Buyer help · terms verified 2026-08-26 · re-checked quarterly · Leer en español
First-Time Home Buyer Help in Santa Ana
What the City of Santa Ana's programme actually requires, taken from the City's own page, with the date each term was checked. I can't tell you whether you qualify — that is the City's decision and a lender's — but I can tell you what the programme asks for, and what it means for the kind of home we look at.
City of Santa Ana Housing Division
My First Home
santa-ana.gov/my-first-home/ · terms last verified 2026-08-26
Availability changes
Programme funding opens and closes without notice. Remaining funds are not published on the City’s page, so nothing here can tell you money is available today.
Terms last verified
2026-08-26
The source page carries no last-updated date, so this is our check date, not theirs.
Deferred loan · not a grant
It is a deferred loan secured against the property, not a grant. It is money you owe later, at 0% interest, and the difference is the whole point of saying it this way. The maximum below is a maximum under a first-come, first-served programme — not an amount anyone is promised.
Programme terms · as published by the City
Maximum
$120,000
Interest
0%
Type
Deferred loan
Term
30 or 45 years
Prepayment penalty
None
Occupancy
Owner-occupied, life of loan
Income limit
80% AMI · $104,200 (1) – $196,500 (8)
Purchase-price limit
—
Remaining funds
—
What the programme requires
- Minimum credit score 640
- Minimum 3% of purchase price in seasoned funds
- Pre-qualified for a fixed-rate mortgage by a mortgage lender
- 8-hour HUD-approved first-time homebuyer course
- Property located in Santa Ana and must pass City inspection
- No co-signers
- No bankruptcy or foreclosure in the past 7 years
- Debt-to-income 40/45
What can disqualify
- Access to 20% or more of the purchase price may result in denial
- Ownership interest in a principal residence within the last three years
Every term above comes from the same place: the City’s own page, on the verification date shown. Income figures are stated as of June 2026 and are revised — re-check at the source before relying on them. An em dash means the City does not publish it, not that the answer is none.
Adeline’s guidance
Two of these requirements take time, and people usually start them late.
Who decides what
The City decides
Whether you are eligible for the programme, and whether funds are available.
Who decides what
A lender decides
Your mortgage, what you are pre-qualified for, and your rate.
Who decides what
Adeline does this part
Finding the property, the offer, the negotiation, the inspections and the paperwork — and telling you plainly what a programme requires.
Start here
Start My Home Search.
We can go through what the programme asks for and what it would mean for the kind of home you are looking for. Adeline will follow up by text within 24 hours.
Starting a property search is not an application, and it is not a qualification check. Nobody here decides whether you qualify.
Reach her directly
714-721-7957realtoradeline@gmail.comText is the fastest way to reach her. English or español.
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