The City of Marina has established a Below Market Rate (BMR) Homeownership program.  This program is adopted to implement and administer the Inclusionary Housing Units that are required within the approvals of new housing developments with the City.  An Inclusionary Housing Unit is a home that is reserved for sale to people and families that meet certain income requirements.

The adopted BMR Homeownership Program Administrative Policies and Procedures set forth the eligibility criteria and application requirements for prospective BMR home buyers, as well as long-term BMR homeownership requirements. The Program was established to provide affordable home ownership opportunities to moderate, workforce, and bridge income level qualified homeowners. The Program provides priority to purchase available BMR homes to those eligible home buyer households who currently live or work in Marina.

*  Sea Haven Below Market Rate Unit Program

Starting Friday, September 8, 2023 through 11:59 pm Sunday, October 8, 2023, interested purchasers of a Below Market Rate home can submit their interest and qualifications to be included in a lottery to establish the rank order in which potential buyers can purchase a new home in the Sea Haven community.  The rank order list will be used to offer homes for purchase as they are constructed over the next few years.

The steps to for Interested buyers to be included in the lottery to establish the rank order are as follows:

1. Review the Buyer Eligibility Requirements and the Income and Asset Limits below on this webpage. FAQs are also provided at the bottom of this page to assist with your questions. 
2. Learn about the Geographic Preferences Criteria below on this webpage to understand if your household qualifies for Geographic Preference point(s).
3. Interested purchasers that meet the program criteria, must submit their information directly at this website: https://www.liveseahaven.com/neighborhoods/larkspur..  Following submittal of your interest you will receive a short survey you must complete accurately.  Note that inaccurate information submitted may result in an interested purchaser losing the place in the rank order that is established through the lottery described below.

On October 8, 2023 the window to submit interest and complete the survey will close, and a Lottery will be scheduled to determine the rank order that homes will be offered to interested purchasers.  See the section below on Random Drawing process to learn about the Lottery.  The process to purchase a home once it has been offered, is summarized in the Purchasing a Home section below.

Register to be included in the lottery and waiting list.

OPEN HOUSE EVENTS!   

On Sunday October 1 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, all are able to tour homes.  Click here for the location of the homes. Come decide which home best suits your family!

About the Sea Have Homes

Interested purchasers can learn more about the Sea Haven Below Market Rate homes that will be available here.

Initial Prices for the Below Market Rate Homes have been set as described in the table below.. The income group that a household qualifies for is based on the household's income limit it falls under on the table below titled 2023 Income Limits for BMR Homeownership Program.   For example, to be income eligible for a moderate income unit, a household of 4 must have a combined annual income of less than $120,500.  All units sold in this program will have 45-year resale restriction in which units must be sold to buyers that meet the same income qualifications. 

Sea Haven Units will be available in the following income categories/models.  :

Moderate Income Townhome: for households whose combined income is less than 120% of the AMI.  These units will be 953-sf, 2 Bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, with a 1 car garage.   

Workforce Income Townhome: for households whose combined income is less than 135% of the AMI. These units will be 953-sf, 2 Bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, with a 1 car garage.   

Workforce Income Cottage: for households whose combined income is less than 150% of the Area Median Income.  The are two models for these units: 1,000-sf, 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, 1-car garage; or 1,500-sf, 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom, 2-car garage.

Bridge Income Cottage: for households whose combined income is less than 200% of the Area Median Income.  The are two models for these units: 1,500 or 1,700-sf, 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 2-car garage; or 1,900-sf, 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom, 2-car garage.

Sea Haven Below Market Rate Units with Initial Pricing

Purchase a Home

Based on the rank order established by the lottery, applicants will be invited to enter the process outlined in the steps below to purchase.

1. Applicants will be notified of their invitation to be preapproved to purchase home by the Sea Haven Preferred lender.
2. Preapproved applicants will be referred to a third party provider to received City of Marina Below Market Rate Program certification for household eligibility, income, preference points, etc. and will receive buyers education regarding owning a deed restricted home. 
3. Once an applicant is certified as meeting the program requirements, the applicant will obtain financing and the sales team will work with the applicant to purchase the home.
4. Prior to the close of escrow the City will verify all deeds and agreements have been recorded.  
5. New homeowner receives their keys!

Buyer Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be eligible to purchase a BMR home, either individually as Primary Applicant or Co-Applicant(s), or collectively as a Household, as specified herein:

1. Eligible Household - in order to be determined eligible for the BMR Program, the Applicant must demonstrate in its application that it is an Eligible Household and must verify the household composition and other eligibility requirements.
2. Income Qualified Household  - applicants must meet the income limits in effect on the date of their Application for Home Purchase of a BMR home. Current maximum incomes for each income category by household size are described below.

Income & Asset Qualifications 

Applicants must meet the income limits in effect on the date of their Application for Home Purchase of a BMR home. Current maximum incomes for each income category by household size are described in the 2023 Income Limits for BMR Homeownership Program table below.

