Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
One source feeds every down payment assistance page Lendmire publishes; the Kentwood, MI figures below refresh when the program sheets are updated.
Of the purchase price
Measured on the purchase price or the appraised value, whichever is lower; the largest option covers the down payment and reaches closing costs, and the smaller options cover the 3.5% FHA minimum, in whole or, on the lowest tier, in part.
Covers the FHA down payment, in whole or in part
This covers the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment in whole or, on its lower tier, in part, 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
No income cap on the forgivable and repayable options: earn what you earn. The nothing-to-repay option is the one exception, opening at or below 140% of area median income or through a qualifying category.
Credit score to start
This is the lowest score that opens an option here — the nothing-to-repay option; the forgivable second liens start a little higher and the repayable options higher still, so a stronger score opens more choices.
| 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 Michigan · 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. Lendmire, LLC — NMLS #2371349. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
The first-time home buyer programs in Kentwood, MI answer the most common reason a qualified buyer does not close — the cash to close — with assistance measured on the price and shaped to the buyer’s situation.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s down payment assistance program, or the statewide guide at Down Payment Assistance in Michigan.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
In Kentwood, MI, 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 Kentwood, MI cover the same minimum investment and differ in what the buyer owes afterward, and a fourth, the refinance-cost option, serves an existing FHA loan.
Credit floors, mortgage programs, and unit counts
A Kentwood file is placed by three things — the credit tier, the first-lien program, and the property — and the options table on this page shows the floor, the first liens, and the unit limit for every option offered in Michigan.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
In Kentwood, MI, 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 calculator below runs this math on a price you enter. Choose an assistance option offered in Michigan and add any cash of your own; it sizes the minimum investment, the assistance, what is left for closing costs, the FHA loan with its mortgage insurance, and the payment at an editable market benchmark rate.
Where Kentwood’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
The share of Kentwood, MI households that rent, the median home value, and the median household income together sketch the gap the assistance closes for a first purchase.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. In most markets, the renter households are the pool the program exists for: qualified for a payment close to their rent, short the cash to close; the assistance is the bridge from one to the other.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Kentwood submarkets, distinct property rules.
Across Kentwood’s condominiums, townhomes, and older neighborhoods close to work, the same program produces different closings because prices, property types, and first liens differ block by block.
New construction and infill
New construction in Kentwood 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. Kentwood itself counts a population near 54K; it sits within the Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI area.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
In Kentwood’s established neighborhoods, a buyer can use the program with a limited renovation loan or, on the nothing-to-repay option, a standard one, so the down payment help and the repair budget close together. The median owner-occupied home value in Kentwood runs near $268,200 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums close to work
Buyers in Kentwood’s condominium buildings use the program to bridge the down payment, with the building’s approval status settled early so the closing is not held up. About 39% of Kentwood’s households rent — roughly 8,212 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Townhomes and attached homes
Attached homes and townhomes in Kentwood 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 gross rent in Kentwood is about $1,260 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
A buyer who lives in one unit of a Kentwood duplex can use the program on the whole building; the nothing-to-repay option, which reaches four units, makes a house-hacking purchase reachable with the minimum investment covered. Median household income in Kentwood sits near $74,373 on the latest Census estimate.
Manufactured homes on owned land
For Kentwood buyers looking at manufactured housing, the assistance is available on owned land, with single-width homes reaching only the option that accepts them. On a home at Kentwood’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $9,400 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Submarket descriptions are general market context; the first lien’s approval, the option’s rules, and full underwriting decide every figure in a file.
Four ways Kentwood buyers put down payment assistance to work.
From a first home to an FHA refinance, down payment assistance in Kentwood, MI solves a specific set of problems, and the cards below take up the ones that come up most.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
A Kentwood buyer with the income for the payment but not the cash to close uses the assistance to cover the FHA minimum investment, a grant with nothing to repay, and keeps savings for the move.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
An owner-occupied building of up to four units in Kentwood qualifies on the nothing-to-repay option, which reaches four units, and the buyer lives in one unit while the assistance covers the minimum investment on the whole building.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
A Kentwood 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.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
The refinance-cost option in Kentwood, MI is for an existing FHA loan, not a streamline, and not a loan that already carries assistance; it is sized on the lesser of balance or value.
Size the assistance on a Kentwood price before requesting a quote.
Run a Kentwood price through the options before you request a quote: the minimum investment, the assistance applied, what is left for closing costs, the mortgage insurance tier, and the estimated payment. Enter income to see the ratios a lender reads.
Kentwood FHA payment with assistance
Illustrative Kentwood inputs; the calculator recalculates on every change.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an FHA loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $270,000 price near Kentwood’s median owner-occupied home value, the strongest assistance option offered in Michigan applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Michigan (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, three very different closings.
The right structure for a Kentwood, MI buyer depends on savings, credit, the first lien, and whether the help needs to reach closing costs.
Assistance on an FHA loan, your own down payment, or assistance on a USDA or HUD-184 loan.
Covers the FHA minimum investment as a percentage of the price in four shapes — the lightest a nothing-to-repay option released at closing, the largest a repayable second lien that reaches closing costs and prepaids — with credit floors in the low six hundreds and no first-time-buyer rule.
