The household must demonstrate financial capacity to purchase the BMR. This will include:
- A minimum 3% down payment (approximately $11,750). All funds must be in a bank, retirement, or investment account (no mattress money/cash is allowed). The buyer should also have approximately $8,000 for closing costs and reserves. Accordingly, a household should have access to approximately $19,750 in liquid funds to consider purchasing this property. Gifts may be provided by first and second degree relatives. All gift funds must be sourced. Reserve requirements may be held in accessible retirement accounts (401K, 403B, etc.).
- Minimum FICO score of 640 for all borrowers involved in financing the purchase.
- The cost of owning the home in combination with your current monthly personal debt service cannot exceed 45% of your gross earnings.
Purchase Contract and Close of Escrow
If you have any additional questions, please contact BAAHA by email at info@myhomegateway.com. Please make certain to state that you are inquiring about the San Leandro BMR and provide us with your email address.
Preference points are provided households that have members that currently live and/or work in San Leandro. Work eligibility is based on your employer’s address, not your home address. Working at home due to COVID-19 does not fulfill the work in San Leandro preference requirements.
For a household to qualify for the live and/or work preference, only one member of the household needs to meet the requirement.
Program Eligibility Requirements
All eligible applicants will be entered into a lottery. The lottery is scheduled to be conducted towards the end of June, 2023.
1. Determine if you are interested in purchasing the BMR.
- Be certain that you are committed to buying a BMR. In making your decision, make certain to read and understand the implications of owning a BMR property. Click here to get a overview of BMR ownership.
- Determine if you are interested in this specific property. BAAHA suggests you drive by the location and view the layout and pictures of the condominium. Click here for a virtual tour of the property.
2. Submit a BMR Lottery Application by 5:00 PM, June 16, 2023:
- You can obtain an electronic BMR application by clicking here, or by requesting an application by email at info@myhomegateway.com. When requesting an application by email, make certain to state in your email that the application is for the San Leandro BMR. BAAHA will contact you if any additional information is required regarding your application. Upon completing the review of your application, BAAHA will issue you a preliminary lottery eligibility and preference determination. We urge that applicants immediately submit their application so that BAAHA has time to review and provide you feedback on your application and preference status.
Highest preference points are provided to households in which all non-dependent members in the household are first time homebuyers. To be deemed a first time homebuyer, all members may not have been on title or owned a real property in the past three years (from the time you submit your lottery application).
All household members on title must complete a HUD approved homebuyer education course to purchase the San Leandro BMR unit. Click here to access sources to complete your approved education requirements. We also encourage applicants to conduct your own search for HUD approved homebuyer education courses on the internet. A certificate of course-completion is not a requirement to apply for the lottery, but is a requirement for purchase.
The minimum household size allowed to purchase the property is three and the maximum household size is six people. All non-minor household members who are not dependents must be on title when the property is purchased. Qualifying dependents must be designated on 2022 federal income tax returns. Because qualifying household size influences qualifying household income, applicants must identify all household members at time of application.
Live and/or Work in the City of San Leandro
A virtual 3D tour of the exterior and interior of the property is available by clicking here. The highest ranked lottery winners will be able and required to visit and view the property prior to entering into a purchase contract.
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 as their primary home.
Lottery Application
Household Size
The Purchase Process
575 Jasmine Way, San Leandro
BAAHA
The City has established lottery preferences that promote ownership for first time homebuyers who reside and work in the City of San Leandro. Preferences are not a requirement to apply. However, a preference scoring system will be applied in ranking priority applicants drawn at the lottery. Preferences include:
Program Lottery Preferences
Maximum Household Income
Viewing the Property
City Program Approval
The top three lottery winners will proceed to the next step:
- Find a lender who either currently is, or can be approved by the City to finance a City of San Leandro BMR purchase. BAAHA has identified lenders who have extensive experience originating purchase loans for BMR properties, and are likely to merit City approval.
- Secure 1st lender approval from your first lender. A lottery winner may only proceed forward to initiate securing a City BMR final Program approval after submitting a first lender approval to BAAHA.
HUD-Approved Homebuyer Education
Questions and More Information
Financial Capacity
Instructions to fill out the applications are provided with the application. Make certain to read all the instructions provided for the application prior to filling it out. Incorrectly filled out or incomplete applications will be rejected. All prospective homebuyers interested in purchasing the BMR must submit a Lottery Application. Lottery Applications must be submitted to BAAHA (see below) by no later than
5:00PM, June 16, 2023
BAAHA will review the Lottery Application and provide applicants a preliminary determination regarding their Program eligibility and to establish the applicant’s Program preferences. Applicants will have an opportunity to appeal an ineligible determination for reconsideration. Applicants who pass the preliminary eligibility screening may participate in the lottery. However, the preliminary screening to participate in the lottery is not a Program approval. Top-ranked lottery winning applicants will be required to go through a comprehensive Program approval process.
