You may have seen the recent story written by my colleague, Jenni Mintz, about how some people are jumping back into the market as home prices fall.

If not, here's a link to the story:

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008 /jul/13/navigating-the-housing-market- falling-prices-out/

My husband and I are renters keeping our eyes closely on what is going on in today's market. So I've been tucking away all sorts of ideas for when we finally decide the market and our lives are ready for us to buy.

Toward that end, I found the list with Jenni's story very helpful and wanted to share it again here.

Here are some of the different programs she dug up:

CAL HOME Program: Offered through the city of Oxnard's Affordable Housing and Rehabilitation Program. Provides loans up to $25,000, with 3 percent simple interest, payable in 30 years or upon refinancing, sale or transfer of the property's title. Restricted to low-income Oxnard residents who are first-time buyers. For more information, call 385-7400.

Homebuyer's Assistance Program: A matching grant of up to $10,000 for a down payment or closing costs is offered through the city of Oxnard's Affordable Housing and Rehabilitation Program. The term is five years if the grant is $5,000 or less, and 10 years if it is more than $5,000. The grant will be forgiven at the end of the term. If the property is sold before the term, the city must be reimbursed. Only Oxnard residents and first-time buyers can qualify. For more information, call 385-7400.

CalHFA Homeownership Mortgage Loan Program: Discounted interest rate on first mortgage to first-time homebuyers.

CalHFA Housing Assistance Program: Provides a silent second, which buyer doesn't pay until the first mortgage is paid off. Provides down payment assistance equal to 3 percent of the sales price.

CalHFA High Cost Area Purchase Assistance: Provides a $25,000 silent second for down payment in extreme high cost areas.

California Homebuyer's Downpayment Assistance Program: Provides down payment and/or closing cost assistance equal to 3 percent of the sales price.

American Dream Downpayment Initiative: Down payment assistance of 6 percent of the sales price or $10,000, whichever is greater.

Nehemiah Loan Program: Will gift up to 3 percent of the final sales price for the down payment, allowing buyers to purchase with no down payment when combined with an FHA loan. This program requires the assistance of the seller.

Herocare: Offers discounted fees for lenders, title companies and real estate companies for qualifying buyers, including firefighters, nurses and police officers. Teachers can receive more assistance — up to 4 percent of the purchase price, plus an additional 3 percent for the down payment.

Housing Action Resource Trust (HART): Will gift up to $15,000 to homebuyers for down payment and closing costs. Homebuyer will need to come up with 1 percent of sales price. Requires the participation of the seller.

— For more information on other programs, go to http://lenderswhocare.org or http://fha-home-loans.com.

There are other resources for looking at homes. Here are a couple I find interesting.

Move.com: This site lets you set your parameters (price, attached or detached, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, location, etc.) and then hunts down the homes listed on the MLS that meet those parameters. It's a pretty user-friendly function. After you click on one of the listings, check out the feature where you can change the assumptions on your estimated monthly payment.

And the site's not just for home browsing. Move.com also has information for renting, moving and even home and garden.

Zillow.com: If you own a home, you probably already know this site. If you don't, you might have checked it out to see how prices look in the neighborhoods where you're looking. Zillow gives you a tool to see what homes are selling for along with a brief description.

And, just for the heck of it, those of you already in a home can post a "Make Me Move" price that says just how much it would take to get you to start packing.

I'm sure those of you out there house-hunting or just keeping an eye on the market have other resources you like to use. If so, please share them.

As always, if you have questions, please send them my way at abruce@VenturaCountyStar.com.