Down payment loans help Bay Area residents realize homeowner dream

PITTSBURG, Calif. (KGO) -- It's such a remarkable moment when someone buys their first home in the Bay Area that it becomes a time for celebration. As Ivan Elias proves, it is tough to buy a home here, but it is possible. And his story is even more notable than the norm.

Recently Elias showed 7 On Your Side's Michael Finney around his new Pittsburg home when Finney asked him his age.

"I am 24," Elias tells. He says he worked hard to buy the home, "Saved a lot money, lived with my parents."

The house cost $410,000. He put $8,000 into the deal and had an amazing team behind him which included mortgage planner, Janice Nugent.

RELATED: Homebuying hurdle: How can you afford a down payment?

She got him two loans: a conventional mortgage for 97 percent of the home's cost and a down payment assistance second mortgage from CalHFA.

A loan he doesn't have to pay a cent on for years.

"Until he either refinances, sells the house, or 30 years," Nugent tells me.

That mortgage came though Mountain West Financial, which specializes in down payment assistance programs.

"I don't think enough people know about these loans," says Julie Gregory of Mountain West. "I think the word really needs to get out, and we try to promote it, because it really offers people a lot of assistance especially in expensive areas where it is hard to save money."

Once the mortgage plan was put into action, it was time for realtor Elena Tyson to make the deal happen.

"I think we wrote $35,000 over asking and the seller was willing to work with us, and I knew the property was going to appraise because I double-checked the comps, and it actually ended up appraising for more than what we purchased it for," Tyson explains.

If you want to see what is available in terms of unique loans that could help you get into a home, a good starting place is www.downpaymentresource.com.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.