Program Eligibility Requirements
Applicants are not required to have a real estate agent to apply for the Hartford BMP home lottery. Lennar will not cover the real estate agent’s commission, so applicants are responsible for their buyer’s agent commission.
First Time Homebuyer
Maximum Household Income
The household must demonstrate financial capacity and purchase readiness to purchase a BMP home. This will include:
- A minimum 3% down payment of $16,538 is required for the three-bedroom home and $17,956 for the four-bedroom home. The maximum down payment is 20% of the purchase price. The buyer should also have adequate asset reserves to cover closing costs to purchase the home (which could range from 1% to 2% of the purchase price); and a minimum of two months of housing expenses. The 3% down payment must be held in an account in the applicant’s name for at least six months prior to submitting the application. The applicant may use gift funds in an amount where the applicant’s down payment plus the gift funds do not exceed 20% of the purchase price. Gift funds may not be used for the 3% down payment requirement. Gift funds must be accompanied by gift letters. For acceptable gift letter contents and format, view the City of Fremont’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines. All funds (including gifts) must be sourced and seasoned from institutional accounts. Reserve requirements may also be held in accessible retirement accounts (401K, 403B, IRA, etc.).
- Minimum FICO score of 660 for all non-dependent households that are on title.
- Program participants may be disqualified from purchasing the BMP home if their Affordable Housing Cost (AHC) ratio is either below the minimum or over the maximum ratio allowances. An AHC ratio is the percentage relationship between total monthly costs to own the property in relation to the gross monthly household income that the City and/or first lender apply towards the housing ratio calculation. The City and first lender derive the gross household monthly income applied towards the ratio calculation. The gross household income includes the household’s total income prior to all deductions from their payroll earnings. The households must have an affordable housing cost ratio that falls between a floor of 28% (lowest allowed) and 35% (highest allowed).
- The maximum Debt to Income (DTI) Ratio is 45%.
Additional information regarding financial and purchase readiness is provided in the City of Fremont’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines.
BAAHA advises lottery applicants to review the City’s guideline document before applying to participate in the BMP lottery.
Hartford is a collection of brand-new townhomes coming soon to the Hartford master-planned community in Fremont. The community will be near a public walking trail that intersects with the San Francisco Bay Trail. The Niles District is a short distance away with shopping and dining options, as well as events like concerts, parades, and a farmers' market. There are endless outdoor activities, from playing tennis at Central Park and boating at Lake Elizabeth to hiking at Mission Peak Regional Preserve. Major freeways and the Warm Springs/South Fremont BART Station are accessible for easy commuting, and San Jose International Airport is about 20 miles away.
All questions related to the Hartford BMP homes lottery application process must be directed to BAAHA by email at info@myhomegateway.com.
Ownership Opportunity
The property may not be purchased as a rental property. The owner(s) of the home must be full-time residents who occupy the home for at least 10 months out a year as their primary home.
City of Fremont
The completed BMP home lottery application packet must be submitted to BAAHA by email in an electronic PDF format at info@myhomegateway.com by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 14, 2024. If you are having difficulties submitting an electronic PDF application, please contact BAAHA by email at info@myhomegateway.com no later than June 12, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.
Note: All forms must be completed and signed, and all required documentation must be included in the BMP home lottery application packet. BAAHA will not process any incomplete submissions.
Lennar, the property developer, is selling two BMP homes in its newly built Hartford development in Fremont. Both homes are designated for households with a moderate income at 120% of the area median income (AMI). A brief overview of the homes is provided in the table below.
Below Market Price (BMP) Home Ownership Restrictions/Requirements
Three Bedroom Below Market Price Home
$552,262
If you have questions regarding the Hartford BMP home eligibility requirements and the lottery application process, please contact BAAHA by email at info@myhomegateway.com. Please make certain to state you are inquiring about the Hartford BMP homes. BAAHA has a strict policy and requires that all Hartford BMP home-related questions be communicated to BAAHA by email at info@myhomegateway.com. BAAHA will respond by email to all questions within a 24 to 48 hour turnaround time. All questions or requests must be submitted to BAAHA no later than June 12, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
There are three (3) required forms to be completed entirely. Click link to download and print the lottery application forms.
The minimum household size allowed to purchase the BMP homes is as follows:
Three-bedroom home: Minimum household size is three (3) people and maximum household size is seven (7) people
Four-bedroom home: Minimum household size is four (4) people and maximum household size is nine (9) people
All non-minor household members who are not dependents must be on title when the property is purchased. Qualifying dependents must be designated in 2023 federal tax returns. Lottery applicants must identify household members who will be living in the home when the lottery application is submitted.
