Buying a home? DC may offer down payment assistance
Buying a new home for the first time is exciting but can leave you with a lot of questions. For starters, “How am I going to finance this purchase?”
Luckily, there are programs that help assist you in this process. The DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) offers three programs for first-time homebuyers:
The DC Open Doors program offers down payment assistance to help ease this process. It is also one of the more flexible programs. You can be a first-time or repeat homebuyer, the program is open to all neighborhoods and wards, and it is available to resident and non-residents of DC.
To qualify for the DC Open Doors program, you must maintain a minimum credit score of 640 and each borrower can have a maximum income of $145,560.
The Mortgage Credit Certificate program requires that you be a first-time home buyer and have not owned a property in DC for up to three years prior to the purchase. The only exception would be if you purchased a home in a “targeted area” or if you are a veteran. The income limits for this program are based strictly on the property location and household size.
The Home Purchase Assistance Program requires that you be a first-time home buyer who has not owned a property in DC three years prior to your current purchase. Your household income is low to moderate, you have maintained a good credit score, and the property will be your primary residence after purchase.
With so many homebuyer programs available for DC residents, your goal of purchasing a piece of DC real estate may not be so far out of reach.