We could not be more excited! On January 19, 2021, HUD and the Federal Housing Administration began allowing DACA recipients to apply for FHA mortgages. This excellent news means that thousands more immigrants will be able to access affordable homeownership through FHA’s mortgage program and through down payment assistance programs (which have helped thousands of borrowers become homeowners, borrowers who otherwise would have had to wait years to save up while home prices climbed).
CBC Mortgage Agency is particularly enthused for how this announcement opens up Chenoa Fund to DACA borrowers. Roughly a third of CBCMA’s Chenoa Fund borrowers are Hispanic; with almost nine-tenths of DACA borrowers being Hispanic, we look forward to being able to serve thousands more Hispanic borrowers, as well as all other DACA recipients and low- to moderate-income borrowers, as they strive for homeownership and the American Dream.
In response to this announcement, CBCMA’s president Miki Adams stated, “The mission of our CBCMA team is to help those without intergenerational wealth achieve the dream of homeownership. Because Hispanics already make up more than 26% of our community of borrowers, it is very gratifying to be able to expand the number of Latino families we serve as a result of HUD’s decision.”
DACA recipients may qualify for an FHA mortgage if they meet the following requirements:
- The property will be the borrower’s principal residence
- The borrower has a valid Social Security Number (except for those employed by the World Bank, a foreign embassy, or an equivalent employer identified by HUD)
- The borrower is eligible to work in the U.S., as evidenced by the Employment Authorization Document issued by the USCIS
- The borrower satisfies the same requirements, terms and conditions as those for U.S. citizens
In addition, The Salazar Group has amusingly pointed out what the wait for this moment must have felt like for DACA recipients:
