What if I told you that you could save over a thousand dollars on your future mortgage each month and it would only cost you 8 hours.
CRA LOANS
Have you heard of CRA loans? CRA stands for Community Reinvestment Act. This act was created to encourage banks to serve the communities where they are located. What this means is that banks will create assistance programs to make mortgages accessible to the community members that they serve. The assistance could be in the form of grants for down payments, silent second loans, lower interest rates, or a combination of these.
EXAMPLE
Right now I’m excited about an assistance product offered by Cathay Bank with the following benefits:
1% – 3% down payment depending on your income
No mortgage insurance
Significantly lower rates. As of July 2023, I had a client quoted 4.75% on a 30 year fixed
Note that rates are subject to change with market conditions and your credit score will also affect the rate.
If you’re like me, it helps to see how the numbers play out. Here’s a side by side comparison of a $750,000 if you were to use FHA loan versus the Cathay Bank assistance loan.
That’s over $1,300 in savings per month!
HOW TO APPLY
You can apply for this assistance and other CRA loans after attending an 8 hours buyer education course put on by a non-profit organization called “New Economics For Women.”
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS
Step 1: attend buyer education course & get certificate of completion
Step 2: at end of class, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up for a one-on-one consultation to determine if you’re a candidate for the assistance
Step 3: you’ll get a date and time to attend a zoom meeting with the program facilitators
Step 4: a few days before zoom your financials will be collected (taxes, bank statement, credit, etc)
Step 5: during the zoom call you’ll be notified if you’re a candidate and a loan officer will help you understand how much home you can afford with the program
Step 6: you get a qualification letter and start shopping for a home
WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS
You must be a first time buyer. For most assistance programs, a first time buyer is anyone who has not owned a home in the past 3 years. You should verify this with the program.
You must plan to occupy the home. This cannot be used for investments.
There are income limits. See limits here
Program is eligible in LA, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino Counties
GET STARTED:
To take the very first step towards eligibility, register for buyer education course HERE
Classes get booked up fast. If the class if full, contact below for upcoming dates.
Lumy Bustamante
213.482.2060 ext.316
MORE RESOURCES
Follow Me on YouTube & Instagram for tools and info on buying a home
Book Buyer Consultation With Me
Call or text: Melissa Urena 562.287.4944
