The Mercury News reports that Bank of America recently announced a grant program to help homeowners who don't have the funds to come up with a down payment or closing costs on a home. The Down Payment Grant program is set up to provide up to $17,500 to buyers who can qualify to make the mortgage payments but don't have enough to put down or close the sale. The bank is offering $5 billion to help get 20,000 into homes.
The down payment assistant is expected to especially benefit Inland Empire house hunters because of the region’s relative affordability. But even for a low-priced starter home, buyers still have to come up with as much as $15,000 for a government-backed loan, closing costs and other expenditures.
“The benefits of this program will be significant in the Inland Empire,” said John Loyacono, the area lending manager for Bank of America’s operations on the west side of Los Angeles. According to the bank’s research, 69% of all prospective buyers say down payments and closing costs are the biggest barriers to homeownership.
James Deason, a senior vice president and BofA’s lending manager for Riverside County, said there is no cap on income for applicants if the home you want to buy is in an area labeled “low-to-moderate,” in terms of the income of the neighborhood’s residents.
If the homes are considered to be in a “medium” or “upper” income area, there is a cap on the applicant’s earnings based on 80% of the income in that area. For the greater Riverside and Moreno Valley area, for example, that cap would be $52,640 a year, Deason said.
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