Simply Approved Mortgages logo

Down payment assistance guides

These guides explain the parts of down payment assistance that decide whether a file works: how agencies count income, what a silent second lien means years later, how assistance attaches to an FHA, VA, USDA or conventional first mortgage, what the extra closing steps cost you in time, and how to tell a real program from an advance-fee scam. Everything here is educational research, not an offer of credit or of any third-party program.

Stack of home buying guides and a laptop used to research down payment assistance
Illustrative photo. Down payment assistance terms are set by each administering agency, not by Simply Approved Mortgages.

Published Last updated

  • Reviewed September 2026
Written and reviewed by the Simply Approved Mortgages Team at Simply Approved Mortgages LLC, NMLS #2620881.Verify on NMLS Consumer Access
Eligibility · 8 min read

Down payment assistance income limits explained

How housing finance agencies calculate the income they cap against, why it differs from your tax return, and how household size and county change the limit.

Read the guide
Structures · 7 min read

Silent second mortgages and how assistance liens work

A silent second is a real recorded lien with no monthly payment. Here is how deferred and forgivable seconds behave at sale, refinance and payoff.

Read the guide
Loan pairing · 8 min read

Pairing down payment assistance with your first mortgage

Assistance sits on top of a first mortgage. Here is how FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans each interact with grants and second liens.

Read the guide
Process · 7 min read

The down payment assistance closing timeline

Assisted purchases add a reservation, an education certificate and a second set of documents. Here is where the extra days come from and how to protect a closing date.

Read the guide
Eligibility · 6 min read

What counts as a first-time buyer for assistance

Most programs define a first-time buyer as someone with no ownership interest in a principal residence for three years. Here are the exceptions.

Read the guide
Consumer protection · 6 min read

How to tell a real assistance program from a scam

Legitimate assistance never charges an application fee for access to funds. Here are the warning signs and how to verify a program at its source.

Read the guide

Where to go next

Monthly review

September 2026 Assistance Research Library Review

We reviewed state housing finance agency program guides, HUD area median income and county limit datasets, agency subordination and forgiveness policies and consumer protection guidance on assistance fraud relevant to this page. No material changes requiring substantive revisions were identified this month. The information and sources shown here remain current as of our latest review.

  • Checked: state housing finance agency program guides
  • Checked: HUD area median income and county limit datasets
  • Checked: agency subordination and forgiveness policies
  • Checked: consumer protection guidance on assistance fraud

Current data & page updates

Page last reviewed
September 4, 2026
Page last substantively updated
September 4, 2026
Next scheduled review
October 4, 2026
Current monthly review
September 2026
Live data feed
No

Licensing & Disclosures

Simply Approved Mortgages LLC | NMLS #2620881

Florida Mortgage Broker License #MBR7685 | Colorado Mortgage Company Registration

Simply Approved Mortgages LLC is a mortgage broker and is not a direct lender. We arrange residential mortgage loans in Florida and Colorado.

Eligibility, terms, conditions, and availability vary by borrower, property, lender, loan program, and state. Not all products or programs are available in all states. All loans are subject to lender underwriting and approval. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Verify our license on NMLS Consumer Access

DPA amount calculator and eligibility checker

Estimate your assistance amount, the second-lien payment and where you stand against the program rules. Illustrative only — not a quote, offer or commitment to lend.

Simply Approved Mortgages DPA

DPA amount calculator & eligibility checker

Estimate 3.5% assistance on the lesser of price or appraisal, layered over a 30-year fixed FHA first mortgage.

Estimated DPA
$14,000
3.5% of $400,000
2nd-lien P&I
$174
10-yr · 8.500%

Amount calculator

Assistance tier
Lesser of price or appraisal
$400,000
DPA at 3.5%
$14,000
2nd-lien term
10-year fixed, repayable
2nd-lien rate
8.500%
Monthly P&I
$174/mo

Illustrative only — not a quote, lock, offer, or commitment to lend. Binding figures appear only on your Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure.

Eligibility checker

Documentable qualifying income?

Willing to complete homebuyer education before closing?

Property in NY, WA, USVI, Guam, MP, or AS?

Answer each question above to see your preliminary result.

Talk to a Loan Officer →

Preliminary self-check only. Not a quote, lock, offer, or commitment to lend. Simply Approved Mortgages is not affiliated with HUD, FHA, VA, USDA, FHFA, or any government agency. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS# 2620881.

Keep reading

Related pages on down payment assistance, local markets and the numbers behind each program.

Simply Approved Mortgages In-House DPA

Our own down payment assistance program — up to 5% toward your primary home

Simply Approved Mortgages LLC · NMLS# 2620881

In addition to matching you with agency programs, we offer our own assistance program, provided through our wholesale lender partner and arranged by Simply Approved Mortgages: up to 5% of the lesser of the purchase price or appraised value, structured as a repayable 10-year fixed second mortgage on a qualifying primary residence. It layers with FHA 203(b) or FHA 203(k) purchase first mortgages only, and the second lien is priced at the first-mortgage rate plus 2.00%. It is fully amortizing — not a grant and not forgivable — so your Loan Officer will show a side-by-side comparison before you commit.

Offered through our wholesale lender partner
Up to 5% of the lesser of purchase price or appraised value
Repayable 10-year fixed second mortgage
Layers with FHA 203(b) or FHA 203(k) purchase first mortgages
Second-lien rate = first-mortgage rate + 2.00%
Fully amortizing — not a grant and not forgivable
Qualifying primary residence only
See if you qualifyTalk to a Loan Officer

Program at a glance

Assistance
Up to 5%
Where
FL & CO*
Min credit
580
First-time buyer
Not required

*Our wholesale lender partner offers this product nationwide, but Simply Approved Mortgages LLC is licensed to arrange residential mortgage loans in Florida and Colorado only, so we can originate it in those two states only. Outside Florida and Colorado this is educational information and you should work with a lender licensed in your state.

How it works

1. Find the assistance you qualify for

Answer ten short questions and our DPA matching tool screens your location, income, price range, credit band and first-time buyer status against every state, county and city program we track.

2. A licensed loan officer reviews it with you

A Simply Approved loan officer confirms which programs your file can actually use, how each one is structured, and what it means for your monthly payment and closing costs.

3. Pair assistance with your first mortgage

Assistance is delivered through an approved first mortgage. We arrange the FHA, conventional, VA or USDA loan underneath it and reserve the assistance funds once you are under contract.

4. Funds arrive at closing

The assistance is wired to the closing agent and applied to your down payment and, where the program permits, closing costs — so your own savings stay where they belong.

Repayment: The second lien is a recorded lien with a monthly payment that is underwritten into your debt-to-income ratio. Layered DPA affects your final rate and mortgage insurance; your Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer will disclose the side-by-side comparison before you commit. Program terms, income limits, funding availability and eligibility requirements are subject to change without notice and must be confirmed in writing. Nothing here is an offer of credit, an approval, or a guarantee of eligibility, funding or any particular term. All loans are subject to lender underwriting and approval. Equal Housing Opportunity.

Follow our down payment assistance updates on Google

Add Simply Approved Mortgages as a preferred source in Google Search and our program updates, county limit changes and funding-status notes are more likely to surface when you search. It is a Google setting you control and can remove at any time.

Google is a trademark of Google LLC. Simply Approved Mortgages LLC is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Google, and this setting has no effect on loan eligibility, pricing or availability.

Add as a preferred sourceOr open Google's source preferences
Free monthly briefing

Down payment assistance changes fast. Stay ahead of it.

New funding rounds, closed programs, and updated income and price limits for Florida and Colorado buyers — in one short email each month.

Licensing notice: Simply Approved Mortgages LLC arranges residential mortgage loans in Florida and Colorado only. The briefing and this website are educational content — not an offer, solicitation, advertisement of credit terms or commitment to lend, and no mortgage services are offered in states where we are not licensed.

Expert Insight

Read the repayment guide before the program list

Simply Approved Mortgages sees far more deals damaged by a misunderstood second lien than by picking the wrong program. Buyers compare assistance amounts, sign a silent second, and only learn the payoff terms at refinance. The guides here are ordered the way a file actually moves: eligibility, lien structure, first-mortgage pairing, then timeline.

Takeaway: Understand the lien terms first; the assistance amount is the easiest part to compare.

The only way to know which program, down-payment structure, and closing-cost strategy actually fits your file is to walk through it with a Simply Approved Mortgages Loan Officer who can compare the real numbers side-by-side on a Loan Estimate.

Commentary from the Simply Approved Mortgages Team at Simply Approved Mortgages LLC, NMLS #2620881. Verify on NMLS Consumer Access