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Fidelity Residential home
Down payment assistance

Down payment assistance: help with the money you bring to closing.

Assistance programs can cover some or all of your down payment and, in some programs, closing costs. The help is usually a second loan with its own terms. See the programs we work with and estimate what you may be eligible for.

Prefer to talk? Call 732-686-9999

  • Direct, licensed mortgage lender
  • NMLS #103098
  • Equal Housing Lender

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Fidelity Residential · NMLS #103098 · Equal Housing Lender

  • Direct, licensed lenderNMLS #103098. Check our licences on NMLS Consumer Access.
  • A licensed loan officerA real person checks which program fits and answers your questions.
  • For the home you live inAssistance is for buying your main home.
  • Your answers, then your estimateYour answers stay in your browser until you ask for your estimate.
The basics

What down payment assistance is

Down payment assistance is money from a housing agency or a program that works with government agencies, used toward the cash you need to buy a home. You still take a regular first mortgage; the assistance comes with it at the same closing.

In most programs the assistance is a second loan, recorded behind your first mortgage. It is not free money: it is either repaid or, if you meet the program’s conditions, forgiven.

Each program has its own rules on credit, income, the price of the home, the type of first mortgage and where you buy. The estimator below checks the main ones for you.

Three things to know

  • Usually a second loan, with its own terms, signed at closing with your first mortgage
  • Forgivable or repayable: some are forgiven after a set time in the home; others are paid back monthly, or when you sell or refinance
  • Some cover closing costs too, not only the down payment
Estimator

Estimate what you may be eligible for

Answer each question; where you are not sure, choose “Not sure”. Then tell us who you are, and you get a “may fit”, “ask us” or “probably not” for each program, with the reasons. New Jersey programs are shown for information.

The estimator needs JavaScript. Call us at 732-686-9999 and a loan officer will check the programs with you.

Programs

Down payment assistance programs we work with

The key public rules, in plain words. Each program sets its own full rules, and its funding can change.

Available in most states

FHA · forgivable or repayable

Chenoa Fund

For buyers using an FHA loan who want help with the down payment and closing costs. Available in most states.

  • 3.5% or 5% of the price (or the appraised value, if lower)
  • Minimum credit score 600; no income limit; not only for first-time buyers
  • Forgivable option: forgiven after 36 on-time payments in a row on the first mortgage
  • Repayable option: paid back monthly
  • A homebuyer education course if your score is under 640
  • One- and two-unit homes, including manufactured homes
Chenoa Fund’s site (opens in a new tab)
FHA · forgivable or repayable

Arrive Home

For FHA buyers who want help with the down payment and closing costs, with no income limit.

  • Forgivable: 3.5% of the price (or the appraised value, if lower), which can be forgiven, on request, after 36 on-time payments in a row on the first mortgage
  • Repayable: 3.5% or 5% of the price (or the appraised value, if lower), paid back monthly
  • Minimum credit score 600; no income limit; not only for first-time buyers
  • One- and two-unit homes; a manufactured home needs a score of at least 620 and cannot be single-wide
FHA · forgivable or repayable

National Homebuyers Fund

For FHA buyers who want help that can be forgiven after three years in the home. Run by a non-profit public benefit corporation.

  • Forgivable: up to 3.5% of the price (or the appraised value, if lower), forgiven after three years if you still live in the home and have not sold or refinanced
  • Repayable: up to 3.5% or 5% of the price (or the appraised value, if lower), paid back monthly
  • Minimum credit score 600; not only for first-time buyers
  • One buyer takes a homebuyer education course
  • One- and two-unit homes, condos and manufactured homes that are not single-wide; co-ops are not eligible
  • Not offered in Washington; see the Washington program below
  • Through us, it is for FHA loans to buy a home. The program’s own site also describes other options that we do not offer through it.
National Homebuyers Fund’s site (opens in a new tab)

Nevada

FHA, VA, USDA or conventional · repaid when you sell

Home Is Possible

From the Nevada Housing Division, for first-time and repeat buyers anywhere in Nevada.

  • Up to 5% of the loan amount toward the down payment or closing costs
  • A second loan with no monthly payments, repaid when you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage or move out
  • Income of the buyers and their spouses up to $165,000, and a home price up to $832,750
  • Minimum credit score 640 (680 for manufactured homes, which cannot be single-wide); every buyer takes a homebuyer education course
Home Is Possible’s site (opens in a new tab)
FHA, VA or USDA · repaid when you sell

Home Is Possible for First-Time Homebuyers

For buyers who have not owned a home in the past three years (with exceptions in targeted areas and for some veterans).

  • Up to 4% of the loan amount toward the down payment and closing costs
  • A second loan that is not forgiven, with no monthly payments; repaid when you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage or move out
  • Income and price limits set by county
  • Minimum credit score 640 (680 for manufactured homes, which cannot be single-wide); a homebuyer education course
Program details (opens in a new tab)
Teachers · forgivable

Home Is Possible for Teachers

For licensed full-time K-12 public school classroom teachers in Nevada. Available through December 31, 2026.

  • $7,500 toward the down payment and closing costs, forgiven a little each month over five years in the home
  • Income of the buyers and their spouses up to $165,000, and a home price up to $832,750
  • Minimum credit score 640 (680 for manufactured homes, which cannot be single-wide); no first-time buyer rule
Program details (opens in a new tab)
Essential workers · repaid when you sell

Worker Advantage

For people working full time in health care, education, public safety or construction jobs the program lists, who have lived in Nevada for at least six months.

  • $20,000 toward the down payment and closing costs, or partly toward buying down the first mortgage’s rate
  • A second loan that is not forgiven, with no monthly payments; repaid when you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage or move out
  • Income limits by county and a home price up to $806,500
  • Minimum credit score 640 (680 for manufactured homes, which cannot be single-wide); no first-time buyer rule, but no other property owned; not for past Home Is Possible users
Program details (opens in a new tab)

New Jersey

New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) programs are offered only through lenders that NJHMFA approves as participating lenders. Fidelity Residential is not an NJHMFA participating lender at this time, so we cannot offer these programs yet. We list them so you know they exist; NJHMFA can pair you with a participating lender.

With an NJHMFA first mortgage · forgivable

NJHMFA Down Payment Assistance

For first-time buyers of a main home anywhere in New Jersey.

  • $15,000 or $10,000, depending on the county, toward the down payment and closing costs
  • No monthly payments; forgiven after five years if you keep living in the home and do not refinance or sell
  • Household income and price limits by county; first-time means no home owned in the past three years
  • Used with an NJHMFA first mortgage
NJHMFA’s site (opens in a new tab)
Added to the assistance · forgivable

NJHMFA First Generation Homebuyer

For first-time buyers whose parents or guardians own no home or other residential property, or anyone who has ever been in foster care in New Jersey.

  • $7,000 more on top of the down payment assistance: $17,000 to $22,000 in all, depending on the county
  • Forgiven after five years if you keep living in the home and do not refinance or sell
  • Used with an NJHMFA first mortgage and the down payment assistance
NJHMFA’s site (opens in a new tab)
FHA, VA or USDA first mortgage

NJHMFA First-Time Homebuyer Mortgage

A fixed-rate, government-insured first mortgage for first-time buyers, which can be paired with the down payment assistance.

  • Income and price limits by county and household size
  • In an Urban Target Area, the limits are higher, and buyers there do not need to be first-time buyers (but may not own another main home at closing)
  • One- to four-unit homes when you live in one unit
Check for an Urban Target Area (opens in a new tab)
FHA, VA or USDA first mortgage

NJHMFA Homeward Bound

A fixed-rate, government-insured first mortgage for first-time buyers, with its own income limits by county, which can be paired with the down payment assistance.

