FHA Loan in California when Exceeding Income Limit (Bay Area)

[Tim McGarvey]

I'm running into a potential issue while researching FHA loan requirements for the "Down payment Assistance" program that allows a first-time home buyer to purchase at 3.5% down. With my current job, I'm slightly exceeding the FHA Income Limit to qualify for my current and nearby counties. Part of the issue is that I am young (less than 3 years out of college) and have not had to time to save enough for a convectional loan down payment in this area (20% of $500,000 = $100,000) plus rents are so high in the area so it's a bit of a Catch 22. I can't afford the down payment because I'm making too much money to afford qualifying to pay less for it. It's frustrating that seemingly every program in place, taxes, etc are punishing me for excelling my career quickly at a young age (but I'll save the rest of that rant for another time).

Anyone run into a similar situation? Is there any flexibility around these types of limits?