Find Down Payment Money Today 

For eligible home buyers, our down payment assistance tool can help you to secure your down payment money faster, cover closing costs, and get into your new home sooner. 

Four Main Homeownership Program Types: 

1. Down payment & Closing Cost Assistance
2. Grants
3. Second Mortgages
4. Combined First Mortgage & Down Payment Programs

5 Ways You Can Benefit From Down Payment Programs

1. Helps you purchase a home sooner: down payment programs provide grants (gifts) or forgivable loans that help with your down payment and closing costs.
2. Helps offset FHA premiums and mortgage insurance.
3. Helps community service employees live close to their job: police officers, firefighters and educators, healthcare providers.
4. Gives you an important cash cushion.
5. Provides valuable homeownership education. 

A conventional mortgage or conventional loan is any type of home buyer’s loan that is not offered or secured by a government entity.

Instead, conventional mortgages are available through private lenders, such as banks, credit unions, and mortgage companies. Generally, conventional mortgages and loans have a higher FICO score requirement.

Generally, sponsored or guaranteed loans require a lower FICO score.

FHA / Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac

Cal FHA, State of California only

VA Home Loans (100% finance)

Note: Lenders may require down payment for some borrowers using the VA home loan guaranty, but the Veterans Administration does not require a down payment.

A jumbo loan, also known as a jumbo mortgage, is a type of financing that exceeds the limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

The value of a jumbo mortgage varies by state—and even county. The FHFA sets the conforming loan limit size for different areas on an annual basis. The baseline conforming loan limit for 2022 is $647,200 – up from $548,250 in 2021.

According to the FHA, the lowest FICO score possible to qualify for a house loan is 580, though generally speaking any score below 620 will make the purchasing process difficult.

As the housing market is always changing, it’s best to work on your credit about a year in advance of your property search. This means that your FICO score will improve in time for applying for credit. 

The FHA minimum requirements are such that the lender may “add” higher standards (not lower ones) at their discretion, within “reasonable and customary” for that type of loan in that housing market.

Although the FHA says borrowers who have FICO scores between 500 and 579 could qualify for an FHA mortgage with a 10% down payment, it’s up to the lender to decide whether a borrower with a 500 credit score is worth the financial risk of extending credit to.

Borrowers with FICO scores at 580 or higher may technically qualify for an FHA mortgage with the lowest down payment possible (3.5%), but again, it is left to the lender to decide what FICO scores in this range are worth extending the most competitive interest rates and other terms to.