Is it possible to find a real bargain in the current housing market? Is it possible to win a bargain price by lottery? Realtors have always promoted homes priced ‘below market’, but a house will always sell for whatever the market is willing to pay. Affordable home programs that offer true below market home prices to low income families are not new, though such a program in Alameda is using a lottery where first-time home buyers will win the opportunity to buy a new home for as little as $150,000.
As part of the Below Market Rate Homeownership Program through the City of Alameda, three bedroom, two bath high quality homes will be offered to qualified low and moderate income buyers at a significantly reduced price. Home building company The Warmington Group is currently constructing the homes at a new development called Grand Marina Village, which is not far from Alameda’s commercial center on Park Street. The development is adjacent to the Grand Marina at the estuary end of Grand Street, with views of Oakland and Coast Guard Island.
“It‘s a common program throughout California where cities or developers are in need of help,” says Ashley Dolan, marketing coordinator at HomeBricks, a nonprofit affiliate of BRIDGE Housing Corporation. “A certain percentage of homes in this development need to be affordable.”
Dolan adds that such programs are a concession that home developers have to make in order to build in certain cities. Three homes priced for buyers of different income levels will be available for the qualification process in September. A total of six homes out of the forty in the development will be priced below market. Based on average media income in Alameda County, the lowest price home is listed at $149,907. Four-bedroom homes in the same development have prices starting at $689,800, which demonstrates the huge discount at which the below market homes are priced.
Dolan will be leading an informational workshop on September 15 to assist families in their completion and understanding of the application and qualification process for the City of Alameda's Below Market Homeownership Program. If qualified, applicants receive a lottery ticket for the lottery drawing to be held October 4, 2010. The application deadline is Thursday, September 30th. The program is open only to first time home buyers.
Debbie Potter, Housing Development and Programs Manager for the City of Alameda says that the city’s down payment assistance program is open to applicants of the below market program at Grand Marina Village. “The city offers a program for first time home buyers that can be used for any condo or home offer citywide,” she says. “The city is very enthusiastic about the ability for developers to provide housing for a range of incomes.”
For information on down payment assistance programs, Potter suggests a visit to the website of The Bay Area Home Buyer Agency to learn about upcoming seminars – www.myhomegateway.com.
Prospective home buyers can see if they qualify for the below market program in Alameda by downloading an application at www.homebricks.com/grandmarina or requesting one by phone or e-mail. Call: (415) 495-HOME (4663), option 163 or email: grandmarina@homebricks.com. Dolan says they have Spanish speaking staff to respond to people who inquire in Spanish.