The city of Sunnyvale reopened the waiting list for the Below-Market-Rate Home Ownership Program on Feb. 1. The BMR assists local families in buying their first home.

To be eligible for the BMR program, applicants must live or work in Sunnyvale and have a "moderate" income for their house size. For a family of four, a moderate income is anything between $73,850 and $126,600.

Every two or three years, the city opens or closes the waiting list depending on availability of BMR houses. Currently there are 180 such units in existence in Sunnyvale, with 40 more to be built in the next two years.

The program was created in 1985 by the city council to require residential developers with projects of nine or more units to set aside 12.5 percent of the units to be sold to moderate-income families at reduced prices.

To be eligible for the BMR program, a buyer must present evidence of eligibility as well as participate in educational programs before and after the purchase.

Applications are available at Sunnyvale City Hall, 456 West Olive Ave., the Sunnyvale Public Library at 665 West Olive Ave. or on the city's website, www.sunnyvale.ca.gov. For more information, call 408.730.7456.

Applications are due at city hall by 4 p.m. on March 1.