The buyer brings the minimum investment from savings, a retirement withdrawal, or seasoned funds; no second lien, no eligibility category, no homebuyer education requirement, and no assistance to carry. For the first lien itself, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Where the property is USDA-eligible or the buyer qualifies for HUD-184, the forgivable options and the ten-year repayable option carry the Kentwood file; the separate closing-cost option is FHA only. 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 — Lendmire places the Kentwood, MI file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Kentwood scenario review.
A typical starting file for a first purchase with assistance.
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.
Every Kentwood file is underwritten individually, but the same handful of considerations recur; they are worth settling before the contract is signed.
Use these checks to keep the Kentwood file clean and fundable.
The checks below keep a Kentwood assistance file on track, and each one comes from the option’s own terms rather than from a lender’s preference.
- Know the option: choose by cost to carry first, amount second.
- Confirm the category: settle which category applies before the application is signed.
- Plan for the balloon: treat the tenth-year balloon as a planning date.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in Kentwood, MI, and the difference is entirely in what happens after closing: nothing, nothing if the first lien stays current, or a second loan that comes due; the options table shows what 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 balloon on the repayable option
The repayable second lien amortizes over thirty years but comes due in the tenth year; it carries interest and a monthly payment, its own loan number, and a balloon disclosure. It is the option that reaches closing costs, and it is a loan.
Blended scores for two-borrower files
A Kentwood, MI couple where one score is strong and the other is not may reach an option through the blended score, which applies only when the primary wage earner also holds the higher score and the file carries an automated approval; there is no manual underwriting on a blended file.
Property type and unit count select the option
The property itself can move a Kentwood, MI file: a fourplex, a single-width manufactured home, or an unapproved condominium project each changes which option can attach, so the address is read before the option is promised.
From a Kentwood pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The process for a Kentwood, MI purchase with assistance is deliberate, because the details around the assistance are what stall closings.
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 Kentwood, MI 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
Property review runs in parallel with the first lien; the Kentwood home is checked against the option’s rules and the first lien’s, from the unit count to the association package.
Close both loans together
Final underwriting reads the whole Kentwood, MI file against the first lien’s rules and the option’s; the loan funds with the assistance in place and the second lien, where there is one, recorded behind it.
A brokerage that pairs the assistance to the loan.
Down payment assistance is where a generalist stumbles: the options differ by first lien, by credit tier, by unit count, and by state, and the wholesale programs that carry them competently are a short list.
The option, matched to the buyer
Lendmire reads the options offered in Michigan against a Kentwood buyer’s credit, first lien, property, and category before anything is ordered, and names the fit by cost to carry.
The mortgage, matched to the property
USDA where the address is eligible, HUD-184 where the buyer qualifies, FHA everywhere; the Kentwood, MI first lien is the foundation the assistance stands on.
The right wholesale program
Not every wholesale lender carries down payment assistance, and the ones that do differ on shape, floors, and states; Lendmire knows which is which.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Kentwood down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Kentwood, MI buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No option requires it. A Kentwood buyer who has owned before qualifies for the second-lien options on credit, mortgage, 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 ceiling in the snapshot, measured where the property sits. The forgivable and repayable second-lien options carry no income limit beyond the mortgage’s own rules.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Kentwood?
A Kentwood buyer can cover the FHA minimum investment through a nothing-to-repay option where offered, a forgivable second lien, or a repayable second lien that reaches closing costs; the calculator on this page sizes each one on a price you enter.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
It depends on the shape you choose. Grant-style help is released at closing and never repaid; a forgivable second lien is forgiven after the on-time period; a repayable second lien is a real second loan with a balloon. A Kentwood buyer chooses by what they want to carry after closing.
What credit score do I need?
It depends on the option. The lowest floor belongs to the nothing-to-repay option; the second-lien options start higher, and the mortgage’s own rules apply on top.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
Only the nothing-to-repay option requires it; the certificate is part of that file.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
No. Every option is for an owner-occupied primary residence; on the forgivable and repayable options the home must stay the primary residence for the term of the second lien.
What is the rate on the mortgage and on the assistance?
The first lien’s rate is set by the lender at lock; the calculator on this page seeds its rate field from the weekly Freddie Mac conventional benchmark as a market reference, not an FHA quote, and every field stays editable. The repayable second lien’s terms are set by the program and disclosed on its own documents; the forgivable and nothing-to-repay options carry no interest.
What if my mortgage is above the county loan limit?
A high-balance first lien narrows the choice to the repayable options in Kentwood, MI.
Which mortgages can the assistance be used with?
Government first liens only: FHA for every option, USDA and HUD-184 for the forgivable and repayable second liens (the closing-cost repayable option, the one that also reaches prepaid items, is FHA only).
The down payment is the hurdle. Let us clear it.
Request a scenario review with the price and the first lien in mind; Lendmire answers with the option, the floor, and what the file will need.
This guide covers Kentwood — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Michigan, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in Michigan: Wyoming · Grand Rapids · Saugatuck · Norton Shores · Muskegon · Kalamazoo · Battle Creek · Portage
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans