Novato is Marin County's northernmost city, with a small-town Old Town along Grant Avenue, oak-covered hills and the redeveloped Hamilton neighborhood on the former Air Force base. We help Novato buyers and homeowners with high-balance and jumbo purchase loans, refinances, reverse mortgages and equity lines. Down payment assistance is one of the most underused tools in the Novato market. Buyers assume they do not qualify or that the programs are too complicated, when in reality a first-time buyer with steady income and reasonable credit is often eligible for thousands of dollars in help.
Call Pacific National Lending for down payment assistance in Novato: (916) 526-2700
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Novato is the most attainable entry point into Marin County, which brings in move-up families from Sonoma County and buyers priced out of southern Marin. Even so, most purchases require high-balance conforming or jumbo financing, and the city's many condo and townhome communities need a lender who checks HOA approval before an offer is written. Beyond CalHFA, Novato buyers may have access to local programs through the county, the city or housing agencies, plus lender-funded grants and employer assistance. Programs open and close as funding changes, so we check availability at the time you are ready to buy.
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Housing includes 1950s to 70s ranch homes in central Novato and San Marin, newer homes and townhomes at Hamilton and Pointe Marin, golf-course homes around Marin Country Club, wooded lots in Indian Valley and Pacheco Valle, and waterfront homes in Bel Marin Keys. Our process for Novato buyers using assistance starts with a standard pre-approval, then a review of every program you qualify for. We show you the combined loan structure, the total monthly payment and the cash to close with and without assistance, so you can choose with clear numbers.
Assistance can often be combined with seller credits and lender credits, so an Novato first-time buyer may bring very little to closing. We structure the offer with your agent so the seller's contribution covers what the program does not.
Pacific National Lending serves Hamilton, San Marin, Old Town Novato, Marin Country Club and the rest of Novato for down payment assistance. Novato is about an hour and forty minutes from our Gold River office via I-80 and Highway 37.
For down payment assistance in Novato, call Pacific National Lending at (916) 526-2700 or use the secure application on this page. A licensed loan officer will follow up within one business day.
Apply HereLearn more about the program itself: Down Payment Assistance · All loan options · Purchase · Refinance · Today's rates
Area photo: "Hamilton, Novato, California (7385088284)" by Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0.
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