Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
One source feeds every down payment assistance page Lendmire publishes; the Hendersonville, TN 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.
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
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 Tennessee · 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.
For Hendersonville, TN buyers, the first-time home buyer programs work the same way: the first lien carries most of the price, the assistance covers the minimum investment, and the shape of the assistance — nothing to repay, forgivable, or repayable — decides what it costs to carry.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s down payment assistance program, or the statewide guide at Down Payment Assistance in Tennessee.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
Every option is sized on the price, not on a fixed sum: the smaller options cover the minimum investment, the larger repayable option covers it and reaches closing costs and prepaid items too.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
The assistance comes as a grant where it is offered, as a forgivable second lien, or as a repayable second lien; each pairs with the first lien differently, and the options table on this page shows what is offered in Tennessee.
Credit floors, mortgage programs, and unit counts
Two-borrower files can qualify on a blended score on the second-lien options when the higher earner has the higher score and an automated approval is in hand; every borrower still needs a score of their own.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
A Hendersonville buyer who has owned before is eligible; the second-lien options carry no income limit and no first-time-buyer rule, and the nothing-to-repay option opens on any one of four categories.
Enter a price, choose an option, and add your own cash. The calculator sizes the minimum investment, splits the assistance between the down payment and closing costs, and estimates the FHA payment with mortgage insurance, taxes, insurance, and dues.
Where Hendersonville’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for Hendersonville, TN frame the question every assistance file answers: at this price, how large is the minimum investment, and which option covers it?
Read the figures as backdrop. The higher the median value, the larger the minimum investment in dollars; that is why the assistance is sized as a percentage of the price rather than a fixed sum, and why the larger option matters more in expensive markets.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Hendersonville submarkets, distinct property rules.
Where a Hendersonville 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.
Established neighborhoods
In Hendersonville, a first home in an older neighborhood pairs with the program on an FHA first lien, and the assistance covers the down payment the buyer would otherwise have to save. Median household income in Hendersonville sits near $97,200 on the latest Census estimate.
New construction
New construction in and around Hendersonville works with the program; the appraisal and the builder’s timeline set the pace, and the assistance closes with the first lien. Median gross rent in Hendersonville is about $1,653 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Two-to-four-unit homes, owner-occupied
In Hendersonville, owner-occupied small multi-unit buildings qualify for assistance when the buyer lives in one unit; the unit count decides which option applies. The median owner-occupied home value in Hendersonville runs near $430,700 on the latest Census estimate.
USDA-eligible areas
On Hendersonville’s rural edges, the USDA first lien and the second-lien options fit together, keeping cash to close near zero for buyers who qualify. About 28% of Hendersonville’s households rent — roughly 7,149 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In Hendersonville, a manufactured home on a fee-simple lot pairs with the assistance; the home’s width decides which option carries it. On a home at Hendersonville’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $15,100 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Homes that need work
In Hendersonville, a buyer can take on a fixer with a limited or standard renovation loan and the assistance attached, so the down payment and the repair budget are settled in one transaction. Hendersonville counts a population near 63K.
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 Hendersonville buyers put down payment assistance to work.
Down payment assistance in Hendersonville, TN is used for more than a first purchase; these are the structures Hendersonville buyers ask about most.
Buy a two-to-four-unit home and live in one unit
An owner-occupied duplex, triplex, or fourplex in Hendersonville qualifies on the option that reaches four units; the buyer lives in one unit and the assistance covers the minimum investment on the whole building.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
The refinance-cost option in Hendersonville, TN 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.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
A Hendersonville, TN buyer on a USDA or HUD-184 first lien uses the second-lien options, forgivable or repayable; the nothing-to-repay option pairs only with FHA first liens.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
The larger option exists for the Hendersonville, TN closing where the down payment is only half the problem: it carries the minimum investment and a further share for costs.
Size the assistance on a Hendersonville price before requesting a quote.
Run a Hendersonville 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.
