California Mortgage Credit Certificate Program Guidelines

California Mortgage Credit Certificate Program Eligibility

California residents can all qualify for the California Mortgage Credit Certificate Program if they meet the borrower and property program eligibility requirements.

Below is the outline of the California MCC Program Borrower Eligibility Requirements

California MCC Borrower Eligibility Requirements

• The California home buyer needs to be either a citizen of the United States
• Or be a permanent resident or other legal residents of the U.S.
• The California home buyer needs to meet the definition of a California First Time Home Buyer
• California First Time Home Buyers is classified as a home buyer who did not own a home in California for the past three years
• There are exemptions for homebuyers who are not first time home buyers to qualify for the California MCC Program
• The exempt home buyers who are not the first time home buyers need to purchase a home that is located in a federally designated targeted location
• The second exemption for non-first time home buyers to qualify for MCC Program is that the home buyer needs to be qualified veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces
• This is pursuant to the Heroes Earning Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008
• To qualify for the California MCC Program, home buyers need to meet the maximum income limit requirement
• Need to meet the mortgage lending guidelines of the lender, the insurer, and the California Housing Finance Authority

To qualify for this down payment loan program, the home buyer needs to be an owner-occupant for the entirety of loan term and/or until the property is refinanced and/or sold.

Property Requirements

Now if the borrower has qualified and met all of the necessary borrower requirements for the California Mortgage Credit Certificate Program, they now need to have the subject property meet the minimum standards and requirements in order to secure the MCC Program.

Here are the property eligibility requirements:

• The property’s sales price cannot be more than the allowable sales price limit in the particular county
• The lot size is limited to a maximum of a five-acre parcel
• Only single-family detached properties are allowed
• Detached homes that are within a PUD can qualify
• A PUD is a home in a planned unit development
• The subject property can be a condo or an attached property unit within a planned unit development, PUD
• Guest homes and in-law apartments and/or home may be eligible for California MCC Program

The subject home needs to meet the guidelines and requirements of the California Finance Housing Authority, the lender, and the mortgage insurance company and/or guarantor of the mortgage.

California MCC Program Eligible Counties

The California MCC Program is available in every county where a Mortgage Credit Certificate Program is not currently available via a California Housing Finance Authority county at the time the mortgage loan is being originated.

How To Apply For California MCC Program

The California Housing Finance Authority is not a mortgage lender. All California homebuyer assistance loan programs are offered by private lenders who are approved by CalHFA. Gustan Cho Associates Mortgage Group participates in most first-time mortgage loan assistance programs for first time home buyers throughout the United States.

• All Mortgage Credit Certificate Programs can have an impact on federal tax liabilities and federal tax returns
• It is the best interest for you to contact your accountant or tax advisor prior to pursuing a home purchase using the California MCC Program
• The documents required to process your mortgage loan with the California MCC Program is the same as the documents required to process any other loan program

For more information about qualifying for a home loan using the California MCC Program, please contact us at Gustan Cho Associates at 800-900-8569 or text for a faster response. Or email us at gcho@gustancho.com. We are available 7 days a week, evenings, weekends, and holidays.