Down payment assistance
Down Payment Assistance in Metro Detroit
Most first-time buyers in Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties aren’t held back by income. They’re held back by the cash it takes to close. Assistance programs exist for exactly that.
Edge Home Finance, LLC is a mortgage broker, so I reach these programs through a panel of wholesale lenders, not one bank. That matters here more than anywhere else, because assistance programs vary lender to lender.
Two Kinds of Assistance, and Which One You Want
Down payment assistance is a second source of funds that covers some or all of what you would otherwise bring to closing. It is not one program. Some versions are a second lien you repay, some are forgiven after you live in the home long enough, and the qualifying rules differ on each.
Repayable Assistance
Structured as a second lien behind your first mortgage. You repay it, and the terms of that repayment are set by the program. Because it’s repaid, these versions are usually the easier ones to qualify for.
Forgivable Assistance
Also recorded as a second lien, but forgiven once you’ve owned and lived in the home for the period the program requires. Sell or refinance early and some or all of it becomes repayable.
Which one is right depends on how long you plan to stay, and on what you qualify for. That’s a conversation, not a calculator.
The Assistance Programs I Work With
I don’t originate MSHDA loans. What I have instead is a range of assistance programs through Edge’s wholesale lenders — several of which allow a higher debt-to-income ratio than standard agency guidelines, and set lower minimum credit scores. Here’s how they compare →
FHA Assistance Programs
Assistance sized at 3.5% or 5% of the purchase price, paired with an FHA first mortgage, in both repayable and forgivable versions. FHA already allows more flexibility on credit history than conventional guidelines, which is why this pairing is the most common one I place for first-time buyers.
Conventional Assistance Programs
Assistance sized at 4% of the purchase price, paired with a conventional first mortgage, for buyers whose credit supports it. Conventional keeps the option to remove mortgage insurance later once you’ve built enough equity, which FHA financing doesn’t.
Chenoa Fund
A national assistance program run by CBC Mortgage Agency, a federally chartered tribal government entity. It pairs with FHA and with Fannie Mae conventional financing, and it’s available through approved lenders rather than directly from the borrower’s side.
Lender-Contribution Programs
A conventional structure where the lender itself contributes toward your down payment rather than recording a second lien against the home. Nothing to repay and no second mortgage, but the qualifying box is narrower.
How Much It Covers
What FHA asks for as a downpayment →
These programs are sized as a percentage of the purchase price rather than as a flat grant, so the amount moves with the home. Across what I place, the assistance runs 3.5%, 4%, or 5% of the purchase price, depending on which program you qualify for and whether you take the repayable or the forgivable version.
On a typical Oakland or Macomb County purchase, that covers most or all of what a first-time buyer would otherwise be scraping together. Closing costs are a separate line, and some of these programs can be applied there as well.
Who Actually Qualifies?
More people than expect to. Two rules are looser here than in the guidelines you were probably measured against the first time:
More Room on Debt-to-Income
Several of these programs allow a higher debt-to-income ratio than standard agency guidelines. If a lender has told you your student loans or car payment put you over the line, that answer was specific to the program you were run through, not to every program.
Lower Credit Score Minimums
The minimum credit scores on several of these are lower than the thresholds MSHDA and most conventional programs set. A score that disqualifies you from one program routinely qualifies you for another.
Being a first-time buyer usually means you haven’t owned a home in the last three years, so buyers who owned once before often still qualify. Income limits, where a program has them, are set by county.
There’s no way to know which programs you fit without looking at your actual numbers. That review is free and it doesn’t pull your credit.
Assistance Across Metro Detroit
I work across Oakland, Macomb, and Wayne counties, and where a program sets limits by county, those limits differ across all three.
Oakland County
Rochester, Rochester Hills, Troy, Royal Oak, Novi, Farmington Hills. The county also runs its own homebuyer assistance program through a partner bank, separate from anything I originate, and it’s worth asking about alongside your other options.
Macomb County
Sterling Heights, Warren, Clinton Township. Purchase prices here often leave the most room between what a buyer qualifies for and what they have saved, which is exactly the gap assistance is built to close.
Wayne County
Livonia, Dearborn, and Detroit. Detroit in particular has city-level programs layered on top of the ones above, and the combination is worth checking before you assume the down payment is out of reach.
One thing specific to Michigan worth knowing before you shop: your property taxes aren’t the ones the seller is paying now. Here’s why the same price costs more in one township than another →
A First-Time Buyer Who Used One
“As a first-time homebuyer in Metro Detroit, I wasn’t sure if I would qualify — but Ryan helped me use a down payment assistance program and secure an FHA home loan with low money out of pocket. He explained my credit, debt-to-income ratio, and the pre-approval process in a way that was easy to understand. If you’re looking for a knowledgeable mortgage lender who truly understands first-time buyers, I highly recommend Ryan.”
Nate C. · Google review
Assistance is not the only thing that moves your cash at closing. A seller can agree to cover part of your costs too, and the two stack. What a seller concession can and cannot pay →
Find Out What You Qualify For
Tell me what you’ve saved and what you earn, and I’ll tell you which of these you fit. Free, no obligation, and nothing about it starts an application or pulls your credit.
Still reading up? The free First-Time Homebuyer Guide and the first-time buyer walkthrough both cover what comes next.