Down payment grants: which ones you never repay
The calculator separates true grants from loans that are only forgiven if you keep the home long enough.
Help you may get in Fairfax County
$22,500
Virginia Housing Plus Second Mortgage: monthly-payment loan. 0 programs likely fit, 2 to check.
| Your income vs. area median for 3 people | 74% |
| HUD 80% income limit, 3 people | $96,150 |
| Down payment at 3% | $13,500 |
| Cash still needed with the help | $0 |
| Monthly payment, no help | $3,022 |
| Monthly payment, with the help | $3,022 |
| FHA limit · conforming limit | $1,249,125 · $1,249,125 |
Programs read on the Virginia Housing pages; HUD FY 2026 limits; payment = principal and interest over 30 years at 7.4% (Freddie Mac, October 15, 2026). The approved lender confirms eligibility.
| Program | Fit | Amount | Form | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Housing Plus Second Mortgage | Check with the agency | $22,500 | Monthly-payment loan | county income limit not transcribed: see the agency table; price limit by county: see the agency table |
| Virginia Housing Down Payment Assistance Grant | Check with the agency | $9,000 | Grant, never repaid | county income limit not transcribed: see the agency table; price limit by county: see the agency table |
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · updated: HUD 2026 limits effective May 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac rate of October 15, 2026 · programs read on October 21, 2026
A down payment grant is money you never repay, whatever you do with the home. Very few state programs are grants in that strict sense: among the 14 grant-like programs we read, 2 are true grants and 12 are forgivable loans, recorded as a lien and cancelled only after a set number of years in the home. Virginia Housing's grant pays 2% of the lesser of sales price or appraised value with a conventional bond loan, 2.5% with an FHA bond loan; down payment only, and Colorado's CHFA grant up to 3% of the first mortgage. A forgivable loan behaves like a grant only if you stay: New Jersey forgives its assistance after five years in one step, Pennsylvania's K-FIT 10% a year over ten years. For a Fairfax County household of three earning $110,000 buying at $450,000 with a conventional loan, the calculator finds $22,500 with Virginia Housing Plus Second Mortgage, and the table below shows when each kind of help becomes yours.
Grant or forgivable loan: the difference that matters
Advertising calls almost everything a grant. The legal paperwork does not. A forgivable loan is a second mortgage recorded on your home; while it exists, the agency is a creditor, and if you sell, refinance or stop living in the home before the forgiveness date, you repay what is left. A grant creates no lien: once it has paid your down payment at closing, you owe nothing to anyone. Both cost you nothing as long as you stay, so the question is how sure you are about staying.
The forgiveness schedule is the second question. Some programs forgive nothing until the last day and then everything, a "cliff": New Jersey after five years, Arizona's Home Plus after 60 months, Ohio after 7 years. Others forgive a slice each month or year, so leaving early costs only part of the help: New York's SONYMA loan by 1/120 a month over ten years, Florida's HFA Preferred PLUS by 20% a year over five, Pennsylvania's K-FIT by 10% a year over ten. North Carolina's Home Advantage waits ten years and then forgives 20% a year.
| State | Program | Amount | Form | Yours for good after | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | CHFA Down Payment Assistance Grant | up to 3% of the first mortgage loan amount | Grant, never repaid | at closing | open |
| Virginia | Virginia Housing Down Payment Assistance Grant | 2% of the lesser of sales price or appraised value with a conventional bond loan, 2.5% with an FHA bond loan; down payment only | Grant, never repaid | at closing | open |
| Arizona | Home Plus Down Payment Assistance | up to 4% assistance for down payment and closing costs (forgivable and non-forgivable options) | Forgivable loan, 5 years | 5 years | open |
| Florida | HFA Preferred PLUS / HFA Advantage PLUS second mortgage | 3%, 4% or 5% of the first mortgage loan amount | Forgivable loan, 5 years | 5 years | open |
| New Jersey | NJHMFA Down Payment Assistance (with the First-Time Homebuyer Mortgage) | up to $15,000 or $10,000 depending on the county | Forgivable loan, 5 years | 5 years | open |
| New Jersey | NJHMFA First Generation Down Payment Assistance | $7,000 on top of the NJHMFA DPA, for a total of $17,000 to $22,000 | Forgivable loan, 5 years | 5 years | open |
| Ohio | Grants for Grads | Forgivable loan, 5 years | 5 years | open | |
| Ohio | OHFA Down Payment Assistance | 3% of the purchase price with a conventional loan or 3.5% with an FHA, VA or USDA loan | Forgivable loan, 7 years | 7 years | open |
| Illinois | IHDA Access Forgivable | 4% of the purchase price up to $6,000 | Forgivable loan, 10 years | 10 years | open |
| New York | SONYMA Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL) | the greater of $3,000 or 3% of the purchase price, up to $15,000; $1,000 minimum | Forgivable loan, 10 years | 10 years | open |
| Pennsylvania | PHFA K-FIT (Keystone Forgivable in Ten Years) | 5% of the lesser of the purchase price or appraised value, no maximum dollar limit | Forgivable loan, 10 years | 10 years | open |
| Tennessee | THDA Great Choice Plus, deferred option | up to $6,000 or up to $10,000 | Forgivable loan, 10 years | 10 years | open |
| North Carolina | NC Home Advantage Mortgage with 3% DPA | up to 3% of the first mortgage loan amount | Forgivable loan, 15 years | 15 years | open |
| North Carolina | NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment | $15,000 | Forgivable loan, 15 years | 15 years | open |
Why so few true grants
A housing agency that lends recovers money from buyers who sell early and can recycle it into the next buyer's down payment. A grant is spent once. Agencies therefore keep grants small, a few percent of the price, and often tie them to a first mortgage at a slightly higher rate that pays for them. Virginia's grant is limited to its bond-financed loans and to buyers under the agency's income and price limits; Colorado's is paired with CHFA first mortgages.
What you owe if you sell early
Owed if you sell after 3 years
$10,500
| Assistance received | $15,000 |
| Repaid at the sale | $10,500 |
| Kept for good | $4,500 |
What the calculator counts as a grant
It labels each program with the agency's own form: grant, forgivable loan with its period, deferred loan, or monthly-payment loan. The amount at the top of the result is the largest help you likely fit, whatever its form, because a deferred loan of $15,000 still lowers your cash at closing by $15,000. Read the "Form" column before choosing: two programs with the same amount can leave you with very different bills when you sell.
County and city programs funded by the federal HOME program are often true grants or loans forgiven after five to fifteen years, with an income limit of 80% of area median. They are not in the calculator; state pages name those the agency's guides point to.