County of San Luis Obispo Employees —

Discover the "Assist-to-Own" Advantage

For many Californians, saving enough for a down payment can feel like the biggest barrier to homeownership. Assist-to-Own was created to help remove that obstacle and make buying a home feel more achievable sooner.

Assist-to-Own is a special feature of the GSFA Platinum Program available to eligible employees of GSFA Member Counties. It provides down payment and closing cost assistance of up to 5.5% of the First Mortgage loan amount and can be used to purchase or refinance a primary residence anywhere in California.

Enhanced Assistance Structure

Assist-to-Own enhances affordability through an improved structure for the primary assistance.

The primary assistance is a deferred Second Mortgage equal to 3.5% of the First Mortgage loan amount. With Assist-to-Own, this portion carries a 0% interest rate and requires no monthly payments. Repayment is deferred until the home is sold, refinanced, or the first mortgage is paid in full.

In addition, eligible borrowers may receive up to an additional 2% in assistance as a non-repayable grant, which is fully forgiven at the time of closing.

Program Highlights(1)

• More Affordable Entry to Homeownership — Down payment assistance available to help reduce upfront costs at closing
• A Powerful Built-In Advantage — 0% interest deferred assistance with no monthly payment
• More People Can Qualify — Available to both first-time and repeat homebuyers with income limits that are often more flexible than expected
• More Homes to Choose From — Eligible for 1–4 unit homes, condos, townhomes, and manufactured homes
• Freedom to Buy Across California — Flexible financing options including FHA, VA, USDA, and Conventional loans, with no purchase price limit (maximum loan limit $832,750 applies)
• Broader Qualification Pathways — FICO scores as low as 640 and higher debt-to-income ratios may still qualify