Acorn Finance

The Bay Area market is one of the highest priced markets in the country, so naturally it is harder for first time buyers to afford to buy here. Fortunately, there are several programs that are offered by various lenders that allow the borrower to obtain a much higher interest rate than usual
be.

Two of these programs are ACORN and Cal HFA. Acorn is a nonprofit organization that works with lenders chose to give below market interest rates for borrowers. Currently, the Acorn program offers an interest rate on a loan of 30-year fixed rate which is about 1 / 2 of a point below the current market rate. That means less interest in your care, which in turn
means that you have more purchasing power than you would otherwise.

There are certain guidelines for the program, such as income and purchase price limits, and borrowers must attend a free seminar first time home buyer to qualify. However, the guidelines are quite lax and I always tell my first
customers who buy time if you can qualify for the program you enjoy Acorn. No program to another lender can not match the rate that Acorn can offer.

Cal HFA also offers below market interest rates, and they even offer loans of 3% for closing costs or down payment assistance that are "silent" meaning they don ' not have to be repaid until the house is sold or refinanced.

So if you are a first time buyer, be sure to ask your realtor to whether or not you qualify for Acorn or Cal HFA, because they can save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest, and eventually you afford to spend more than you think you can for your next home.

Interest rates in general are still near historic lows, which explains why many choose to buy now rather than later. Nobody knows what the future holds, but serious buyers who are qualified can be assured that the interest rate they receive is likely to be better than they can get for a long time to come. Most analysts agree they probably will not go much, but they certainly could go back.