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By Cecilia M. Vega
San Francisco Chronicle
Hoping to keep teachers and police officers from fleeing San Francisco because of its high cost of living, city officials unveiled a program Friday that offers down-payment assistance for the two professions.
Credentialed teachers employed by the San Francisco Unified School District who are purchasing their first home in the city could receive a $20,000 interest-free loan to help cover the cost of a down payment.
Teachers whose households earn less than 200 percent of the area median income, roughly $120,000, would be eligible. If teachers remain employed in the district for 10 years, the loan will be completely forgiven.
"Teachers tend to be young when they start with our district," said Myrna Melgar, director of the homeownership program in Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Office of Housing. "They’re at that age where they want to set roots and start a family and it’s tough to do here."
Newsom first announced the down-payment assistance program for teachers in his 2005 State of the City speech, but it received funding for the first time in the city’s 2007-08 fiscal year budget.
One million dollars was set aside in the city’s general fund for the program, enough to cover loans for 50 teachers.
Police also will receive $20,000 loans for down payments as part of a collective bargaining agreement reached this summer between the city and the union that represents officers, the Police Officers Association.
Officers who are in good standing - meaning they have no disciplinary actions pending - and who are purchasing their first home in San Francisco are eligible. There is enough funding in the bargaining agreement to cover 25 interest-free loans, which will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis and will be forgiven in five years as long as the officer remains in service.
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