Empower Homebuyers SCC

We believe communities prosper when people can own a home in places that matter to them.

With housing costs so high, many of our friends, families, colleagues, and neighbors in the greater Bay Area cannot afford to purchase a home here, because securing a down payment is out of reach. In San Jose for example, a 20% down payment for a median home is almost always more than enough money to purchase a home outright in many parts of the country. When greater Bay Area workers cannot secure homeownership, we all lose out – on diversity, a skilled, dynamic workforce, and community.

Empower Homebuyers SCC is here to help! Funded by the 2016 Measure A Affordable Housing Bond, Empower Homebuyers SCC assists low to moderate income people purchase homes in Santa Clara County – including employees at nonprofit organizations, teachers, healthcare professionals, County employees and so many others.

How It Helps

Empower Homebuyers is a loan for first-time homebuyers to help them with the down payment. The loan can be for up to 17% of a home’s purchase price – which means an additional 3% from a first-time homebuyer would reach a down payment of 20%.

No matter the amount borrowed, there are no monthly payments or interest with an Empower Homebuyers loan. Instead, when the loan matures, you decide to sell or you refinance your mortgage, you repay the original amount of your loan plus a share of the appreciation of your home.

You will share your appreciation in equal proportion to the amount you borrowed. This means if your loan was 17% of the purchase price, you will share 17% of the appreciation and the rest of the equity that builds up on your home over time is yours. For instance, if you buy a house for $600,000 and use Empower to borrow 17% ($102,000) for the down payment, and the home is later sold for $800,000, you would owe $136,000 – $102,000 plus $34,000 (17% of the $200,000 appreciation).

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How To Apply

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Qualifications

• You are a first-time homebuyer buying a primary residence in Santa Clara County
• You must owner occupy the home
• You have pre-approval from an approved lender (done prior to submitting application)
• You have completed a HUD-certified 8 Hour Homebuyer Education class through the designated agency
• You can put down a minimum of 3% of a home’s purchase price
• The gross household income, including all adult household members, must not exceed 120% of the Area Median Income

Maximum Gross Household Income Limits by Household Size

Household Size	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Income Limit	$110,400	$126,150	$141,950	$157,700	$170,300	$182,950	$195,550	$208,150

California Department of Housing and Community Development, 120% of Area Median Income  (updated as of May 6, 2019)

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Program Requirements

• Purchase price does not exceed $800,000
• Your first mortgage must be 30-year fixed
• Shared Appreciation: Share of Appreciation, capped for the first ten years of the term of the loan. After ten years, no longer capped. Percentage Share of Appreciation based on percentage of Original Empower Homebuyers SCC principal loan amount to the original purchase price of the home
• Maximum loan amount: Up to 17% of the purchase price

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Additional Program Resources

• Steps to Homeownership
• Program Eligibility Application Tips
• Eligibility Application and Forms
• Empower Homebuyers SCC Program Guidelines, Policies & Procedures and Sample Documents
• Housing Trust General Underwriting guidelines