California Teachers and Employees

As a member of CalPERS, you may be eligible to take out a personal loan against your retirement account for the purposes of purchasing a new home.

As tightening underwriting guidelines and mortgage insurance company restrictions have all but disabled the CalPERS loan program, the personal loan option survives as a saving grace.

If you are an employee of a California Public School or Community College you may be eligible to use a CalSTRS 80/17 home purchase program to buy your home.  This program only requires a 3% down payment.

If you are a CalPERS member and not working in the education field, FHA offers a low 3.5% down payment option for the purchase of an owner occupied home.

In either case, you have the ability to take out a personal loan which is not secured by the the property as a second or third mortgage or silent mortgage, but is secured by your CalPERS retirement account.

By taking advantage of this program you will not be taking money out of your retirement account, but only using it as security for the personal loan.

Personal loan highlights:

• Can borrow up to 50% of contributed balance
• Maximum loan amount is $18,421
• Loan terms up to 15 years
• Can be used for down payment or closing costs

For complete personal loan guidelines click here

For more information about this financing option, the CalSTRS 80/17 or other home buyer programs - you are invited to attend one of our no cost on-line web classes covering these programs and more.

Click here for a complete schedule of upcoming online home buyer education classes

Click here for tools and resources from past online home buyer education classes

Every day seems to bring new challenges for new home buyers looking to purchase homes in the State of California.  As home prices drop to seemingly jaw dropping levels California Teachers and Public Employees are making up a large percentage of first time home buyers entering this market.

If you do not belong to special organization like CalSTRS or CalPERS there are still programs available to purchase with little or no money down, but not nearly the options available to members of these organizations.

CalSTRS made a startling announcement earlier this week that it have successfully defended an important underwriting guideline with Fannie Mae that has resulted in many more California Teachers and Employees being able to qualify for the 80/17 loan program.

There is no program available anywhere in the State or Country that has the benefits of this loan program.  No mortgage insurance, low interest rates, low fees, deferred payments on down payment for 5 years - Inquire here for more information on this program.

CalHFA still offers great programs to first time home buyers, and specifically to Teachers working in high priority (title 1) schools in the State of California.  The Extra Credit Teacher program provides a 3% silent second mortgage with no payments due for the life of the first loan.  Teachers that qualify for this loan program may have to come in with as much as 2% down payment, but as little as nothing down with the use of other down payment assistance programs available through CalHFA and it’s affiliate DPA program.  Inquire here for more information on this program.

CalPERS offers a loan program that allows you to borrow up to 95% loan to value plus take a personal loan of up to $18,000 or half of your CalPERS value to cover the additional 5%.  The result is that you can borrow up to 100% of the purchase price.  Inquire here for more information on this program.

For more information on any of these programs feel free to call us at 866-667-6724 or Inquire here for more information.  To find out if you qualify for a low or no down payment home loan you can also complete this simple, online loan application and get approved today!

The following information can be found on the CalPERS member site here and has been summarized and reproduced here for your convenience.

The CalPERS Member Home Loan Program offers a variety of loan options to help you purchase your home. There is no requirement to be a first-time homebuyer, no minimum vesting requirement, and you are eligible for the program on your first day of employment.

If you already own a home, it’s easy to use the Program to refinance too. Whether your goal is to consolidate your debts, make home improvements, shorten your loan term, or just lower your monthly mortgage payment, the program can work for you.

The CalPERS Member Home Loan Program has a variety of loan products and options that can help make the home buying process more convenient than ever. Each feature is designed to help you get the most value out of your loan by providing you with a fit tailor made for your individual mortgage needs.

60-Day and 90-Day Rate Protection
At the time of your loan application, you can lock in your interest rate for 60 or 90 days and get protection against market fluctuations. Other loan programs that offer shorter lock periods can leave you with a higher rate at close of escrow – resulting in higher monthly mortgage payments.

Two FREE CalPERS Float Down Opportunities
With the 60-day and 90-day interest rate locks, you’ll receive the lowest CalPERS interest rate on three key dates - date of loan lock-in, date of loan approval, and date the loan documents are drawn.

30-Day Rate Lock
You can choose to lock your interest rate for 30 days instead 60 days. Although the float down feature is not available with this option, you’ll get the benefit of a competitive 30-day rate.

The Conforming 5/1 LIBOR Adjustable Rate Mortgage
The Conforming 5/1 LIBOR ARM is fixed for the first 60 months, with rate adjustments after that time. Adjustable rate mortgages offer lower initial interest rates and can often help you qualify for a larger loan amount.

Low-to-No Down Payment Programs
CalPERS offers several financing options that have either low or no down payment requirements. The MyCommunityMortgage™ and Flexible 100™ require as little as $500 from your own funds for the down payment.

Interest Only Feature
If you are just starting off, would like greater purchasing power, or like the idea of lower initial monthly payments, the Interest Only Feature could be right for you. With initial interest-only periods of 7- to 10-years, these fixed rate and adjustable rate mortgage loans are available for home purchases or refinancing.

100 Percent Financing
We offer several options to purchase a home with no out-of-pocket costs for the down payment. Our 100 financing options could let you secure up to $500,000 for a down payment. We even offer down payment assistance on jumbo loans.

Program is Available Nationwide
Members interested in purchasing in states other than California are still eligible to use the program.

No Prepayment Penalties - Any CalPERS Mortgage Loan gives you the option to make early principal payments with no penalty. This feature of the program not only gives you the ability to build equity in your home but, because these payments are immediately applied to your loan’s principal balance, it also saves you money.

For more information about this loan programs or others available to California State Employees and Teachers you can choose either of these simple and secure options -

Request additional information - Complete this short form request for more information to help narrow down your options

Get Approved Now! - Get an approval and start making offers on home by completing this application and submitting supporting documentation.

If you would like to speak to a specialist now, give us a call at 866-667-6724