Humboldt County home buyers jump on loan program

Humboldt County residents looking to purchase a home have quickly jumped on the opportunity to receive a low-interest loan through a county program.

The county announced the return of its homebuyer assistance loan program this Wednesday morning after receiving grants to assist lower-income households. The grants came from the federal Housing and Urban Development department’s Home Program, the California Cal Home program and the Community Development Block Grant.

Individuals and families eligible for the program must be first-time homebuyers and be earning less than 80% of the household-adjusted Humboldt County median income. As an example in an informational sheet from the planning and building department, 80% of median income per year for a family of four is $55,900.

The loans must be used to purchase a vacant or owner-occupied single-family residence in unincorporated Humboldt County communities, as it is a county program. The maximum price for a prospective home is $307,000.

Applicants must also take a homebuyer education class, among other requisites.

The in-demand program reopened for the first time since 2016 and offers qualified applicants deferred payment gap loans at low rates with up to 50% of a total loan package being lent by the county.

But as Humboldt County housing and grants coordinator Andrew Whitney told the Times-Standard, the program has a state-mandated cap of 30 applicants, with the list already counting 25 applications just a few hours after the announcement.

“I think we may be close to our list by the end of (Wednesday). We may have it open (Thursday), but I’ve already got a solid 25 inquiries in and pre-applications and it’s not even lunchtime yet,” Whitney said at around noon on Wednesday. “We’ve had a lot of interest, and our list is capped at 30. We can’t have more than 30 people on our list, that’s a state requirement.”

Whitney stated he had been receiving regular inquiries about the program prior to Wednesday’s announcement.

“I would say every week I get two or three calls about people wanting to know if we’ve reopened… It’s a steady, solid demand,” he said.

Around 60 to 70 applicants have found success in purchasing a home since the program’s inception, roughly one in three loanees, Whitney shared.

While it is unclear in what direction homeownership rates are trending, the largest interest in the program comes from renters.

“Most of the people that we hear from that want to buy homes are in rentals right now. It almost feels like a lot of the renters are getting kicked out of their homes because the homeowners and the landlords are selling because the prices are higher right now,” Whitney elaborated. “I think it will be some time before we see data on (homeownership rates).”

While the waitlist for the county program has quickly filled up, Whitney says local municipalities may offer similar programs when possible.

With increasingly higher prices, Whitney’s department would like to see some relief for buyers and program beneficiaries.

“We are hoping that there is a change in the market for homebuyers,” he said.

UPDATE: The county announced at 3:48 p.m. it was closing its waitlist after receiving over 70 applications. County staff will review applications to determine applicant eligibility to keep its waitlist below 30 entries. Applicants can expect to hear from the program’s staff in the coming weeks.

“The county would like to thank residents for their interest in purchasing a home in Humboldt County,” the county’s message concludes.

Mario Cortez can be reached at 707-441-0526.