  • Income limits by county, the same for every household size
  • First-time means no home owned in the past three years
NJHMFA’s site (opens in a new tab)
Conventional first mortgage

NJHMFA HFA Advantage

A fixed-rate conventional first mortgage from NJHMFA, which can be paired with the down payment assistance.

  • Minimum credit score 620; income limits by county, the same for every household size
  • The first-time buyer rule applies when it is used with the down payment assistance
NJHMFA’s site (opens in a new tab)
Police and firefighters

Police and Firemen’s Retirement System Mortgage

A purchase loan for active members of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System with at least one year of service. It is a first mortgage, not down payment assistance.

  • One- or two-family homes and condominiums in New Jersey
  • No first-time buyer rule
  • It cannot be combined with NJHMFA’s down payment assistance
NJHMFA’s site (opens in a new tab)

Michigan

FHA, conventional or USDA · repaid when you sell

MSHDA MI 10K DPA Loan

From the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, with its MI Home Loan, for buyers within its income and price limits.

  • Up to $10,000 toward the down payment (with an FHA or conventional loan), closing costs and prepaid items
  • No monthly payments; repaid when you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage or move out
  • Minimum credit score 640; first-time buyers, except in MSHDA’s targeted areas
  • You put in at least 1% of the price and take a homebuyer education class
MSHDA’s site (opens in a new tab)

Washington

FHA · forgivable or repayable

Washington FHA assistance

For FHA buyers in Washington, where the National Homebuyers Fund is not offered.

  • Forgivable: up to 3.5% of the price (or the appraised value, if lower), forgiven after three years if you still live in the home and have not sold or refinanced
  • Repayable: up to 3.5% or 5% of the price (or the appraised value, if lower), paid back monthly
  • Minimum credit score 600; not only for first-time buyers
  • One buyer takes a homebuyer education course
  • One- and two-unit homes, condos and manufactured homes that are not single-wide; co-ops are not eligible
How it works

How down payment assistance works with us

  1. Talk and get a quote

    A loan officer reviews your income, savings, credit and price range, and which programs fit the home and the area.

  2. Apply once

    You apply for the first mortgage and the assistance together. Because the assistance is a loan, you get its own loan estimate.

  3. Reserve the assistance

    The loan is registered with the program, which confirms its funding before closing. Take the education course if your program asks for one.

  4. Close

    You sign the first mortgage and the assistance at the same closing. Afterwards, follow your program’s rules for repayment or forgiveness.

Questions

Common questions about down payment assistance

Is down payment assistance free money?

No. It is usually a second loan. Some programs forgive it after you meet their conditions, such as living in the home for a set time; others are paid back monthly, or when you sell or refinance.

Do I have to be a first-time buyer?

Not always. Chenoa Fund, Arrive Home, the National Homebuyers Fund, the Washington program and several Nevada programs have no first-time buyer rule. MSHDA and most NJHMFA programs are for first-time buyers, with some exceptions.

What happens if I sell or refinance early?

In most programs, whatever has not been forgiven or paid off is repaid when you sell or refinance. Your loan officer explains your program’s rules before you sign.

Can I combine assistance with a gift from family?

Often, yes. Several programs allow a documented gift alongside their assistance. Each program sets its own rules, so ask us before you plan on it.

Is the estimate on this page a decision?

No. It is an estimate from what you entered and the programs’ published rules. The program and underwriting decide final eligibility, and program funding and terms can change.

Do you lend in my state?

Fidelity Residential is licensed in many states. The full, current list is on NMLS Consumer Access (opens in a new tab), or call us at 732-686-9999.

How FHA loans work · Buying a home

Ready to talk about down payment assistance?

Get a quote, apply online, or talk it through with a licensed loan officer.

This page is general information, not a commitment to lend. Programs, terms and eligibility depend on credit, income, property and underwriting review and are subject to change without notice.