A PDF copy of the BMR Lottery Application, with comprehensive instructions, can be downloaded by clicking this link.
The applications are due no later than 5:00PM, June 16, 2023. Read all the application instructions provided prior to filling it out. Incorrectly filled out or incomplete applications will be rejected.
Housing Costs and Ratio Requirements
Below Market Rate (BMR) homeownership comes with restrictions and responsibilities that BMR owners must adhere to. BMR restrictions will be in place for a forty-five (45) year term which commences on the date of purchase. Restrictions include:
- The BMR must be sold at an affordable resale price that the City assigns at the time of the resale.
- The BMR must be sold to an eligible buyer whom the City must approve.
- There are refinance guidelines and restrictions. All refinances must be approved by the City.
- The property must be maintained in good condition at all times.
- There are strict restrictions that disallow the property to be rented out.
- There are guidelines and restrictions in passing title to an heir and any other non-BMR Program approved individual(s).
To read more about BMR home ownership, click here.
First Time Homebuyer
Ownership of the BMR home requires that a household’s gross combined income may not exceed 80% of Alameda County's Area's Median Income (AMI), adjusted for household size. Gross income includes the household's total income before all deductions from their payroll earnings. For self-employed individuals, the City applies net income provided in the household's 2022 Federal Income Tax Returns. Gross maximum incomes are based on household size and cannot be greater than:
Upon securing 1st loan and City Program approval, the applicant will be required to submit a purchase contract to the BMR seller. Once a purchase contract is ratified (signed by seller and buyer), it will take approximately 45 days to close the purchase escrow and secure ownership to the BMR home.
First Lender Approval
BMR Lottery
| Household Size | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Maximum Household Income | $98,650 | $109,600 | $118,400 | $127,150 |
City of San Leandro
Below Market Rate Ownership Opportunity
575 Jasmine Way, San Leandro / Cherry Glen Complex
3-Bedroom, 2-Bathroom (two level town home)
1,266 Square Feet (Per Tax Records)
Projected sales price: $391,000
The price is projected to be close to $391,000. Final pricing will be announced prior to the lottery.
Below Market Rate Homeownership
The City of San Leandro contracts the Bay Area Affordable Homeownership Alliance (BAAHA) to assist in the sale of the 575 Jasmine Way Below Market Rate (BMR) home. BAAHA is involved with conducting all BMR application screening, lottery, and sales activities. If you have any additional questions related to the sale of this BMR, please contact BAAHA by email at info@myhomegateway.com.
Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements to purchase the City's Below Market Rate home.
Your Next Step
Upon securing first lender approval, BAAHA and the City will conduct a thorough review and analysis to determine the applicant’s Program eligibility. Program eligibility will be based on the applicant fulfilling and meeting the Program guidelines outlined above. To complete the Program underwriting and approval process, all lottery winners will be required to provide supporting documentation to BAAHA, including and not limited to copies of:
- Bank and investment/retirement account statements, to conduct their underwriting and approval process
- Prior filed and signed tax returns
- Payroll information, inclusive of W-2s, recent paycheck stubs, and verification of employment
Program participants may be disqualified from purchasing the BMR if their housing cost ratio is either below the minimum or over the maximum ratio allowances. A housing 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. Monthly housing costs include the principal and interest portion of the mortgage payment, property taxes, insurance, and home owners association fees (HOA). The housing ratio is calculated by dividing the total housing costs by the gross monthly household income. The City and 1st lender derive the gross household monthly income applied towards the ratio calculation. Gross household income includes the household’s total income prior to all deductions from their payroll earnings. Program eligible households must have a housing ratio that falls between a floor of 28% (lowest allowed) and 45% (highest allowed). Based on a 3% down payment and current interest rates, the estimated monthly housing cost of owning the BMR home will be approximately $2,900. This estimate includes mortgage, taxes, insurance and home owners association fees. This is only an estimate and should be used as an approximation. Actual costs for homeowners will be different from the estimate provided and will be dependent on financial market conditions, and the homeowners' personal financial situation, including and not limited to their credit rating and capacity, and down payment applied at the time they purchase the property.