City Heights First-Time Homebuyer Program Expanded
More San Diegans Eligible for City Heights Affordable Housing Redevelopment Loans

SAN DIEGO - In an effort to continue to help more San Diegans realize the dream of homeownership, the City's Redevelopment Agency has authorized an additional $175,000 in affordable housing set-aside funds for second mortgage loans to first-time homebuyers in the City Heights area. The program, dubbed "Home in the Heights" will also offer increased loan amounts and more inclusive requirements in an effort to allow more residents to qualify.

The City approved to increase redevelopment affordable housing dollars to fund silent-second mortgages from $15,000 to $30,000 per property for qualified borrowers and first-time homebuyers purchasing a house within the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area or Planning Area. First-time homebuyers are defined as applicants and/or spouses that have not had an ownership interest in a principle residence at any time during the preceding three years ending on the date the mortgage is executed. Terms of the loans have also been increased from 15 to 20 years and principal and interest is forgivable over that time if the property remains owner occupied.

Additionally, eligibility requirements for the loans have been expanded to include City of San Diego employees, police officers and firefighters, City Heights teachers, employees from nonprofit organizations and public employees working in City Heights. Priority will still be given to those displaced by new public schools and redevelopment projects. The "Home in the Heights" program was previously only available to residents throughout the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area. The loan can also be combined with a $40,000 loan offered by the program administrator, Community HousingWorks, through its Home Ownership Opportunity Program providing a combined loan of up to $70,000.

"The ‘Home in the Heights’ program is a perfect example of how the City and its partners are tackling the affordable housing crisis head-on," said San Diego Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins, whose Third District includes City Heights. "The additional funding will help offset the continued rise in home prices, and with more residents now eligible for the program we are looking forward to helping more people get into a home of their own."

While City Heights, one of San Diego's most densely populated and culturally diverse neighborhoods, continues to improve, the homeowner occupancy rate still remains far below the average rate for the San Diego region. The "Home in the Heights" program was established in 2001 to address this issue by the City of San Diego Redevelopment Agency and the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area Committee. The program was initially endowed with $338,000 of Agency funding and another $142,000 of Agency funded was authorized in early 2003.

"There was a need to make the ‘Home in the Heights’ program more applicable and meaningful to today’s market demands, said Gabe del Rio, HomeOwnership Center Director of Community HousingWorks, which is contracted by the Redevelopment Agency to administer the program. "With the additional funding and increased loan amounts, we could see 14 new homeowners in the City Heights Redevelopment Area in 2004 from this program alone and look forward to additional expansion in the future."

In addition to the "Home in the Heights" program, the Redevelopment Agency is working with developers and partner agencies to create other affordable housing opportunities for San Diego residents. The Redevelopment Agency and the Housing Commission recently joined forces to create the Redevelopment Affordable Housing Program, which has already committed funding to several new developments.

"Collectively, programs like ‘Home in the Heights’ and our other affordable housing efforts are helping to provide more housing opportunities for San Diegans," said Hank Cunningham, assistant executive director of the City's Redevelopment Agency and director of the Community and Economic Development Department. "We will continue to work with developers to expedite and support projects that include affordable housing."

For more information on the "Home in the Heights" first-time homebuyer program and eligibility requirements, call Community HousingWorks at (619) 282-6647. For information on other affordable housing programs in San Diego, call the San Diego Housing Commission at (619) 231-9400 or visit their web site at www.sdhc.org. To receive information on redevelopment in City Heights or other City of San Diego communities, call the Community and Economic Development Department/Redevelopment Agency at (619) 533-4233 or visit the City's Web site at www.sandiego.gov/cpci.

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