Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
These figures are read from Lendmire’s centralized down payment assistance standards source and update automatically when the programs change. Every state and city guide in this series reads the same source.
Of the purchase price
Assistance is sized as a share of the price, never a fixed sum: the biggest option covers the down payment and reaches closing costs, the smaller ones cover the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment.
Covers the whole FHA down payment
This covers the entire 3.5% FHA minimum down payment and is forgiven at closing: no lien on the home, no monthly payment, no interest. It opens on the area income limit or on a qualifying category.
On the forgivable and repayable options
The forgivable and repayable options have no income limit at all — one of the biggest advantages of this program. Only the nothing-to-repay option asks for income at or below 140% of the area median, or a qualifying category.
Credit score to start
The score that opens the nothing-to-repay option; the forgivable options start a step higher and the repayable options higher still. Two-borrower files may use a blended score on the second-lien options.
| Option | Assistance | What you repay | Credit · mortgage · units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant-style assistance — nothing to repay | 2% or 3.5% of the price | Nothing — released at closing | 620+ · FHA 203(b), FHA repair escrow, FHA Limited 203(k), FHA Standard 203(k) · 1–4 units |
| Forgivable second lien — three-year | 3.5% of the price | Nothing after 36 on-time mortgage payments | 640+ · FHA 203(b), FHA Limited 203(k), HUD-184, USDA · 1–2 units |
| Forgivable second lien — five-year | 3.5% of the price | Nothing after 60 on-time mortgage payments | 640+ · FHA 203(b), FHA Limited 203(k), HUD-184, USDA · 1–2 units |
| Repayable second lien — thirty-year amortization, ten-year balloon | 3.5% or 5% of the price | Second lien, 30-year amortization, balloon in year 10 | 660+ · FHA 203(b), FHA Limited 203(k), HUD-184, USDA · 1–2 units |
| Closing-cost repayable second lien | 3.5% or 5% of the price | Second lien, 30-year amortization, balloon in year 10 | 660+ · FHA 203(b) · 1–2 units |
| Refinance-cost second lien (repayable) | 1% to 3.5% of the balance | Second lien, repaid | 660+ · FHA 203(b) · 1–4 units |
Current down payment assistance snapshot · updated September 7, 2026 · six options offered in California · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
Down payment assistance options are consumer mortgage programs arranged through select wholesale lenders, licensed in sixteen states, paired with FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 first liens. Assistance is stated as a percentage of price or value, never as a dollar figure a specific borrower would receive; the forgivable and repayable options are second liens with their own disclosures. Eligibility depends on the first lien’s approval, the option’s rules, the property, and full underwriting, subject to lender program eligibility. The calculator’s rate is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and its payment is an illustrative estimate; no fee or lender identity appears on this page. Lendmire is a mortgage broker and never the lender, and is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of FHA, VA, USDA, HUD, or the federal government.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
The first-time home buyer programs work the same way in Santa Monica, CA as anywhere in the footprint: a government first lien, an assistance option sized as a percentage of the price, and a set of rules about credit, units, and eligibility that decide which option fits.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s down payment assistance program, or the statewide guide at Down Payment Assistance in California.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
In Santa Monica, CA, the assistance attaches to the first lien at closing and covers the buyer’s required investment; on the larger option, what remains after the minimum investment goes toward closing costs.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
Nothing to repay, forgiven over time, or repaid with a balloon: the three purchase shapes in Santa Monica, CA cover the same minimum investment and differ in what the buyer owes afterward.
Credit floors, mortgage programs, and unit counts
Credit decides which options are open; the first lien decides which options attach; the property’s unit count and type decide which option carries it. The options table shows all three side by side.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
In Santa Monica, CA, the question is not whether this is a first home; it is which option fits the credit, the first lien, and the property — and, for the nothing-to-repay option, which qualifying category applies.
The assistance is measured on the price, so the calculator starts there. It then applies the option you choose, your own cash, and an editable benchmark rate to show the loan, the mortgage insurance, and the payment.
Where Santa Monica’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Where Santa Monica, CA’s renters live, what a median home costs, and what a median household earns — Census estimates give the backdrop for a down payment assistance file.
Market context only. A large renter share signals demand for the program; a moderate median value signals that the minimum investment is within the assistance’s reach; the two together describe where the program closes most files.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Santa Monica submarkets, distinct property rules.
The metropolitan market around Santa Monica splits into distinct pockets; a lender underwrites the home in front of it, but the pocket sets the expectations.
