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Building Equity and Growth in Neighborhoods Program (BEGIN)

View current program documents and publications

Purpose

Reduce local regulatory barriers to affordable homeownership housing, and provide down-payment assistance loans to qualifying first-time low- and moderate-income homebuyers in BEGIN Program projects.

Assistance Type

Grants to cities and counties (grant recipients). The grant recipients will then make deferred-payment, second mortgage loans to qualified buyers of new homes, in projects where the affordability has been enhanced by local regulatory incentives or barrier reductions. In certain cases, this can include mobilehomes provided they are on permanent foundations.

Terms

Grant recipients will make loans that will include simple interest of one to three percent (1 to 3%) to qualifying homebuyers.  The loans cannot exceed 20 percent of the home sales price.  NOTE:  The HCD BEGIN Program does not loan directly to individuals.

Eligible Activities

Second mortgage loans for down-payment assistance to low- or moderate-income first-time homebuyers. Eligible homes must be newly constructed in projects facilitated by local regulatory incentives or barrier reductions, and may include manufactured homes.

Eligible Applicants

All cities and counties in the State of California.

Application Process

Applications will be invited through the issuance of Notices of Funding Availability (NOFA).

Contact

(916) 327-3646

Program Publications

• BEGIN Program NOFA - $17 million
  • December 23, 2011 Notice of Closure for Notice of Funding Availability – (Adobe PDF)
  • NOFA – Issued September 23, 2011 – (Adobe PDF)
  • Application – (Microsoft Word) or (Adobe PDF)
  • Application Training Manual – (Adobe PDF)
  • BEGIN Operations Handbook – 2011 – (Adobe PDF)
  • Frequently Asked Questions Sheet 2011 NOFA – (Adobe PDF)
  • BEGIN Guidelines - 2009 – (Adobe PDF)