About a quarter of first-time buyers rated coming up with a down payment as one of the most difficult steps of the homebuying process, according to the National Association of Realtors®. But, there are at least 2,000 federal, state, regional, and local down payment assistance programs available across the nation typically offered by government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private lenders. Your REALTOR® can be a good resource to help you find a program.
The assistance can come in the form of grants, which are fully forgiven when you close on your home; forgivable loans, where you can keep the money unless you break the terms of the loan; and deferred-payment loans, which you repay at the end of your loan or if you violate the stipulations of your loan. There are also loans that you pay back every month, some with interest rates as low as 0%.