AC Boost - Alameda County's Down Payment Assistance Loan Program

AC Boost Pre-Application - Let's get started


It is critical that we have a valid email address for you (the primary applicant - typically your head of household).


Enter your email address and then confirm it by entering it a second time.





Section I. General Information









California Driver's License, Passport, or State, City or Municipal ID card
 

Hello Housing believes that fair and equal access to housing opportunities and programs is critical to supporting diverse communities where people thrive. To know how we are doing, we need to collect demographic information of our applicants. And, we need to collect this information in a way that can be compared with other publicly-available information. The format and choices of the following questions mirror how these questions are asked by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Please be assured that this information is only used in the aggregate and is not used in any way to determine your household’s eligibility for any program offering. By providing this information, you are helping us better understand the reach and impact of our programs in the communities we serve, which in turn leads to more effective housing solutions.
Applicant Demographics

Please enter information about the primary applicant below.

Disability is defined per the U.S. Census Bureau's Disability Glossary found here.





Primary Language

Your answers below help us make the program more accessible to applicants who speak different languages.  Your answers will not be used in any way to determine your eligibility for this program.


Include all adults AND children living at least 50% of the time in the household. For minors to count in your household size they must be claimed as a dependent on the most recent tax return of one of the adult household members OR one of the adult household members must be able to provide evidence of at least 50% custody of the minor.
Household Member Demographics

Please enter information about any additional household members below.



Disability is defined per the U.S. Census Bureau's Disability Glossary found here.






Primary Language

Your answers below help us make the program more accessible to applicants who speak different languages.  Your answers will not be used in any way to determine your eligibility for this program.





Section II. Basic Eligibility



To qualify as an “Educator” household at least one member of the household must be a full-time teacher, administrator, school district employee or staff member working for any Alameda County K-12 public school, which includes Charter schools and county/continuation schools, or community colleges and public universities within Alameda County, including extension campuses, or full-time licensed child care provider within Alameda County. Additional qualifications include educators working in licensed residential facilities for children/foster youth.

To qualify as a "First Responder" household at least one member of the household must be a full-time active member or staff member of a Police, Fire, or Sheriff’s Department within Alameda County or employed as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) or Paramedic with a service area including Alameda County.


AC Boost requires that no member of the applicant household have owned any interest in a principal residence during the three-year period preceding the date of the Program Application. 


The following interests shall not, by themselves, disqualify an applicant from being considered a first-time homebuyer: 

(1) Ownership of timeshares; 

(2) Loan cosigners from previous real estate transactions; 

(3) Appearing on title solely in the capacity as a trustee for a trust, where the trustor is living at the time and in the residence; 

(4) Being a named beneficiary of a trust that includes a housing unit amongst the trust assets, but only if the trustor is living at the time and in the residence; 

(5) Ownership of shares in a limited equity co-op; 

(6) Being a Displaced Homemaker who is now working (Displaced Homemaker is defined as: An individual who has not worked full-time, full-year in the labor force for at minimum three (3) years, worked primarily without remuneration to care for the home and family, is unemployed or underemployed, is experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment, and, while a homemaker, owned a principal residence with a previous spouse.); and 

(7) Ownership of a mobile home that is not affixed to a permanent foundation and is not considered real property (is not titled with Alameda County), or was built before June 15, 1976.


"Live" means a person's current primary residence is in the County of Alameda.

"Work" means a household member works at least 32 hours/week for a business in the County of Alameda OR a household member's disability or retirement income is based on prior employment in Alameda County.
If you neither live nor work in Alameda county...

If you do not live in, work in or have been displaced from Alameda County then you are not eligible for the program.

To qualify as a displaced household, the applicant’s household must include at least one adult member who was displaced as an adult from their principal place of residence within Alameda County within ten years prior to their application date. Reasons for displacement may include: code enforcement activities, a City/County-sponsored or City/County-assisted development project, a property foreclosure, or an eviction or forced move-out, including, but not limited to, those related to: rent increase, loss of housing services, owner move-in, building condemnation, unsafe/unhealthy housing or neighborhood conditions, property conversion to condominium or other use, harassment, discrimination or retaliation by landlord or neighbors, constructive eviction, and natural disaster or other emergency.


Household Income
Include all gross income (before taxes) anticipated for the current year, earned by adults in the household aged 18 or over. Include regular employment, self-employment, gratuities and commissions BEFORE taxes and other deductions, child or spousal support, pension, Social Security, disability pension, Worker’s Compensation, investment income and any other miscellaneous income. Please project annual income based on year-to-date income including overtime pay, plus any anticipated bonuses.

Please enter a number without dollar signs, decimals or commas

Please double check your income. AC Boost does not have a minimum income requirement, but annual income of this amount could make it difficult to qualify for a first mortgage in Alameda County.

Your annual income for your household size is too high to qualify for the AC Boost Program.

Household Assets
Assets are NOT the same as income. Assets include: the value of all cash in all of your financial accounts including checking and savings, mutual funds, etc., any cash on hand you may have, and the amount of equity in any real estate owned. Please also include the value of any gift funds or funds you anticipate withdrawing from retirement account(s) for your home purchase. Combine the total value of all of these assets for all adults in your household. Please DO NOT include the value of retirement account balances that you do not plan to withdraw for the home purchase, life insurance policies, special needs trusts or 529 college savings accounts. Enter 0 for no assets.

Please enter a number without dollar signs, decimals or commas

Please double check your asset amount. AC Boost does not have a minimum asset requirement, but applicants with assets below $5,000 may have difficulty qualifying for a first mortgage or paying for closing costs in Alameda County.

Please double check your asset amount. Households with assets greater than $300,000 will not qualify for the AC Boost Program. Please DO NOT include the value of retirement account balances that you do not plan to withdraw for the home purchase.

Section III. Final Details

AC Boost

Alameda County's Down Payment Assistance Loan Program












As part of my Pre-Application, I certify that the statements included herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge. I also acknowledge that the information submitted in my Pre-Application will be shared with Alameda County's Housing & Community Development Department.