CalHFA MyHome San Diego: who qualifies, what it costs

How much can CalHFA MyHome cover in San Diego?

MyHome never stands on its own. It's a second loan that sits behind a CalHFA loan, and you get both through a CalHFA-approved lender. How much help you get depends on which first loan you pick, according to CalHFA's MyHome page.

The CalHFA FHA program is FHA-insured with a fixed rate. With CalHFA Conventional, the loan is conventional, carries private mortgage insurance, and keeps its rate fixed for the full term. Both come with CalHFA's income caps.

There's a third route. CalHFA says its USDA loan can be combined with MyHome, but USDA brings its own income rules and rural-area rules. CalHFA doesn't state a MyHome amount for that pairing. If USDA's cap is stricter than CalHFA's, the stricter one applies.

Your first loan also has a size cap. In California, the 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit home in San Diego County is $1,104,000, per FHFA. HUD sets the 2026 FHA limit for a one-unit home in the county at that same figure. These are ceilings on the loan, not a decision about what you can borrow.

Who counts as a first-time homebuyer for CalHFA?

For CalHFA, you count if you haven't owned and lived in your home in the last three years. You also can't have lived in a home your spouse owned during that time. That definition is on CalHFA's borrower requirements page.

This cuts both ways. A person who sold a house years ago can count again. Someone who never signed a deed but lived in a spouse's house can fail the test.

CalHFA says exceptions may apply. It doesn't list them. So ask me before you rule yourself in or out.

What is the CalHFA income limit in San Diego County?

In California, CalHFA's 2026 income limit for its government and conventional first mortgages and subordinate loans in San Diego County is $259,000, effective June 30, 2026. You'll find it in CalHFA's income limit table. It stays the same no matter how big your household is.

Limits are set county by county, and CalHFA's program pages say they can differ by program. Dream For All has its own county limit, so this figure doesn't apply there.

Self-employed buyers face an odd twist here. Lenders usually measure your income from what your tax returns show after write-offs. A lower number can keep you under the cap, yet that same number has to be enough to qualify for the main loan. Ask how your lender will count your income before you assume either way.

Do you have to pay back CalHFA MyHome, and when?

Yes. According to CalHFA, its down payment loans are deferred "silent seconds." Nothing is due on them until you sell, refinance or pay off the loan.

That's helpful. It isn't free money, though. It's a balance you settle later, often right when you're selling or trying to refinance.

The interest rate and lender fees on MyHome vary by lender. Put two loan estimates side by side and compare them line by line. The lowest rate isn't always the loan that costs you least.

What is the CalHFA homebuyer education course?

Homebuyer education through an eligible counseling organization is required, per CalHFA, and you need the certificate to close. Only one occupying first-time borrower on the loan has to take it.

Do it early. A missing certificate is a silly reason for a file to sit and wait.

Is MyHome better than CalHFA Dream For All?

They're built for different buyers. According to CalHFA, Dream For All is a shared appreciation loan for down payment or closing costs, used with its own Dream For All Conventional first mortgage. It offers up to 20% of the purchase price, capped at $150,000. That's far more than MyHome.

At least one borrower must be a current California resident and a first-generation buyer, every borrower must be first-time, and combined household income has to fit CalHFA's limit for the county. First-generation means you haven't been on title, held an ownership interest or been named on a mortgage for a US home in the last 7 years. On top of that, to the best of your knowledge, your parents don't own a US home now (or didn't at death), or you were placed in out-of-home or institutional care at some point, which CalHFA spells out in more detail.

Getting in isn't a race. CalHFA picks voucher holders by random drawing, not first come, first served. Its page says the current application period is closed and doesn't say when another opens.

Here's how the repayment works. When the home is sold or transferred, or the first mortgage is paid off, the borrower repays the original loan plus a share of the home's appreciation. In CalHFA's examples with a loan of 20% of the price, a moderate-income borrower pays back the loan plus 20% of any appreciation. In those same CalHFA examples, a borrower at or below 80% of area median income gets a reduced share and pays back the loan plus 15%.

A young couple renting in Lemon Grove weighed exactly this with me. They had steady jobs and not much saved. We sat down with the payoff math before they applied, because shared appreciation is a real cost later. They decided stopping rent now beat saving for several more years, and since funds went quickly that round, having documents ready early mattered.

MyHome is simpler. You owe back a deferred loan, with no slice of your home's growth attached. If you can't meet the first-generation test, it's the one to price.

Can I get CalHFA MyHome if I'm self-employed and my tax returns show less than I make?

Possibly, but MyHome only works if you qualify for the CalHFA first mortgage. If heavy write-offs shrink your income on paper, that first loan can be the wall. I walk through each CalHFA path in 4 CalHFA loan options for self-employed first-time buyers.

When it doesn't fit, I look elsewhere. At Rate Rebel (NMLS #282828) we're a mortgage broker, so we shop one file across a network of wholesale lenders instead of one bank's rules. We close bank-statement, asset-based and non-warrantable condo loans that retail banks turn away.

A self-employed contractor came to me after his bank turned him down. His returns showed about half of what he really earned, because his accountant wrote off everything he legally could. We used twelve months of business bank statements instead, found a lender that liked the deal, and he closed in about five weeks at a payment he was comfortable with.

Be clear on the trade. A bank-statement loan is separate from MyHome, so you'd give up the assistance for a loan that counts your real income. Sometimes that's the better deal. Sometimes it isn't.

What should I do before applying for CalHFA down payment help?

Start with the free calculators on our site. In a few minutes they give a rough idea of what you might be able to borrow and the real payment, with no credit pull.

Next, get a second set of eyes. According to the CFPB, you can get independent advice from a HUD-approved housing counselor. Services and fees vary by agency.

A counselor can also point you past CalHFA. The CFPB says many states and local organizations offer first-time buyer help, and rules vary by place and program.

My rule is simple. If you're under the $259,000 county limit, meet the first-time test and can qualify for the CalHFA FHA or Conventional loan underneath, MyHome is worth pricing against a loan without it.

Questions people ask