Wells Fargo offers $5 Million for down payment assistance to homebuyers in East Bay ---

Wells Fargo bank recently announced $5 million in down payment assistance grants for homebuyers in nine cities in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. In coordination with the Unity Council, CityLIFTSM is new initiative to boost homeownership in the East Bay cities of Oakland, Fremont, Hayward, Concord, Antioch, Pittsburg, Richmond, Brentwood and Bay Point. The program is designed to provide prospective homebuyers with an opportunity to see if they qualify for down payment assistance of $20,000.  
The CityLIFT program will include a free event on December 7 and 8 at the Oakland Convention Center where prospective homebuyers can meet with home financing experts and determine if they qualify for the down payment assistance. Attendees will be bringing their financial documentation to review with a home mortgage specialist. In addition, prospective home buyers will be able to take advantage of home buyer education sessions that emphasize sustainable homeownership and the financial responsibilities of being a homeowner. Attendees will also be able to take home tours to preview homes available for sale in local neighborhoods. To qualify for down payment assistance, homebuyers must purchase a property within one of the designated cities and be approved for renovation or home financing. Household incomes need to be equal to or less than 120% of area median income ($112,200 for a family of four; income maximums vary depending on family size).
Similar events in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, Tampa, Twin Cities, and Washington, D.C. have helped create 785 new homeowners through Wells Fargo LIFT program down payment assistance, with another 546 potential new homeowners in process of closing on a home. Alameda and Contra Costa counties are part of 20 housing markets across the nation that will benefit from a total of $170 million Wells Fargo has committed through its LIFT programs.
“Thanks in part to the combined and dedicated efforts of city, state and federal government, many banks are trying new ways to help homeowners,” said Oakland Mayor Jean Quan. “Among the most exciting of these, locally, is the Wells Fargo East Bay CityLIFT program. The down payment assistance grants of $20,000 for both first time and re-entering homebuyers is a critical tool to helping Oakland and other East Bay residents achieve their homeownership dreams, especially in the wake of the foreclosure crisis.”
The CityLIFT program was developed in response to the 2012 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, and is collaboration between Wells Fargo Bank N.A. city officials in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, NeighborWorks America, and local NeighborWorks affiliate The Unity Council.