Common questions about down payment assistanceFor Texas buyers who need help with the cash to close. Covers Home Sweet Texas, Homes for Texas Heroes, Boost, Aurora, Elevate DPA Grant, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund. Twenty-five of the questions people search and ask AI most often, answered in plain English for Texas. |
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1. What is down payment assistance?
2. Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
3. How much assistance can I get?
4. What is the difference between a grant, a forgivable second, and a repayable second?
5. What is Home Sweet Texas?
6. What is Homes for Texas Heroes?
7. Who counts as a Texas Hero for Homes for Texas Heroes?
8. What credit score do I need for down payment assistance?
9. Are there income limits?
10. Can I use down payment assistance with FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional?
11. What is Boost Down Payment Assistance?
12. What is Aurora?
13. What is the Elevate DPA Grant?
14. What is National DPA?
15. What is Chenoa Fund?
16. Does using down payment assistance raise my interest rate?
17. Can I use the assistance for closing costs, not just the down payment?
18. Do I have to take a homebuyer education class?
19. Can I combine down payment assistance with gift funds?
20. What happens if I sell or refinance in the first few years?
21. Can self-employed borrowers use these programs?
22. Is down payment assistance free money?
23. Can I use DPA on a duplex, condo, or manufactured home?
24. How do I apply, and how long does it take?
25. Why use a mortgage broker for down payment assistance?
What is down payment assistance?
Down payment assistance, or DPA, is extra money that helps cover your down payment, closing costs, or both. It can be a grant, a second loan that is forgiven if you stay in the home, or a second loan you repay. It is not a lower first-mortgage rate by itself, and it is not a gift from the seller.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
Not for the programs we use most. Home Sweet Texas, Homes for Texas Heroes, Boost Down Payment Assistance, Aurora, Elevate DPA Grant, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund are all open to repeat buyers who meet the other rules. A first-time buyer is often someone who has not owned in the last three years. That first-time test still matters for a Mortgage Credit Certificate.
How much assistance can I get?
It depends on the program and the price. Home Sweet Texas and Homes for Texas Heroes typically offer 2%, 3%, 4%, or 5% of the first-mortgage amount. Boost, Aurora, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund often land around 3.5% to 5% of the price or appraised value, whichever is less. Elevate DPA Grant is typically 2% or 3.5% on FHA, and 1%, 2%, or 3% on conventional. We will run the live amount on your file. These percentages change, so treat them as typical, not a promise.
What is the difference between a grant, a forgivable second, and a repayable second?
A grant is not a second mortgage. You usually do not repay it. A forgivable second sits behind your first mortgage, often at 0% with no monthly payment, and goes away after you make on-time payments or stay in the home for a set period. A repayable second has a payment or comes due later. If you sell or refinance before the forgiveness period ends, you typically pay the second back.
What is Home Sweet Texas?
Home Sweet Texas is a Texas homebuyer program that pairs a 30-year fixed first mortgage with down payment assistance. It is for buyers who meet county income limits and a typical 620 credit score. You do not have to work in a hero profession. Assistance can be a grant or a 3-year deferred forgivable second lien, usually 2% to 5% of the loan amount. Repeat buyers can use it.
What is Homes for Texas Heroes?
Homes for Texas Heroes is the same kind of loan and assistance as Home Sweet Texas, for people in qualifying hero jobs. Teachers and other listed public-school educators, police and public security officers, firefighters, EMS, veterans and active military, corrections officers, and nursing or allied health faculty. Income limits are often a little higher than Home Sweet Texas in the same county. Assistance is still typically 2% to 5% as a grant or a 3-year forgivable second.
Who counts as a Texas Hero for Homes for Texas Heroes?
Typical qualifying jobs are full-time public-school teachers, teacher aides, librarians, counselors, and nurses; police and public security officers; firefighters and EMS; veterans or active military; correction and juvenile correction officers; and nursing or allied health faculty. Private-school teachers and many hospital nurses are not automatically in. If your job is close, we will check the current list instead of guessing.
What credit score do I need for down payment assistance?
Home Sweet Texas and Homes for Texas Heroes typically want a 620 score on government loans, and often 640 on the conventional version. Boost and Aurora can go lower on FHA, often into the high 500s. National DPA and Chenoa Fund typically start around 600. Those floors are program overlays, not a federal law. Higher scores still price better.
Are there income limits?
Home Sweet Texas and Homes for Texas Heroes yes: household income has to fit a county limit, and targeted areas can be higher. We will check Williamson, Travis, and the rest of the Austin MSA against the current chart. Boost, Aurora, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund typically have no area-median-income cap. Elevate DPA Grant is aimed at low-to-moderate income buyers. Do not assume you earn too much until we run the right program.
Can I use down payment assistance with FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional?
Often yes, but not every combo. Home Sweet Texas and Homes for Texas Heroes work with FHA, VA, USDA, and HFA conventional. The grant version is typically for government loans; the 3-year forgivable second can be used with conventional too. Boost is typically FHA and USDA. Elevate DPA Grant is FHA and conventional. National DPA and Chenoa Fund are FHA programs. VA buyers with full entitlement often do not need DPA for the down payment, but they can still use it for costs if the program allows.
What is Boost Down Payment Assistance?
Boost Down Payment Assistance is a second-lien program used mainly with FHA and USDA purchases. Funds can cover down payment, closing costs, or both. One version is a 0% second with no monthly payment that can be forgiven after a stretch of on-time first-mortgage payments. Another version is a repayable second. Non-occupant co-borrowers are often allowed. It is typically not limited to first-time buyers.
