DPA – Down Payment Assistance
Our down payment assistance program provides financing under FHA and Fannie Mae guidelines. We understand that while many people can purchase a home by saving the funds for a down payment over many years, increasing prices and stagnant or slow wage growth can make this quite tricky. Therefore, MEP’s down payment assistance program helps people build equity now rather than years from now when mortgage interest rates could climb much higher. The purpose of this program is to increase affordable and sustainable homeownership for creditworthy, low-to-moderate income borrowers. Our program provides loan options that allow for down payment assistance in the form of second mortgages on FHA-insured loans and Fannie Mae conventional loans.
FHA Loans
There are several options for Down Payment Assistance for FHA loans, allowing for 3.5% or 5% to cover the down payment, closing costs, and prepaid items. DPA is in the form of a 2nd mortgage that can be repayable or sometimes forgivable.
DPA Edge Soft Second
- 3.5% or 5% down payment assistance amount
- 600 FICO score minimum
- Qualifying income less than or equal to 115% of AMI*
- First-time homebuyer not required
- Homebuyer education is required for borrowers with FICO between 620-639
- Forgivable
DPA Edge Repayable Second
- 3.5% or 5% down payment assistance amount
- 600 FICO score minimum
- No income limits
- First-time homebuyer not required
- Homebuyer education is required for borrowers with FICO between 620-639
- Repayable
Rate Advantage
- 3.5% or 5% down payment assistance amount
- 640 FICO score minimum
- Qualifying income less than or equal to 135% of AMI*
- First-time homebuyer not required
- Homebuyer education not required
- Repayable
Conventional Loans
We can offer down payment assistance for a 90-97% Loan to Value first mortgage under Fannie Mae’s Home Ready program for low to moderate borrowers. In addition, we can offer down payment assistance for the Fannie Mae standard conventional (90-95% LTV) and Conventional 97 program for those who don’t qualify for the Home Ready program.
Home Ready
- 3.5% down payment assistance amount
- 640 FICO score minimum
- Follows FNMA guidelines on income limits
- First-time homebuyer not required
- Homebuyer education required
- Repayable
Standard Conventional (90–95% LTV) and Conventional 97
- 3.5% down payment assistance amount
- 640 FICO score minimum
- No income limits
- First-time homebuyer required
- Homebuyer Education may be required
- Repayable
FL Housing DPA
FL Housing offers Down Payment Assistance and closing cost assistance in the form of a second mortgage. Borrowers purchasing in specific counties may be eligible to receive down payment assistance through the FL Assist Second Mortgage Program, 3%, 4%, and 5% HFA Preferred and HFA Advantage PLUS Second Mortgages and, finally, The Florida Homeownership Loan Program (FL HLP) Second Mortgage.
Certain counties also have their own DPA programs. The counties include Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Lee, Palm Beach & Sarasota Counties.
A borrower may also use a Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Program designed to help first-time homebuyers. The MCC reduces an eligible borrower’s Federal income taxes and, in effect, creates additional income.
Down payment assistance and closing costs assistance programs can require some upfront work, but the rewards are great. Contact one of our experienced loan officers to learn more about the program guidelines.
*AMI – (Area Median Income) The area median income is the midpoint of a region’s income distribution, meaning that half of the households in a region earn more than the median and half earn less than the median.
