Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
The current program figures below are refreshed from Lendmire’s down payment assistance standards source at each visit, so the options shown for St. Augustine, FL are the options in force.
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, in whole or, on the lowest tier, in part.
Covers the FHA down payment, in whole or in part
The FHA minimum down payment is 3.5%, and this option covers it in whole or, on its lower tier, in part with nothing to pay back — no lien, no payment, no interest — for buyers at or below the area income limit or in a qualifying category.
On the forgivable and repayable options
Most of the options carry no income limit, so a higher-earning household qualifies the same as anyone else; only the nothing-to-repay option looks at income, at 140% of the area median, or at 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 Florida · 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 work the same way in St. Augustine, FL 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 Florida.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
The gap the program closes for a St. Augustine buyer is the minimum investment: the assistance covers that share of the price, the first lien carries the rest, and the buyer’s own savings stay for the move.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
Nothing to repay, forgiven over time, or repaid with a balloon: the three purchase shapes in St. Augustine, FL 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 St. Augustine 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 Florida.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
Eligibility is broader than most buyers expect: repeat buyers qualify, income limits apply only to the nothing-to-repay option, and the categories that open it include first responders, educators, medical personnel, civil servants, and military.
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 St. Augustine’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for St. Augustine, FL frame the question every assistance file answers: at this price, how large is the minimum investment, and which option covers it?
These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show what a St. Augustine home costs and how many households rent, and the calculator shows what that means for the minimum investment.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct St. Augustine submarkets, distinct property rules.
Where a St. Augustine home sits changes which option can attach and what the property review asks; the submarkets below are the map most assistance files are read against.
USDA-eligible edges
Where a property near St. Augustine is USDA-eligible, the USDA first lien and the second-lien options fit together, keeping cash to close near zero. The median owner-occupied home value in St. Augustine runs near $439,800 on the latest Census estimate.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In St. Augustine, a manufactured home on a fee-simple lot pairs with the assistance; the home’s width decides which option carries it. About 37% of St. Augustine’s households rent — roughly 2,416 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
County-limit homes
Resort-area prices in St. Augustine push some first liens toward the county loan limit; above it, only the repayable options carry the assistance, and the nothing-to-repay option stops at the limit. St. Augustine itself counts a population near 15K.
Year-round neighborhoods
Second homes and rentals are outside the program; a St. Augustine buyer’s own home in a year-round neighborhood is exactly inside it. On a home at St. Augustine’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $15,400 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Townhome and PUD communities
Townhome communities in St. Augustine pair with the program; the association’s dues and documents are reviewed with the first lien, and the assistance covers the minimum investment. Median household income in St. Augustine sits near $78,151 on the latest Census estimate.
Workforce condominiums
Buyers in St. Augustine’s condominium buildings use the program on approved projects, with the building’s status settled before the closing is scheduled. Median gross rent in St. Augustine is about $1,653 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
These are patterns, not promises: each St. Augustine purchase is underwritten on its own appraisal, its own credit, and its own option.
Four ways St. Augustine buyers put down payment assistance to work.
From a first home to an FHA refinance, down payment assistance in St. Augustine, FL solves a specific set of problems, and the cards below take up the ones that come up most.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
When the minimum investment is covered but closing costs and prepaids remain the hurdle, the repayable option in St. Augustine, FL reaches both; the balance above the minimum investment goes toward the closing.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
The most common St. Augustine, FL file: an FHA first lien, the assistance covering the minimum investment, and the buyer’s own funds reserved for moving costs and reserves.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
House-hacking in St. Augustine, FL pairs with the program when the buyer occupies a unit; the unit count decides which option applies, and the first lien carries the building.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
Owners in St. Augustine with an FHA loan and little cash for a refinance use the refinance-cost option, subject to its own credit floor and the combined-leverage limit it carries.
Size the assistance on a St. Augustine price before requesting a quote.
Run a St. Augustine 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.
St. Augustine FHA payment with assistance
Seeded from St. Augustine’s home values; every field is editable, and the estimate updates as you change the price, the option, your cash, or the rate.