What is Aurora?
Aurora is another second-lien down payment assistance option, usually paired with FHA. Like Boost, it can be structured as a forgivable second or a repayable second, and it is often used when a family member is a non-occupant co-borrower. Primary residences only. We will price Aurora next to Boost and tell you which one actually fits.
What is the Elevate DPA Grant?
Elevate DPA Grant is a grant, not a second mortgage. Typical amounts are 2% or 3.5% on FHA and 1%, 2%, or 3% on conventional, for a primary-home purchase. There is no second lien to release later. Some grant rules recapture the money if you pay the first mortgage off in the first few months. First-time and repeat buyers can use it.
What is National DPA?
National DPA is an FHA purchase program that can cover about 3.5% to 5% of the price or appraised value, whichever is less. It typically has no income cap and no first-time-buyer rule. Scores can go as low as about 600. Help can be a 3-year forgivable second or a repayable second. 2-1 buydowns and manufactured homes are often allowed. Texas is eligible.
What is Chenoa Fund?
Chenoa Fund is FHA down payment assistance of 3.5% or 5% of the lower of price or value. There are typically no income limits, no first-time-buyer rule, and no minimum cash you have to bring. It can be a 0% forgivable second with no monthly payment after a stretch of on-time first-mortgage payments, or a repayable second. High-balance FHA has extra limits on the 5% forgivable option.
Does using down payment assistance raise my interest rate?
Often yes. The first-mortgage rate on a DPA loan is commonly higher than a regular FHA or conventional rate with your own cash down. That is how the assistance is paid for. We will show the payment with DPA and the payment if you bring more cash, so you can see which is cheaper over time. The lowest cash-to-close is not always the cheapest loan.
Can I use the assistance for closing costs, not just the down payment?
Usually yes. Home Sweet Texas, Homes for Texas Heroes, Boost, Aurora, Elevate DPA Grant, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund all typically allow funds toward down payment, closing costs, or prepaid items. FHA still has a 3.5% minimum investment that DPA can cover. Leftover cash at closing is not the goal. The Loan Estimate shows where the money actually goes.
Do I have to take a homebuyer education class?
Home Sweet Texas and Homes for Texas Heroes yes, before closing, from an approved course. Some FHA DPA files also want counseling if the score is lower. Budget a few hours online, not a week of class. We will send the exact course so you do not pay for the wrong one.
Can I combine down payment assistance with gift funds?
Often yes. A documented gift and DPA can sit on the same file if the program allows it. We still need a gift letter and proof of the transfer. Some programs have no minimum contribution from you. Others like to see a little of your own money. Tell us about any gift before you move it.
What happens if I sell or refinance in the first few years?
Grants usually stay grants, with a possible recapture if you pay the loan off very quickly. A Home Sweet Texas or Homes for Texas Heroes 3-year forgivable second is typically due in full if you sell, refinance, or stop living there before year three, then forgiven if you stay. Boost, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund forgiveness is usually tied to a run of on-time first-mortgage payments. A late payment can reset the clock. Ask us to read your second-lien note before you list or refinance.
Can self-employed borrowers use these programs?
Yes, if the income calculation supports the first mortgage. Home Sweet Texas and Homes for Texas Heroes still use tax-return income, so heavy write-offs can knock you out of the income cap or the qualifying number. Boost, Aurora, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund follow FHA income rules on the first lien. A bank-statement first mortgage is a different product and usually does not pair with these DPA seconds.
Is down payment assistance free money?
Sometimes it acts like it. A true grant, or a second that is fully forgiven, can feel like free money at the closing table. You still pay for it in a higher first-mortgage rate, in FHA mortgage insurance, and in rules about selling or refinancing. It is a tool, not a prize. We will not put you in DPA if bringing 3.5% of your own cash is clearly cheaper.
Can I use DPA on a duplex, condo, or manufactured home?
Primary residence only for all of these. Home Sweet Texas and Homes for Texas Heroes follow the first-mortgage property rules. Boost and Aurora often allow 1–4 units and some manufactured homes. National DPA commonly allows single-family, townhomes, condos, and manufactured. Condos still need project approval. Investment property and vacation homes are out.
How do I apply, and how long does it take?
Start with us, not with a random city website. We match you to Home Sweet Texas, Homes for Texas Heroes, Boost, Aurora, Elevate DPA Grant, National DPA, or Chenoa Fund, then run one first mortgage. Education certificates and second-lien docs can add a few days. Plan on a normal 21 to 45 day close, not a weekend special. Income limits and funds can change, so we lock the program that is live that week.
Why use a mortgage broker for down payment assistance?
These programs do not all live at one bank, and the overlays differ. One shop’s 5% forgivable second is another’s 3.5% repayable. We compare Home Sweet Texas, Homes for Texas Heroes, Boost, Aurora, Elevate DPA Grant, National DPA, and Chenoa Fund on the same file and pick the one that actually gets you to the closing table. You still work with one loan officer in Leander.
Have Questions?
Online answers get you oriented. A quick conversation gets you numbers for your file. Call 512-784-4391, ask a professional, or apply now.
This page is for general education. It is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Eligibility, rates, costs, and terms depend on credit, income, property, occupancy, loan program, and underwriting. Equal Housing Opportunity. Licensed by the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending.
