HOMES WITHIN RANGE NEW BUYERS TO TAP $90-MILLION LOAN POOL.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

Low to moderate income residents buying a home for the first time in Los Angeles and Orange counties will have access to a $90 million pool of low interest loans, officials said Wednesday.

That's about enough money to put 560 families in the two-county area into their own homes.

About 40 mortgage lenders in the two counties have access to the funds.

The pool of money was created when Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages, bought a bond issue put together by the city of Los Angeles and the two counties.

This is the region's largest loan pool created by this type of a joint issue. The second largest was a $50 million loan pool created last year, said Barbara Zeidman, director of the Los Angeles Partnership Office of JFannie Mae.

The bonds will fund 15- to 30-year fixed rate mortgages at below market interest rates as low as 7.2 percent.

That's well below the current interest rate of 8.5 percent for a 30-year loan, she said.

The financing program was announced by Democratic Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard and Los Angeles City Councilman Nick Pacheco, chairman of the Housing and Community Redevelopment Committee.

``Home ownership strengthens entire communities, and initiatives like this one can provide the catalyst for neighborhood revitalization throughout Los Angeles,'' he said.

First-time buyers are considered anyone who has not had their name on a home title in the last three years.

The funds are available to residents earning no more than 120 percent of the median income in their community. Those levels vary according to family size.

Officials said that home shoppers should check with their real estate agents to see if they qualify or call the Fannie Mae consumer center at [phone].

This announcement comes at an opportune time, since prices in the San Fernando Valley are rising, making it tougher for first-time buyers to afford single family homes.

These kinds of programs typically expand purchasing power rather than drive sales.

For example, since interest rates are lower that those for conventional loan, consumers will be about to buy more house for their money.

But both things could happen now.

``It opens up the window of what you can afford,'' said Jim Link, executive vice president of the Van Nuys-based Southland Regional Association of Realtors. ``This year its going to be interesting to watch. We've had such high appreciation in prices this might spur a little more activity for the first-time buyers.''