Dream Keeper Downpayment Assistance
Article last updated July 2023
If you are a Black family who is looking to buy a home in San Francisco, California, as first-time homebuyers, read on to learn about a brand new home ownership initiative that can help.
The Dream Keeper Initiative is a citywide effort launched in 2021 to reinvest $60 million annually into San Francisco’s Black community. This Initiative is part of Mayor London N. Breed’s roadmap for reforming public safety and addressing structural inequities in San Francisco.
Offered in partnership with the Dream Keeper Initiative through the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (or MOHCD for short) is the Dream Keeper Downpayment Assistance Loan Program, or DK-DALP for short. DK-DALP provides Black first-time home buyers with a down payment loan of up to $500,000 to bid on a property on San Francisco’s open market.
Program Basics
A few key points to remember:
- The loan must be used on the downpayment of a residential property that will become a primary residence.
- Eligible properties include single-family residences, townhomes, condos, and 2-4 unit multi families
- The owner can re-sell the unit at market prices
- The DK-DALP is a no-interest, no-monthly payment, deferred loan that (requires no additional monthly payments)
- Applicants must work with a MOHCD-approved lender on the DK-DALP preferred list
In the future, if the owner decides to sell or transfer the property, the owner pays MOHCD back the principal amount of the loan, plus an equitable share of appreciation.
Financials
As far as financials go, make sure you meet these requirements:
- First-time homebuyers: no interest in a residential property in the last 3 years
- Maximum income limit: 200% of the Median Income
- Household size is no greater than the total number of bedrooms in the property plus one
- Minimum borrow contribution is 1% from the borrower’s own funds and/or from gifts
- Post-purchase reserves are 2 months’ worth of housing payments
- Liquid assets can be no more than $60K after purchase (there is no pre-purchase asset limit)
Get started
Interested? Here’s how to get started.
Before applying for the DK-DALP, the applicant must complete the following steps:
- Attend a DK Homeownership Information Session
- Complete a DK one-on-one counseling session with a DK Housing Counseling Agency
- Complete 10 hours of first-time homebuyer education
- Obtain a first loan pre-approval from a MOHCD-approved lender (See below for a list of DK-DALP Preferred Lenders)
- Complete the DK-DALP Readiness Form to certify that you have completed all of the above steps. Upon certification, you will see a link to download the DK-DALP Application.
- Complete the DK-DALP Application and gather your required documents into one PDF
- Upload the PDF
Learn more about San Francisco’s DreamKeep program here. Special thanks to Michael Cadet with All California Mortgage for his help in creating this article.
About the Author
Montana Gabrielle Hooks is a SF Bay Area Realtor in the East Bay. Local entrepreneurship, playing bass guitar and singing live karaoke are a few of her favorite things. She serves on the Young Realtists Division, Oakland board is a member of the Associated Real Property Brokers. Follow her on Instagram or learn more about her on her website.