Townhomes and attached homes
Attached homes and townhomes in Santa Monica sit at price points where the minimum investment is smaller in dollars but no easier to save; the assistance closes that gap, and the association’s documents are reviewed with the file. Median household income in Santa Monica sits near $114,885 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes, owner-occupied
The small multi-unit stock in Santa Monica is a path to a first home that also earns rent; the assistance pairs with the first lien on the building, up to the option’s unit limit. About 72% of Santa Monica’s households rent — roughly 34,107 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In Santa Monica, a manufactured home on a fee-simple lot pairs with the program; leaseholds do not, and the home’s width decides which option carries it. On a home at Santa Monica’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $61,400 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
Renovation purchases in Santa Monica qualify for the assistance on the price before repairs, which lets a buyer take on a home that needs work without also finding the minimum investment. Median gross rent in Santa Monica is about $2,402 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Condominiums close to work
Condominiums are often the entry point in Santa Monica, and the assistance follows the first lien: the building needs FHA approval, or a single-unit approval, before the down payment help can attach to it. Santa Monica counts a population near 91K within the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area.
New construction and infill
New construction in Santa Monica works with the program; the appraisal and the builder’s timeline set the pace, and the assistance closes with the first lien like any other purchase. The median owner-occupied home value in Santa Monica runs near $1,755,500 on the latest Census estimate.
Read the submarkets as orientation. The file’s figures come from the first lien, the option, and the program’s rules.
Four ways Santa Monica buyers put down payment assistance to work.
The same assistance serves several purposes in Santa Monica, CA; four of the most common are below.
Buy a two-to-four-unit home and live in one unit
For a Santa Monica buyer choosing a small multi-unit home, the assistance attaches to the first lien on the building, up to the option’s unit limit.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
For a first purchase in Santa Monica, the assistance closes the down payment gap; the option is chosen by credit, first lien, and eligibility category.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
A Santa Monica buyer taking on a fixer pairs a limited or standard renovation first lien with the assistance; the help is figured on the purchase price, and the loan covers price plus repairs.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
A Santa Monica buyer who needs more than the minimum investment uses the repayable option that covers down payment, closing costs, and prepaid items, including costs paid outside closing.
Size the assistance on a Santa Monica price before requesting a quote.
The calculator does what a loan officer’s first pass does for a Santa Monica file — sizes the minimum investment, applies the option, builds the FHA loan with mortgage insurance, and estimates the payment — using the current program figures and an editable benchmark rate.
Santa Monica FHA payment with assistance
Seeded with Santa Monica’s median home value; every field is editable, and the estimate updates as you change the price, the option, your cash, or the rate.
Editable benchmark: 6.71% as of September 3, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an FHA loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $600,000 price near Santa Monica’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA first lien is realistic), the strongest assistance option offered in California applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for California (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not an FHA loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. FHA mortgage insurance follows HUD’s published schedule for the term, leverage and loan size entered; taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included; a repayable second lien adds its own payment, which is not shown here. Consumer mortgage lending licensed in sixteen states. Lendmire is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of FHA, USDA, HUD, or the federal government.
Same buyer, four very different closings.
Down payment assistance is one of four ways a Santa Monica buyer covers the minimum investment; each has a different cost after closing.
Assistance on a government loan, saving the minimum, or a gift.
Assistance paired with the first lien at closing: the minimum investment covered, the shape chosen by credit, first lien, and eligibility category, and the second-lien options open to repeat buyers with no income limit.
For a Santa Monica, CA buyer with the cash in hand, the plain FHA purchase is the cleaner file; the assistance exists for the buyer who does not have it yet. For the first lien itself, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
USDA and HUD-184 first liens pair with the forgivable and repayable options, which then cover closing costs and prepaids rather than a down payment the first lien does not require. For the USDA first lien, see the USDA loan program.
Assistance fits the buyer short of cash to close; the plain purchase fits the buyer with savings; the USDA and HUD-184 pairing fits eligible properties and borrowers; a documented gift fits when family can help — Lendmire places the Santa Monica, CA file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Santa Monica scenario review.
The documents a lender reads first on an assistance file.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the mortgage, the assistance option, the property, and the eligibility category. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
The assistance is the easy part; the rules around it are where Santa Monica, CA files stall. These are the ones that most often change a file’s shape.
Use these checks to keep the Santa Monica file clean and fundable.
Settle the option, the first lien, the property’s eligibility, and the category before the appraisal is ordered; a Santa Monica file that clears these reads cleanly.
- Know the option: confirm the option is offered in the state.
- Confirm the category: identify the category that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
- Match the first lien: check the price against the county loan limit.
