Illegal immigrants could have a new path to achieving the American dream of owning a home.
Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) introduced Assembly Bill 1840 last month to expand eligibility requirements for the state loan program to make clear that loans for first-time buyers are available to undocumented immigrants.
The California Dream Loan for All program, launched by the California Housing Finance Agency last March, provided eligible first-time homebuyers with a loan of up to 20% of the purchase price of a home or condominium. Loans do not accrue interest or require monthly payments. Instead, when the mortgage is refinanced or the home is sold again, the borrower repays the original amount of the loan plus 20% of the increase in the value of the home.
The original program was created in an effort to help low- and moderate-income individuals purchase a home, but the program does not address eligibility based on immigration status, Arambula said.
“It's this ambiguity for undocumented individuals, despite the fact that they qualify under the current criteria, like having a qualified mortgage,” he said in an interview. “It underscores the urgency for us to introduce legislation.”
If passed, Assembly Bill 1840 would expand the definition of “first-time homebuyer” to include undocumented immigrants.
Without explicit status, unregistered individuals may be discouraged or excluded from the opportunity to participate, Arambula said.
“Homeownership has historically been the primary means of accumulating generational wealth in the United States,” he said. “The social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone.”
The California Dream Shared Discretionary Loan program reached its application cap of about 2,300 applicants in 11 days last year and the program was discontinued.
This year, the program will replace the first-come, first-served basis with a lottery. Interested people can submit their applications now, and the lottery will be held in April.
Another change to the program is the income eligibility threshold, which was 150% of the county area median and was reduced to 120%. This means that applicants must earn less than the minimum annually to be eligible. In Los Angeles County, the minimum income is $155,000.