Definitions of what sources of income and assets are included in total Income and Assets can be found HERE. Income earned  from assets, such as dividends, interest, rental income, etc., is included in the household’s annual income.

Income Limits

The income qualifications for the BMR Program are based on the following standards, which are set annually by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (Official State Income Limits for Monterey County).

Moderate Townhome Income (120%): a household whose combined income is less than 120% of the Area Median Income.
Workforce Townhome Income (135%): a household whose combined income is less than 135% of the Area Median Income.
Workforce Cottage Income (150%): a household whose combined income is less than 150% of the Area Median Income.
Bridge Cottage Income (200%) a household whose combined income is less than 200% of the Area Median Income.

Income limits that correspond with the above categories for 2023 are show in the table below:

To determine if your household qualifies for a BMR homeownership opportunity, you will need to first determine the number of members there are in your household.  Then you add up the gross income for every member of the household, over the age of 18.  Finally based on the number in your household, use the table above to find the income group that your household falls below.  For example, a family of 4 with an annual gross income of $119,000 will qualify for under the Moderate Income group.  A family of 3 with an income of $181,000 does not qualify under any of the income groups as they make above the income limit for a family of 3 for the Bridge Income group.

Asset Limits

The Marina City Council established the BMR program with the goal of achieving a diverse mix of housing types to accommodate a broad range of lifestyles and income levels. BMR units shall be sold only to workforce, bridge, and moderate households. 

Definitions of what sources of income and assets are included in total Income and Assets can be found HERE.  Total household assets are compared to the asset limits using a six-month average of the Household’s total assets according to monthly statements and/or other valuations for each of the six months prior to application date. The six-month average is used to avoid Applicant “asset dumping” (asset liquidation or transfer to other parties) just prior to Program application, in order to meet the asset limits. Assets held in IRS-recognized retirement accounts (401-k’s, IRA’s, etc.) are not included for the purpose of determining whether an Applicant meets the Program asset limits.

 Assets are limited to a maximum value of:

• $150,000 or 20% of the value of the home to be purchased, whichever is higher, for applicants 54 years and younger.
• $175,000 or 20% of the value of the home to be purchased, whichever is higher for applicants over the age of 55.

Geographic Preference Points 

The Program provides a geographic preference (“Priority”) to purchase BMR homes to Applicants with the following Geographic Preferences, in order of Priority:

1. People who work at least thirty-five (35) hours per week in a business or agency with a physical location within the City of Marina.
2. Employees of the City of Marina including reserve police officers and volunteer firefighters who work at least thirty-five (35) hours per week.
3. Public and private educational institution employees that work at least thirty-five (35) hour per week at an educational institution within the City of Marina.
4. People who live in Marina.

One point will be assigned to a household based on each characteristic which will assist in determining the ranking of each applicant to the BMR Waiting List.  Households may qualify for points based on meeting more than one characteristic but may not obtain more than one point for each category for a particular characteristic regardless of the number of household members meeting the particular characteristic.  Under no circumstances will the City of Marina permit discrimination against any applicant or program participant based upon race, color, religion, creed, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, source of income, ancestry, veterans status, or national origin.

Applicants who have been determined by Program staff to qualify for a Geographic Preference will receive First Priority to purchase available BMR homes. Applicant(s) must provide Valid Third-Party Documentation as described in application forms, in their Eligibility Applications to support their request for Priority status.  When there are more qualified applicants than homes available, a random drawing will determine the order in which applicants will be able to purchase a home.

Random Drawing Process

Whenever there is a Waiting List that exceeds the number of available BMR homes at any new development or for a particular home, the sales process shall include a random drawing.

Random Drawing Procedure

Drawings will be held at a location and at a date and time which has been publicly announced.  Applicants will be notified and are free to attend.  The drawing of applications, names or numbers will be conducted by a local elected official or their designee. The results of each of the random drawings become the rank order of applicants on the “Waiting List” for BMR sales.

1. Random Drawing #1 – Applicants Qualifying for Geographic Priority Preference Points

Applicants that are verified to meet the homeownership program eligibility, prequalified for a loan and are verified to meet the criteria of one or more Geographic Preference Points.

1. Applicants are given one point for each preference category(s) the household qualifies for. Households cannot receive more than one point for each preference category.
2. Applicants receive one assigned Lottery number for every point they qualify for (i.e. 2 priority points = two Lottery numbers).
3. On the day of the random drawing, Lottery numbers are pulled. As each number is pulled, City staff record the number and name(s) of the applicant associated with that number, in the order they are drawn to create the rank order. 
1. Random Drawing #2 – Applicants with no No Geographic Priority Preference Points

Applicants that are verified to meet the homeownership program eligibility and have been prequalified for a loan.

1. Each applicant is assigned a Lottery number.
2. On the day of the random drawing, Lottery numbers are pulled.  As each number is pulled, City staff record the number and name(s) of the applicant associated with that number, in the order they are drawn to create the rank order.