Under the Affordable Unit Acquisition Program, a larger percentage of low-income households would be assisted, while medianto moderate-income applicants would be disqualified.

At its Aug. 11 meeting, the subcommittee voted to put the homebuyer program on hold for five weeks in order to modify the program manual.

Once the manual is revised, the change would go to the City Council for review.

“Once we have (the City Council’s) blessing, we will be marketing to very low and lowincome households and take this rare opportunity to get more affordable units,” said Rob Bruce, deputy director of housing and special projects for the city.

The First Time Homebuyer program offers down payment assistance to incomequalifying firsttime homebuyers, who pay just 3 to 5 percent of their down payment, depending on their FICO credit scores. Under the current program, the city provides shared appreciation second trust deed loans up to $100,000 for low-income buyers, $75,000 for median-income buyers and $50,000 for moderate-income buyers. The revised program would offer low-income households a $50,000 maximum subsidy per bedroom with a cap of $200,000.