BMP Home Lottery and Related Notifications
BMP Eligibility Checklist – The eligibility checklist requires lottery and program-approved applicants to confirm their understanding of BMP Program eligibility and documentation requirements. This form must be signed by all adult BMP home applicants.
Occupancy of Home
Four Bedroom Floor Plan.
All eligible applicants who are currently living or working in Fremont will be prioritized to enter into the Hartford BMP home lottery. The City will process the live/work-eligible applicants first. If no eligible live/work lottery winning applicants are approved from the live/work lottery, the City will then initiate reviewing non-live/work applicants for lottery and purchase approvals.
The lottery is scheduled for Thursday, June 27, 2024. (This date may be subject to change.)
After the lottery, BAAHA will notify the first place winners for the three-bedroom and four-bedroom BMP homes. The notification will remind and request that all documents listed below be submitted to the City within 48 hours. BAAHA will also send a separate email to the rest of the back-up winners (second, third, fourth, and fifth) about their lottery ranking and inform them that the City may contact them for full documentation. Required documentation to be submitted by first place lottery winners to the City (not to BAAHA) will include and may not be limited to:
- Six (6) months of most current paycheck stubs for all adults 18+
- Three (3) most current income tax returns for all adults 18+. Exemption for providing tax returns may be made for adult members from ages 18 to 24 who are declared as dependents on a household member’s tax return. Additional documents—such as bank statements, school transcripts, etc.—may be required at the lender’s or City’s discretion.
- Copy of bank statements for the past six (6) months for all adults 18+
- Copy of Pre-Approved Letter from a City-Participating Lender
- Copy of Form 1008 and Form 1003 from the approved lender; stipulates the housing ratio and middle FICO score
- Credit report
- Documentation that provides evidence of living or working in Fremont. Documentation requires providing the City with acceptable documents from the following list: driver's license, lease agreement, voter registration, utility bill, vehicle registration, insurance premium bill (medical, home, and/or auto), or other evidence deemed acceptable by the City.
- Current picture ID of all members of the household, including children (passport, driver’s license, or school ID). If a picture ID is not available, a birth certificate is required.
- Proof of legal U.S. citizenship or permanent residency documents
Forms to be Completed
Next Step
BMP Home Lottery Application Packet Submission
Viewing Property
Questions and More Information
Overview
BAAHA’s Role– Lottery Application Intake and Processing
Property Description
Below Market Price (BMP) Home Ownership Restrictions/Requirements
Program Eligibility Requirements
Hartford BMP Lottery Application Process
The Purchase Process
Next Steps
Questions and More Information
Lennar’s Hartford Development sales team will work with the lottery winner to show the BMP home and write the real estate purchase contract. The sales team will also be involved in coordinating purchase contract related activities with their first lender and Lennar’s preferred escrow company. City staff will be involved in coordinating the program related purchase activities with the BMP home buyer, first lender, Lennar’s sales team, and the title company. BAAHA is not involved with BMP purchase contract-related matters.
- Maximum pre-approval loan amount
- Down payment amount and percentage
- Credit score – no less than 660
- Housing ratio – between 28% to 35%
- Debt to income ratio – maximum 45%
Applicants must provide a current photo ID—such as a passport, driver's license, state ID, or school ID— for every adult household member who is 18 years of age or older.
BAAHA BMP Lottery Application Review and Eligibility Determination:
Hartford BMP Home Lottery Application Process
Below Market Price Home
Three Bedroom Floor Plan.
City of Fremont Below Market Price Homes
BAAHA’s Role – Lottery Applications Intake and Processing
The City has established lottery preferences that promote ownership for first time homebuyers who reside and work in Fremont. Preferences are not a requirement to apply. Separate lotteries will be conducted if needed for eligible live/work and eligible non-live/work applicants. The City will process the live/work-eligible applicants first. If no eligible live/work lottery winning applicants are approved from the live/work lottery, the City will then initiate reviewing non-live/work applicants for lottery and purchase approvals.
Live and/or Work in the City of Fremont
An applicant will be determined to live in Fremont if at least one applicant resides at a residential address that is physically located within the current incorporated area of the city of Fremont. The city may require applicants to submit a lease agreement, driver's license, voter registration, utility bill, vehicle registration, or other evidence as proof of residency in the city. Households must demonstrate that they are currently residing together at the time of application.
An applicant will be determined to work within Fremont if the applicant’s source of annual income and employment is based in Fremont and if the applicant works at least 20 hours or more per week within the Fremont city limits. Employment must be by a Fremont employer that pays business tax in Fremont at a work site in Fremont or through the operation of a Fremont‐based business that pays business tax in Fremont. Self-employed individuals must have a business license, and the business must be located in Fremont.
To meet the work preference, a household is only required to have one household member employed in Fremont.
Additional information regarding live and work preference parameters is provided in the City of Fremont’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines.
