CALIFORNIA – The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) published, March 27, tips on the Dream For All (DFA) pre-registration opening next week.
DFA provides first generation homebuyers a shared appreciation loan to use for 20% down payment and/or closing costs assistance. The voucher pre-registration is opening on Wednesday April 3, 2024, at 8 a.m.
Portal open for one month
CalHFA says there’s no need to apply on the first day. The vouchers will be selected by a randomized lottery draw, so there will be no benefit to applying on day one. The voucher portal will be open until Monday, April 29th, so applicants have time to get everything ready.
They also advise not to wait until the last day, either.
“While you have time, it’s also important not to wait until the last day – there will potentially be documentation validations and other questions that come up during that application review process,” said the CalHFA news release.
Preparing for next week
To prepare for next week, CalHFA says to get required documents ready now. Gathering documents now will be a time saver when applicants go to apply.
They say more importantly, the DFA Pre-Approval Letter must be filled out by an approved lender, so applicants need to reach out to them before you can start the voucher application.
Monitor email for system requests
Once an application is submitted, CalHFA says to watch for emails about voucher system tasks and requests.
If an application is missing documents, or the CalHFA team needs to verify important information, they will need the applicant to respond quickly.
There’s no guarantee
CalHFA says the funds are limited and this program has proven to be popular. There will be a significant number of applicants in the system for a limited number of vouchers.
In addition, CalHFA says that voucher results will not be announced immediately.
“Prior to announcing the voucher drawing results, there will be a time period for validations and auditing. Depending on the accuracy of information received, and the amount of validations required, it may take several weeks before we can announce the selected voucher recipients,” said the news release.
CalHFA says they understand that all applicants will be anxious to hear results, and they will process these audits as fast as they can.
Voucher recipients will be notified through email.
For more information on the DFA program visit https://www.calhfa.ca.gov/dream/resources/
 published, March 27, tips on the Dream For All (DFA) pre-registration opening next week. ){kind=link}