California may soon allow undocumented immigrants to participate in a state mortgage program designed to help first-time homebuyers.
Earlier this year, Rep. Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) HB1840The bill would allow undocumented immigrants to have the same access to the California Dream for All program as citizens and legal residents.
A Senate Appropriations Committee analysis noted the bill would likely put “significant, unknown cost pressures” on homeownership programs.
“Homeownership has historically been the primary vehicle for intergenerational wealth accumulation in the United States.” Arambula says: “The social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone,” he said in February.
The California Dream for All program will launch in March 2023, inviting prospective first-time homebuyers to apply for a “loan” through the California Housing Finance Agency. Approved applicants can receive up to 20% of the purchase price, or up to $150,000, to help with down payments and closing costs.
The terms of this program are very generous: to qualify, applicants must be first-time homebuyers and earn no more than 120% of their annual income. County Median IncomeIn Los Angeles County, for example, the income limit is $155,000.
In addition, if your application is successful, you won’t have to make a down payment on the loan, and you won’t have to continue making payments afterwards. In theory, the recipient would repay the loan when they sell, refinance, or transfer the home, but there are no provisions in the program that would force homeowners to do so, so if the home is held in a trust, the loan may not be repaid. Centre Square Reported.
The program’s first year saw so many applicants that officials had to institute a lottery system. This year, there were 18,000 applications to win a share of the program’s $255 million budget, but only 1,700 were selected.
Arambula’s bill would clarify that undocumented immigrants are eligible to apply for the program, but the program currently contains no provisions that explicitly bar them from participating.
“When illegal aliens are excluded from these programs, they lose a vital means of ensuring economic security and personal stability for themselves and their families,” Arambula argued.
HB 1840 has already passed the state Assembly and state Senate Appropriations Committees and will now head to the Senate for a vote.
A Senate Appropriations Committee analysis said the bill would likely create “significant, unknown cost pressures” on homeownership programs, with estimates that such pressures could amount to “millions of dollars per year.”
The Blaze News reached out to the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for comment on the bill and its prospects for passage but did not receive a response.
source: Post-Millennial
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