The option decides what you owe afterward
Choose the shape before the amount: the forgivable options cover the minimum investment and cost nothing to carry when the first lien stays current; the repayable option covers more and is repaid; a nothing-to-repay option released at closing where it is offered.
The eligibility category for the nothing-to-repay option
The category is checked at application on the nothing-to-repay option, together with the signed assistance application and the education certificate; no option requires a first-time buyer, and the second-lien options carry no income limit.
The mortgage and the county loan limit
The nothing-to-repay option pairs only with FHA first liens, including the repair-escrow and renovation programs; the second-lien options pair with FHA, USDA, and HUD-184, and above the county loan limit only the repayable options carry the assistance.
No stacking with other assistance
No option may be combined with another down payment assistance program, and the nothing-to-repay option does not combine with a high-balance first lien; one assistance option, one first lien, one closing.
Blended scores for two-borrower files
A Santa Monica, CA couple where one score is strong and the other is not may reach an option through the blended score; the rule is that the higher earner carries the higher score, and manual underwriting is off the table when blending.
From a Santa Monica pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Four steps take a Santa Monica, CA assistance file from a first read to funding; the first one is the one most buyers skip.
Pick the option
The first step is the option: which ones the credit opens, which the first lien allows, and which costs the least to carry for a Santa Monica, CA buyer — settled before anything is ordered.
Get the mortgage approved
The first lien’s approval carries the file; the assistance is arranged alongside it, with the eligibility category and the education certificate in hand where they apply.
Clear the property
The appraisal, the condominium approval where one applies, the manufactured-home title, and the county loan limit are settled; small repairs go into an escrow holdback where the option allows it.
Close both loans together
The Santa Monica closing carries both instruments: the first lien and the assistance, each documented on its own and closed together, with the education certificate in the file where it applies.
A brokerage that pairs the assistance to the loan.
Pairing the right assistance to the right first lien for a Santa Monica buyer means knowing which option the credit opens, which the property allows, and what each costs to carry — before the contract is signed.
The option, matched to the buyer
The nothing-to-repay option where it fits, the forgivable options where it does not, the repayable option where closing costs are the hurdle — chosen for the Santa Monica, CA buyer, not by default.
The mortgage, matched to the property
FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 is chosen with the Santa Monica property — its address, its unit count, its type — so the assistance option that pairs with it is the one that attaches.
The right wholesale program
Assistance programs differ across wholesale lenders in what they offer and where; Lendmire places a Santa Monica, CA file where its credit, its first lien, and its property read best, subject to lender program eligibility.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Santa Monica down payment assistance FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Santa Monica buyers ask most about down payment assistance, before you request a review. Every file is underwritten individually; nothing here is a commitment.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No option requires it. A Santa Monica buyer who has owned before qualifies for the second-lien options on credit, first lien, and property alone, and for the nothing-to-repay option through any of the other categories.
Is there an income limit?
Only on the nothing-to-repay option, and only when no other category applies: household income at or below the area median income limit, measured where the property sits. The forgivable and repayable second-lien options carry no income limit beyond the first lien’s own rules.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Santa Monica?
Four shapes paired with a government first lien: a nothing-to-repay option released at closing; forgivable second liens with no interest and no payment, released after an on-time payment period; a repayable second lien with a balloon that also reaches closing costs and prepaids; and a refinance-cost option for an existing FHA loan. The options table on this page shows what is offered in California.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
Two of the shapes: the nothing-to-repay option where it is offered, and the forgivable second liens, which are released after the on-time payment period. The repayable option is a loan.
What credit score do I need?
A Santa Monica buyer’s credit tier decides which options are open — the options table on this page shows the floor for every option offered in California.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
On the nothing-to-repay option, yes — a HUD-approved course, online or in person, with the cost credited back at closing. The second-lien options do not require it, though the course is worth taking on any first purchase.
What property types are eligible?
Most primary-residence property types, with the condominium’s approval, the manufactured home’s width and title, and the unit count deciding which option attaches.
Can I combine this with another assistance program?
No. One assistance program per file. The nothing-to-repay option also does not combine with a high-balance first lien or with certain FHA specialty programs.
Can the assistance cover closing costs too?
Closing-cost coverage lives on the repayable second lien; on a USDA first lien, which needs no down payment, the second-lien options cover closing costs and prepaids instead.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
The assistance is for the home you live in; rentals and second homes are financed other ways.
Place your Santa Monica purchase on the right option today.
Start with the price, the first lien you expect, and your credit tier. No credit pull or commitment is required to request an initial scenario review.
This guide covers Santa Monica — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in California, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Also in California: Lake Forest · Beaumont · Oceanside · Newport Beach · FHA Loans · USDA Loans