OXNARD, Calif. — This week, the California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan opens up.
The program was first run last year and offers participants down payment assistance for their first homes. This year, Dream For All introduced new qualifications: Applicants must be first-generation home buyers, as in, their parents have not owned property in the U.S. The California Dream For All offers up to 20% for the down payment on a property, or up to $150,000. The loan, plus a share of how much the value of the house appreciates, is what must be repaid if the participants sell the house down the road.
The historic program was introduced in the California State Assembly in 2021. It serves as a way to help people get onto the property ladder in California, where the median home price is over $840,000, according to Bankrate.
This is only the second time California Dream for All has been run in the state, and CalHFA spokesperson Eric Johnson says they’ve built on it from last year. Initially, the application worked on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“People now have the whole month to get their paperwork in order, work with a lender, make sure everything is squared away before they get their application in,” said Johnson. “We’ve also made a few changes to qualifications we’ve changed the income limits and lowered them a little. This is a program for low- and moderate-income homebuyers.”
The application for Dream for All goes live on Wednesday.
Applicants must work with an approved lender to help them navigate the process. The lender also approves the applicants and makes sure they fit the qualifications for the program. In Ventura County, Alex Vega, director of lending services with the Ventura County Community Development Corporation, says initiatives like this will change lives.
“The program is intended to go towards first generation, breaking the cycle of poverty,” said Vega. “We know that generational wealth is created through home ownership, so the program is geared at trying to create a first generation of buyers, so they can create generational wealth for their heirs.”