What to do
Purchasing, review, and closing may take 5 months or longer.
1. Check if you can apply
The amount you can borrow depends on how much you need.
You can’t have owned any residential property anywhere within the last 3 years.
Your household must make under a certain amount. The maximum amount depends on the number of people in your household.
- For 1 person, $209,800
- For 2 people, $239,800
- For 3 people, $269,700
- For 4 people, $299,700
- For 5 people, $323,700
- For 6 people, $347,700
- For 7 people, $371,600
- For 8 people, $395,600
- For 9 people, $419,600
Before you apply, you must attend homebuyer education and get a mortgage loan pre-approval letter from an approved lender. Note: Your pre-approval letter must contain the sales price of a market-rate property, the maximum first loan amount, and the DALP loan amount. A pre-approval letter for a below-market-rate (BMR) property will not be accepted.
2. Apply for the lottery
You will need the following documents:
- Loan pre-approval letter, dated within the past 120 days
- Verification of homebuyer education, dated within the past year
After you apply
- If you apply by the deadline, you will receive a lottery number. We will process applications based on lottery rank order. Read more about the DALP lottery.
- If we get to your application, you will need to fill out a more detailed form and provide more paperwork.
- If we determine you’re income-eligible, we will issue a pre-approval letter and reserve the funds for you. You have 90 days to enter a sales contract for any property on the open market.
- Your lender has 30 days to submit the loan packet. We’ll take 15 days to review.
- We will issue you a loan commitment letter. The letter allows 30 days to close the sale. At closing, you pay a DALP program fee as part of your closing costs.
Pay back the loan when you sell your home
The DALP is a silent second loan that requires no monthly payments.
You can sell your home at market rate prices. When you sell, you pay back the principal amount, plus an equitable share of appreciation. See detailed loan terms.
Special cases
First responders and SFUSD educators
First responders and SFUSD educators
SFUSD, Police, Fire, and Sheriff employees have some different requirements. See how to apply.
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Last updated May 8, 2024