land you can buy.



CalHFA- VA Program


This VA insured loan has a CalHFA First Mortgage fixed interest rate with a 30 year fixed rate. With this loan program you must occupy the home as your primary residence and complete the first time home buyer course and obtain the certificate, presenting a valid certificate of eligibility per VA Guidelines. Income limits do apply. Your new home has to be a single family residence, One- unit residence, condominium, guest house, granny units, and in-law units may also qualify. 



Items Needed To Qualify  


These programs are great and offer zero down payment options to first time home buyers. In order to qualify for these programs you will need to provide some documentation such as your most recent pay stubs, two years of your most recent tax returns, your employment history and two months of your most recent bank statements. CalHFA is not a lending institution and does not lend money to the public. They only work through approved lenders, and it is generally the lender that will decide the qualifying guidelines, and whether your application is approved or not. So it’s important that you work with a San Jose real estate agent, and loan officer that is familiar and has access to these programs. If you are interested in applying or receiving more information about the Down Payment Assistance Programs in the Bay Area, San Jose, Gilroy, Hollister, or it’s surrounding areas including Stockton and the Central Valley please feel free to reach out to us through our chat or by  giving us a call, we are happy to help!



What my home's worth? Looking for a top realtor in San Jose? Capri Ndikum is a top San Jose Real Estate agent & broker/owner of Citi One Realty located in San Jose, CA with over 20 years of real estate experience. The American Institute of Real Estate Professionals listed Capri Ndikum as the 10 Best Real Estate Agents in California.




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Opportunity zones have become a very lucrative and popular investment tool for investors all over the country because it allows investors to defer their capital gains tax. They are becoming more and more popular in San Jose, California. Qualified Opportunity funds have attracted an estimated $75 billion dollars in new capital in just two years and are expected to attract much more. Before we go into more detail, let's go over the big question that’s buzzing around. What are Opportunity Zones? How can they benefit a new or a savvy investor, or help the community? Created by a bipartisan Congress through The 2017 Jobs act this new investment tool is a unique opportunity that helps and gives investors an incentive to invest their capital into low income neighborhoods and areas that usually are overlooked and even forgotten. The program allows investors to defer their capital gains and even avoid paying capital gains on their new investments if their investments are placed into a Qualified Opportunity Fund, and invested in a census tract that is labeled as an Opportunity Zone. Let’s go into more detail. An OZ is like a 1031 on steroids. With a 1031 exchange investors have only 6 months to reinvest their capital from the sale of real estate into a like kind property in order to avoid paying tax on their capital gains. However, with an OZ the capital can come from the sale of stock, a business, or real estate and it doesn’t have to be reinvested into a like kind property as long as it is reinvested into an OZ within 6 months from the sale. This program does have requirements in order to receive the tax benefit. One of the requirements is that the capital has to be invested into a neighborhood that has been zoned by the governor as an Opportunity Zone. There are 36,000 census tracts across the country, out of them 25% have been designated as Opportunity Zones. When the bill was created Congress did not want to have to decide which areas would be labeled an OZ, so they decided to give the governors of each state that responsibility in order to make sure that the intent of the bill is fulfilled since local governors and mayors know their communities and neighborhoods more than anyone else. This program works best when local mayors and the governor work with the community, philanthropy and developers, and when local laws, development and permit policies are created and in line to support Opportunity Zones. This legislation allows the nation's private capital to go directly into the areas and communities that need it most. Creating new jobs and opportunities for so many people that have not seen any of the recovery and growth that has been mentioned and talked about on the news since the recession of 2008. 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So for an example if you purchase a property for $1 million dollars and the land value is $200,000 you would need to make $800,000 in improvements. In order to make such a substantial improvement into some properties you would likely need to demolish and build a whole new building. Today there are 30,000,000 Americans living in low income neighborhoods. Many of these low income neighborhoods around the country are getting a new makeover, and communities are seeing hope with this new program because developers are coming in and developing entire blocks with beautiful condominiums, town homes, hotels, businesses, and retail facilities, and medical and office facilities. Finally a straight line has been drawn that connects these economically distressed communities with potentially over a trillion dollars of US capital investments. These communities are also receiving new employment opportunities with all the new development that is happening because of the OZ. 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Your original invested capital was only 1 million, so you will pay tax only on 85% of the original $1 million which means you’ll pay taxes on $850,000. So you receive $3 million from the sale but you will only pay capital gains tax for $850,000 of it. That’s sweet! WHERE TO FIND OPPORTUNITY ZONES IN SAN JOSE? To find out exactly where real estate opportunity zones are in residential San Jose you can find out by looking online as the state provides a map of all approved census tracts. Several census tracts in downtown San Jose have been selected as Opportunity Zones, and many have the potential to become very lucrative investments because of Google’s planned 60 acre campus to be built nearby, PLUS more new and upcoming plans are being filed by developers. In fact there are already Qualified Opportunity Funds that are working with the City of San Jose’s planning department to develop some of downtown San Jose Opportunity Zones. 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Fund Manager will make sure that all the T’s are crossed and the I's are dotted with your Qualified Opportunity Fund so that your fund stays in compliance. It’s very important that they are closely involved. 2.) Attorney to keep you current as new rules and regulations roll out. 3.) Accountant to make sure your fund properly self certifies and does everything to be compliant and ensures that your savings are being allocated and used properly. 4.) You'll need a Real Estate Agent familiar with Opportunity Zones in San Jose to make sure that you're making good and sound investments that make sense from an investor’s standpoint and you’re getting a good return on your investment. Of course the deferred benefits you’ll receive from having an OZ are phenomenal, but it only makes sense if you're making a good investment. 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Many people who hadn’t left their bay area homes are now getting back to their normal lives and visiting houses for sale in San Jose for the first time. So many San Jose home buyers and families stayed indoors for several months this year which is the longest time they have ever had to stay inside of their homes. On the other side of the San Jose real estate spectrum are the home owners. Home owners are wary of the current environment and many are not selling their homes yet. Many homeowners in San Jose cannot vacate their homes and actually need to first sell their current home before they can move out, and they are saying that they are not ready to allow the public to enter into their occupied homes. Buyer’s alike are more willing to take a tour of a vacant home with their San Jose real estate agent, than tour a home that is still occupied. 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