The home must be approved for the first time homebuyers down payment assistance to go through.
One big thing in order for any first time homebuyers down payment assistance to go through, the home you want must be acceptable to the program. There is verbage in the SDHC and DCCA paperwork that says the prospected home must pass certain criteria. What criteria? (Please see San Diego Housing Commission documentation for a complete current list. This list is from what I can remember from my memory and is only to be used as guideline of what to look for. The SDHC rental inspection checklist may be a good resource for you as it gives an idea of some of the things they may look for.)
- Structure must be sound – No cracked slabs, cracked foundations, wall structures in disrepair, no exposed plumbing, no exposed electricity just to name a few.
- Safety hazards must be contained – No exposed asbestos, water heater tank must be secured for earth quakes, fire hazards removed, no broken floor tiles, no exposed electrical wires, and no plumbing exposed.
- Additions must have permits – All extra room additions must be permitted properly with the city of San Diego.
These requirements are a tremendous protection and benefit for first time homebuyers down payment assistance to go through. Can you imagine if you bought a house on your own, but did not have enough experience to know the reason the house had such a low price was because the foundation slab was cracked? That would have been a $20,000 – $30,000 mistake. There are many houses that seem like steals in San Diego, but the red flag is how long they have been on the market. Anything over 7 days on the market is not a steal. Red flags should go up when a home is on the market 30 days or more. Probably something is very wrong with the structure or permitting. It seems like a hassle for San Diego First time home buyers down payment assistance to go through, but it is a huge protection in my book.
TIP: The SDHC requires that all properties be approved by a qualified home inspector. To have a qualified approved inspector inspect the property, the going rate is rising to $1000 per inspection. Inspecting multiple houses can become very expensive very quickly. The way we got around this was researching the common problems in San Diego homes, inspecting ourselves for these issues, and asking specific questions about these items from the sellers agent before ever contacting an inspector. We saved thousands of dollars this way. When we feel we found a problem free home, we asked a general contractor friend to walk the house with us before we committed the money for a proper inspection. Fortunately it gets pretty easy to spot problem homes without enlisting help.
All of this is very important for first time homebuyers down payment assistance to go through.
More details will be in my new book. San Diego First Time Home Buyer Secrets. Pre-order here.