For the latest Hartford BMP home lottery information, visit the City’s BMP Homes webpage.
City Lottery Application Form – This form includes all essential information that the City and BAAHA require to determine a household’s lottery eligibility. All pertinent requested information must be provided. BAAHA will not process an incomplete City lottery application form.
Property Description
First Lender Approval
- Approval Letter – must contain the following:
City BMP Home Program Approval
Four Bedroom Below Market Price Home
$598,543
3.
Within seven (7) business days after the lottery application packet is submitted, BAAHA will review the applications and submit the eligible lottery application packets to the City for final review to participate in the lottery. BAAHA will provide a written notification to the applicants regarding their lottery eligibility status/ranking. Receiving a determination allowing an applicant to participate in the lottery is not a program approval. The City will request all necessary documentation from the lottery applicants in the order of the lottery ranking with priority preference for those who live or work in Fremont. Applicants who were contacted by the City to submit full documentation are considered prospective buyers. Prospective buyers will have two (2) business days to submit required documentation with a possible three (3) business day extension if efforts are being made to obtain necessary documentation at the City’s discretion. The City reserves the right to request additional documentation, if needed, to make an eligibility determination. Prospective buyers will have two (2) business days to submit additional documentation requested by the City. Prospective buyers are not guaranteed a home for purchase. Eligibility determination on prospective buyers will continue until a qualified buyer has been identified or until the lottery rank list has been exhausted.
1. Determine if you are interested and eligible to purchase a BMP home. Be certain you understand the requirements and responsibilities of owning a BMP home. To get a detailed representation of BMP home ownership requirements and restrictions, visit the City of Fremont’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines.
2. Determine if you are interested in purchasing one of the Hartford BMP homes. BAAHA suggests that applicants drive by the Hartford development site at 37903 Niles Blvd, Fremont, CA.
3. Submit a Hartford BMP home lottery application packet – To apply for the Hartford BMP home lottery, you can either download the application forms from the website or request a copy by emailing BAAHA at info@myhomegateway.com. The submission deadline for the application packet is Friday, June 14, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. If you choose to email, make sure to mention that the application is for the Hartford BMP home lottery.
BAAHA highly recommends that first time homebuyers secure HUD approved homebuyer education prior to starting their home purchase process. The City of Fremont does not require a homebuyer education certificate to submit a lottery application to purchase a BMP home. HOWEVER, the City will require that the household has secured a homebuyer education certificate from an Approved HUD education provider prior to purchasing a BMP home. Households may access a list of Approved HUD Education providers at BAAHA’s website: https://www.myhomegateway.org/hud-certified-counseling-agencies.html.
Purchase Ready – Financial Capacity
Below is a synopsis of the program eligibility requirements that lottery applicants must meet to participate in the Hartford BMP home lottery and to purchase and maintain ownership of a City of Fremont BMP home.
All topics discussed in the below synopsis are covered in greater detail in the City of Fremont’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines.
Overview
Website Index
Household Size
Purchase Contract and Close of Escrow
Applicant’s Real Estate Agent
Homebuyer Education Requirements
BAAHA Instructions and Protocols – This form provides additional instructions and required protocols for a household to submit the City BMP home lottery application form and BMP Eligibility Checklist. This form must also be signed by all adult BMP home applicants.
Lottery applicants may not submit a lottery application without a first loan approval to purchase a Hartford BMP home. The first loan approval must come from a City participating lender. A list of City participating lenders may be obtained here: City of Fremont Participating BMP Home First Lenders. Applicants will be required to provide information regarding the first lender they are using in BAAHA’s Instructions and Protocols form (referenced above). Participating first lenders will be required to provide lottery applicants with a loan approval letter. This loan approval letter must include the following information and must be provided as part of the household’s lottery application submittal package:
- Copy of First Lender Electronic Loan Application – frequently referred to by the first lender as form 1003
- Copy of First Lender Transmittal Summary – frequently referred to by the first lender as form 1008
Note: The City cannot guarantee that the information contained in the lender’s approval letter is accurate until the City completes a comprehensive review of all relevant documents required by the City.
The Purchase Process
1.
Prospective homebuyers interested in purchasing a BMP home must submit a complete lottery application packet to BAAHA by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 14, 2024.
The lottery application packet must contain the following documents:
- Lottery Application Forms – 3 forms to be completed
- First Lender Approval Loan Letter – with Form 1003 and 1008
- Photo IDs for all adult household members
BAAHA will not process any lottery application packets with missing documents or forms and/or incomplete or ineligible information.
2.