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 $440,000 price near St. Augustine’s median owner-occupied home value, the strongest assistance option offered in Florida applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Florida (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.
Down payment assistance is one of the ways a St. Augustine buyer covers the minimum investment; each has a different cost after closing.
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.
Paying the minimum investment yourself keeps the closing simplest — no second lien, no category, no course; the trade is the months or years of saving that the assistance replaces. 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 St. Augustine 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 St. Augustine, FL file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a St. Augustine 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.
Beyond the credit tier and the first lien, a handful of details decide which option a St. Augustine buyer can use — or whether the assistance attaches at all.
Use these checks to keep the St. Augustine file clean and fundable.
Settle the option, the first lien, the property’s eligibility, and the category before the appraisal is ordered; a St. Augustine 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.
- Handle small repairs: finish and inspect the work inside the window.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in St. Augustine, FL, 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.
Escrow holdbacks for minor repairs
A St. Augustine home with a small repair list does not have to wait for the work before closing; the escrow holdback carries it, within the program’s cap and timeline, with an inspection when the work is done.
The forgiveness clock on the forgivable options
A forgivable second lien is released after the on-time payment period on the first lien — three years on one option, five on the other — with no interest and no payment in between; a serious delinquency inside the period keeps the lien in place.
No stacking with other assistance
No option may be combined with another down payment assistance program in St. Augustine, FL, and the nothing-to-repay and forgivable options do not combine with a high-balance first lien; one assistance option, one first lien, one closing.
From a St. Augustine pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The path from a St. Augustine pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place runs through the option first and the paperwork second.
Pick the option
Every St. Augustine file starts with the option and the first lien; the category, the homebuyer education course and the property rules are then settled around them, in that order.
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 St. Augustine 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
The St. Augustine 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.
Lendmire built its consumer practice around the buyers these programs exist for, which is why the options, the categories, and the property rules are familiar ground rather than surprises.
The option, matched to the buyer
Lendmire reads the options offered in Florida against a St. Augustine 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 St. Augustine, FL 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.
St. Augustine down payment assistance FAQs
Straight answers for St. Augustine buyers weighing down payment assistance; the mortgage approval and the option’s rules decide every actual figure.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No — and that surprises most St. Augustine buyers. The program has no first-time requirement; owning a home before does not close a single option, and being a first-time buyer is simply one of the doors into the nothing-to-repay option.
Is there an income limit?
Income limits apply to one option only — the nothing-to-repay grant — and only for buyers outside its categories. Everything else on this page is open at any income, which is why higher-earning St. Augustine households use it.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in St. Augustine?
A St. Augustine 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?
A nothing-to-repay option is released at closing with no lien and no payment. The forgivable second liens also cost nothing — no interest, no payment — as long as the mortgage stays current through the forgiveness period, and they pair with USDA and HUD-184 mortgages as well as FHA. The repayable options are loans, with a monthly payment and a balloon.
What credit score do I need?
Each option has its own floor, starting in the low six hundreds on the nothing-to-repay option and stepping up on the forgivable and repayable second liens; every borrower needs a score, and two-borrower files may qualify on a blended score on the second-lien options. The snapshot shows the floors in force.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
Primary residences only. Investment properties and second homes are outside the program.
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.
How does a forgivable second lien work — the small second loan behind the mortgage?
You do not pay it as long as the first lien stays current through the period; after the period it is forgiven. A sale or refinance inside the period pays it off.
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 property types are eligible?
Single-family homes, FHA-approved condominiums, townhomes and planned developments, owner-occupied two-to-four-unit homes within each option’s limit, and manufactured homes on owned land — single-width on the nothing-to-repay option, double-width on the second-lien options. Unique property types are outside the second-lien options.
Talk through a St. Augustine assistance file before the contract is signed.
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 St. Augustine — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Florida, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in Florida: Palm Coast · Jacksonville · Ormond Beach · Daytona Beach · Port Orange · DeLand · Gainesville · Deltona
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans