Every affordability calculator ignores assistance programs — and the program databases can't do the math. This one does both: your real affordability, your state's program match, and a step-by-step action plan. In 30 seconds, no email required.
Your closing sheet will carry roughly seven negotiable fees. Buyers who don't know their names pay all of them — usually $3,000+ stacked on top of everything you just calculated. The Quick-Start Rate & Fee Playbook hands you the 6-question lender script, all 7 fees by name, and the word-for-word phrases that get them reduced or waived. You did the math above. This is how you keep it.
Generated from your numbers above. Recalculate any time — the plan updates instantly.
Steps 1–8 get you to the closing table. What happens at the table decides whether you keep your assistance money — or quietly hand it back in fees. The Homebuyer's Edge is the script for that room.
Step-by-step video: what each input means, how to read your decision report, and what to do with your action plan.
Every program links directly to the official state housing finance agency — not a lead-gen page. Verify current terms there before applying.
Data sources: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (rate benchmark) and the official state housing finance agency pages linked under each program. Last reviewed: July 2026.
Every answer sourced from official program data.
Down payment assistance (DPA) is money — a grant, forgivable loan, or low-interest second loan — that helps cover your down payment and/or closing costs. As of Q1 2026 there are 2,679 such programs nationwide, 77% of them active and funded (source: Down Payment Resource's Q1 2026 quarterly program count), run by state housing finance agencies, cities, counties, and some employers.
It varies enormously by state and program — from a few thousand dollars up to $100,000 in some city-specific programs (e.g. NYC HomeFirst). Most state programs fall in the $7,500–$15,000 range or 3–5% of the loan amount. See your state's matched program above.
Not always. Many programs are for first-time buyers, but a large share are open to repeat buyers who haven't owned a home in the past three years, or to specific groups (teachers, veterans, healthcare workers).
Many state programs set a 620 minimum, paired with income limits based on area median income. Requirements are set by each agency and vary — check the official program page linked above.
Depends on the program. Some are outright grants. Many are deferred, forgivable second loans (forgiven after living in the home a set number of years). Others are low- or zero-interest loans repaid on sale or refinance.
Usually yes — DPA is designed to pair with a first mortgage. FHA loans need 3.5% down, VA and USDA allow 0% down, and DPA can often cover part or all of that plus closing costs, subject to lender and program rules.
Each answer above has a full, sourced explainer in our free guide library — including what assistance actually is, whether you have to pay it back, how income limits work, credit score requirements, pairing assistance with an FHA loan, and the mistakes that cost buyers their assistance.