Hendersonville FHA payment with assistance
Starting assumptions reflect Hendersonville’s home values; change any field and the loan, the mortgage insurance, and the payment are recalculated.
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 $430,000 price near Hendersonville’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA first lien is realistic), the strongest assistance option offered in Tennessee applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Tennessee (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.
Same Hendersonville buyer, four closings: assistance on an FHA loan, the buyer’s own minimum investment, assistance on a USDA or HUD-184 loan, or a gift from family.
Assistance on a government loan, saving the minimum, or a gift.
Covers the FHA minimum investment as a percentage of the price — some with nothing to repay — with forgivable and repayable second-lien shapes, credit floors in the low six hundreds, and no first-time-buyer rule; the larger option reaches closing costs and prepaids.
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.
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.
If the payment fits but the cash to close does not, down payment assistance is the structure; if the cash is there, the plain purchase; if the property is USDA-eligible, the USDA first lien with assistance for costs.
What to prepare for a Hendersonville 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.
Beyond the credit tier and the first lien, a handful of details decide which option a Hendersonville buyer can use — or whether the assistance attaches at all.
Use these checks to keep the Hendersonville file clean and fundable.
Three checks keep a Hendersonville assistance file on track: know which option the credit tier opens, know which first lien the property can carry, and know the category that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
- Know the option: confirm the option is offered in the state.
- Confirm the category: identify the category that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
- Understand the clock: plan a sale or refinance around the release date.
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 forgiveness clock on the forgivable options
For a Hendersonville, TN buyer, the forgivable options cost nothing to carry as long as the first lien stays current through the period; they are not resubordinated, not assumed, and no additional lien can be added behind them.
Property type and unit count select the option
The property itself can move a Hendersonville, TN 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.
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.
From a Hendersonville pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Lendmire runs a Hendersonville assistance file in a set order: pick the option, match the first lien, clear the property, close both liens together.
Pick the option
Every Hendersonville file starts with the option and the first lien; the category, the 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 Hendersonville 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 Hendersonville, TN 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
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 Hendersonville, TN buyer, not by default.
The mortgage, matched to the property
USDA where the address is eligible, HUD-184 where the buyer qualifies, FHA everywhere; the Hendersonville, TN first lien is the foundation the assistance stands on.
The right wholesale program
A Hendersonville file is matched to the wholesale program whose option fits the buyer, and Lendmire manages the first lien and the assistance together through closing.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Hendersonville down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Hendersonville, TN buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No option requires it. A Hendersonville 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?
The second-lien options have none; the nothing-to-repay option has an area income limit that a qualifying occupation, a first purchase, or an underserved tract can substitute for.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Hendersonville?
Assistance measured as a percentage of the price, in shapes that differ by what you owe afterward: nothing, nothing if the first lien stays current, or a second loan with a balloon. Credit, the first lien, the property, and the eligibility category decide which fits.
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 first lien stays current through the forgiveness period, and they pair with USDA and HUD-184 first liens as well as FHA.
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?
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 does Lendmire do on a Hendersonville first-time home buyer file?
The structural work: option, first lien, property, category, education, disclosures, closing. A Hendersonville buyer brings the contract; Lendmire brings the fit.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
Only the nothing-to-repay option requires it; the certificate is part of that file.
Which mortgages can the assistance be used with?
Government first liens only: FHA for every option, USDA and HUD-184 for the second-lien options.
Is there an option for refinancing?
Yes, a refinance-cost option: a repayable second lien sized as a share of the balance on an existing FHA loan, covering closing costs and keeping the first lien inside FHA leverage limits. It is not a streamline, and it cannot refinance a loan that already carries assistance.
Place your Hendersonville purchase on the right option today.
No credit pull, no commitment: an initial review places your Hendersonville purchase on the right option and tells you what to gather.
This guide covers Hendersonville — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Tennessee, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Also in Tennessee: Smyrna · Nashville · Spring Hill · Columbia · FHA Loans · USDA Loans