If you used a CalHFA loan to buy your home in Roseville, you likely have a first mortgage plus one or more assistance loans sitting behind it — a MyHome deferred loan, a Dream For All shared appreciation loan, a ZIP loan, or some combination of these. When you bought, the focus was on getting into the home. Now you’re thinking about selling, refinancing, or moving — and the question is: what happens to those assistance loans?
The short answer is they get repaid. But how much you repay depends on which program you used, and the details matter a lot — especially with Dream For All, where what you owe at payoff can look very different depending on how much your home has appreciated.
Here’s a clear breakdown of exactly what happens with each CalHFA program when you sell your Roseville home.
What Triggers Repayment on a CalHFA Assistance Loan?
Regardless of which CalHFA assistance program you used, the same events trigger repayment:
- You sell the home
- You refinance your first mortgage
- You pay off the first mortgage
- You transfer title
- The home is no longer your primary residence
As long as none of these things happen, your CalHFA assistance loans stay in the background with no monthly payment required. The moment one of these events occurs, the balance becomes due.
If You Used MyHome Assistance: What You’ll Owe
MyHome is the simpler of the two main CalHFA assistance programs when it comes to repayment. It’s a deferred silent second loan — meaning you borrowed a set amount (up to 3.5% of the purchase price), and you repay that exact amount plus a small amount of accrued interest when the loan is triggered.
MyHome accrues simple interest at 1% per year on the balance. There is no shared appreciation — the amount you repay is fixed regardless of how much your home has gone up in value.
Example: You bought a Roseville home for $650,000 and received $22,750 in MyHome Assistance (3.5%). You sell seven years later. Your repayment would be the $22,750 principal plus seven years of 1% simple interest — roughly $1,593 in interest — for a total of approximately $24,343. Your home’s appreciation has no effect on this number.
For most Roseville sellers, MyHome repayment is a manageable, predictable cost that comes out of the sale proceeds at closing — similar to paying off a second mortgage.
If You Used Dream For All: What You’ll Owe
Dream For All works very differently from MyHome, and this is the program where sellers need to think carefully before selling or refinancing.
Dream For All is a shared appreciation loan. CalHFA provided up to 20% of your purchase price (maximum $150,000) with no monthly payments — but when you sell, you repay the original loan amount plus a percentage of your home’s appreciation during your ownership.
The standard repayment share is 20% of appreciation. However, if you were at or below 80% of the Area Median Income at the time you received the loan, your share is reduced to 15%.
Example: You bought a Roseville home for $700,000 and received $140,000 (20%) through Dream For All. You sell five years later for $900,000 — a $200,000 gain. Your repayment would be $140,000 (original principal) plus $40,000 (20% of $200,000 appreciation) — a total of $180,000 owed to CalHFA at closing. You keep the remaining $580,000 in equity.
A few important details:
- If your home depreciates, you still owe the original principal — but no appreciation share is owed on top of it
- There is a cap: the maximum total repayment is capped at 2.5 times the original loan amount, which protects against extreme appreciation scenarios
- You can make voluntary payments on the principal at any time with no prepayment penalty — but payments only reduce the principal and don’t affect the appreciation share
- Paying off the principal in full triggers immediate repayment of the appreciation portion as well
If You Used ZIP: What You’ll Owe
ZIP (Zero Interest Program) is a deferred loan used to cover closing costs, typically paired with a CalPLUS first mortgage. As the name suggests, it carries 0% interest — meaning you repay exactly the amount you borrowed, nothing more, when the loan is triggered at sale or refinance.
For most Roseville sellers, ZIP repayment is a small, straightforward payoff that’s handled at the close of escrow.
What Happens If You Want to Refinance Instead of Sell?
If you want to refinance your first mortgage — to get a lower rate, remove mortgage insurance, or access equity — your CalHFA assistance loans become due at the time of refinance, since paying off the first mortgage is a trigger event.
However, there is an important exception for Dream For All borrowers: CalHFA allows a one-time resubordination of the Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan for the life of the loan, allowing you to refinance your first mortgage without triggering full repayment of the shared appreciation loan. A non-refundable resubordination fee of $400 applies. This means Dream For All borrowers have one opportunity to refinance and keep the assistance in place — something worth factoring into your long-term financial planning.
MyHome loans do not have the same resubordination flexibility — a refinance on your first mortgage triggers repayment of the MyHome balance, including accrued interest.
Will CalHFA Repayment Affect Your Net Proceeds?
For most Roseville sellers, yes — but the math usually still works strongly in your favor.
Consider that without CalHFA assistance, many buyers would not have been able to purchase in Roseville at all, or would have purchased a smaller home, or would have waited years longer to save for a down payment during which time home prices continued to rise. The assistance essentially allowed earlier entry into the market, and the appreciation that triggers higher Dream For All repayment is also the same appreciation that built your equity.
That said, sellers who are planning to sell within a short timeframe — two to three years — should think carefully before using Dream For All specifically, since short hold times mean less appreciation to share but the full original loan amount is still owed immediately.
Practical Steps When You’re Ready to Sell
If you have CalHFA assistance loans and are preparing to sell your Roseville home, here’s what to do:
- Contact your loan servicer to request a payoff statement for your first mortgage and any CalHFA assistance loans
- For Dream For All, request a payoff quote from CalHFA directly — the shared appreciation calculation is based on the actual sale price when sold on the open market
- Share the payoff figures with your real estate agent so they can factor them into your net proceeds calculation
- Work with your escrow company to ensure all CalHFA liens are properly paid off and released at closing
Your Roseville mortgage lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor can also help you run the numbers before you list, so you know exactly what to expect at closing.
Common Questions From Roseville CalHFA Homeowners
Can I sell my Roseville home anytime if I have a CalHFA loan?
Yes — there are no minimum hold periods or restrictions on when you can sell. The CalHFA assistance simply gets repaid from your sale proceeds at closing.
What if my home sells for less than I paid?
With MyHome, you still owe the original principal plus accrued interest. With Dream For All, you owe the original principal but no appreciation share if the home didn’t appreciate. If the sale proceeds aren’t enough to cover the balance, that’s a situation to discuss with your servicer and a housing counselor as early as possible.
Does the listing agent or buyer need to know about my CalHFA loans?
Your CalHFA assistance loans are recorded liens on the property, so they’ll appear in the title search. Escrow will handle the payoffs at closing — it’s a standard part of the process.
Can a buyer assume my CalHFA loan?
CalHFA subordinate loans combined with an FHA first mortgage are assumable. All other CalHFA subordinate loans must be paid off prior to the assumption or as part of the assumption process. This is worth discussing with your lender if the buyer is interested in assuming your loan.
Have Questions About Your Specific CalHFA Situation?
Every Roseville homeowner’s situation is different — the program you used, how long you’ve been in the home, and what you’re planning next all affect what selling or refinancing looks like for you.
The JJ Mack Team is a local Roseville mortgage lender that works with CalHFA borrowers throughout Roseville and Placer County and can help you understand your specific payoff obligations before you make any decisions. Reach out for a free consultation — whether you’re thinking about selling next month or just planning ahead.
Contact us or fill out the form below to get started.