The property developer, Lennar, has contracted with the Bay Area Affordable Homeownership Alliance (BAAHA) to field inquiries and manage lottery applications related to the Hartford BMP homes. BAAHA is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that supports municipalities and developers in implementing the sale of BMP homes. BAAHA will be screening Hartford BMP home lottery applications to determine if an applicant is eligible to participate in an upcoming Hartford BMP home lottery. BAAHA will inform applicants of their lottery status and ranking. The City will request all necessary documentation from the lottery applicants in the order of the lottery ranking with priority preference for those who live or work in Fremont. Applicants who are contacted by the City to submit full documentation are considered prospective buyers. Prospective buyers will have two (2) business days to submit required documentation with a possible three (3) business day extension if efforts are being made to obtain necessary documentation at the City’s discretion. Eligibility determination on prospective buyers will continue until a qualified buyer has been identified or until the lottery rank list has been exhausted. Hartford BMP lottery application packets must be submitted to BAAHA by the application deadline date, Friday, June 14, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Late, incomplete, or ineligible lottery applications will not be considered for the lottery. Questions related to purchasing a Hartford BMP home, including information regarding submitting a Hartford BMP home application, should be directed to BAAHA by email at info@myhomegateway.com no later than June 12, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.
Lennar’s Hartford Development sales team will contact the lottery winners to make arrangements to view the BMP home they will be purchasing.
BMP owners must observe ownership restrictions and responsibilities. These restrictions are in place for a forty-five (45) year term and commence on the date of purchase. Restrictions include and are not limited to:
- The BMP resale price cannot exceed the maximum resale price the City assigns to the property.
- The BMP must be sold to a buyer that meets all the City BMP home program eligibility requirements.
- The City will review the lottery winner's financial documentation to confirm their eligibility for purchasing the BMP home. If the prospective buyer fails to meet the income and loan eligibility requirements by the application deadline, the City has the right to deny the purchase.
- There are resale and refinance guidelines and restrictions. All refinances and property resales must be approved by the City.
- The property must be owner occupied for at least 10 months in a year.
- The property must always be maintained in good condition.
- The property must be insured annually against loss by fire, flood, and standard extended coverage perils in amounts not less than the amount of all loans against the home.
- The property may not be rented out.
- There are guidelines and restrictions regarding passing the title. All property transfers must be submitted to and approved by the City.
For a detailed explanation of the City of Fremont’s BMP homes program guidelines and restrictions, visit the City’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines.
All questions related to applying for the Hartford BMP home lottery must be submitted by email to BAAHA at info@myhomegateway.com.
To participate in the Hartford BMP home lottery, the household gross combined income may not exceed 120% of the area median income and be less than 80% of the area median income for Alameda County. Area median incomes are published annually by the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Current area median income allowances are based on household size and are represented in the table below. Gross income requirements and parameters are further explained in the City of Fremont’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines.
Program Lottery Preferences
The City of Fremont has two (2) newly built Below Market Price (BMP) townhomes scheduled to become available for sale in July 2024. These townhomes are part of the Hartford master-planned community located at 37903 Niles Blvd, Fremont, CA. Both homes are designated for moderate-income households. One home is a 1,571 square foot three-bedroom townhome and the other home is a 1,690 square foot four-bedroom townhome. Both homes feature a two-level floorplan and a two-car garage. The BMP home sale prices are $552,262 for the three-bedroom townhome and $598,543 for the four-bedroom townhome. Interested homebuyers will be required to submit a lottery application and participate in a lottery to be selected to purchase the BMP homes.
The City of Fremont will directly contact the first place 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom BMP home lottery winners to provide additional information regarding procedures and steps required to complete the City’s BMP home program approval process. The City may ask for more documentation if required to determine eligibility. The prospective buyers will be required to go through a comprehensive review approval and underwriting process based on the documents they provide. Only after satisfying all eligibility criteria, including financial requirements, will they be certified as a BMP home buyer.
BAAHA recommends that Hartford BMP home lottery applicants take the following steps as they proceed forward with the BMP home application process:
All non-dependent adult members in the household must be first time homebuyers and may not have been named on a title or maintained a property ownership interest in real estate three years prior to submitting a lottery application for a BMP home. There are exceptions the City provides, and these exceptions are further referenced in the City of Fremont’s First Time Homebuyer Program Guidelines.
Photo IDs of All Adult Household Members
- 3-person household: $100,950 - $159,750
- 4-person household: $112,150 - $177,500
- 5-person household: $121,150 - $191,700
- 6-person household: $130,100 - $205,900
- 7-person household: $139,100 - $220,100
- 8-person household: $148,050 - $234,300
| Unit Plan | Site Address | Bedroom Size | Square Footage | AMI Designation | BMP Price |
| F-2 | 149 Limelight Terrace Unit #70 | 3 | 1,571 | 120% | $552,262 |
| T-3 | 37933 Niles Boulevard Unit #5 | 4 | 1,690 | 120% | $598,543 |
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