Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
One source feeds every down payment assistance page Lendmire publishes; the Raleigh, NC figures below refresh when the program sheets are updated.
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 North Carolina · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
The figures on this page are program parameters, not offers: assistance percentages, credit floors, unit limits, and forgiveness periods vary by option and by state, and every file is underwritten individually. The calculator estimates an FHA payment at an editable benchmark rate that is not a quote; no fee or lender is stated or implied. Lendmire brokers these loans through its wholesale network in sixteen licensed states, is never the lender, and is not affiliated with FHA, USDA, HUD, or the federal government. Lendmire, LLC — NMLS #2371349. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
For Raleigh, NC buyers, the first-time home buyer programs come down to three parts: 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 North Carolina.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
An FHA purchase asks for a minimum investment from the buyer; the assistance covers it, measured as a percentage of the lesser of price or value, and the largest option carries a further share for closing costs and prepaids.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
Nothing to repay, forgiven over time, or repaid with a balloon: the three purchase shapes in Raleigh, NC 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
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
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.
This is the whole test: the price sets the minimum investment, the option covers it, and the larger option leaves room for closing costs. The tool below applies it to your numbers and adds the FHA payment estimate.
Where Raleigh’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
The share of Raleigh, NC households that rent, the median home value, and the median household income together sketch the gap the assistance closes for a first purchase.
Market context only. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show what a Raleigh 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 Raleigh submarkets, distinct property rules.
The metropolitan market around Raleigh splits into distinct pockets; a lender underwrites the home in front of it, but the pocket sets the expectations.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
Renovation purchases in Raleigh 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Raleigh runs near $415,800 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums close to work
Buyers in Raleigh’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. On a home at Raleigh’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $14,600 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
In Raleigh, owner-occupied small multi-unit buildings qualify for assistance when the buyer lives in one of the units, up to four units on a purchase; the unit count decides which option applies. Median gross rent in Raleigh is about $1,572 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Townhomes and attached homes
Attached homes and townhomes in Raleigh 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. Raleigh itself counts a population near 481K.
New construction and infill
A newly built Raleigh home is eligible; the buyer’s own funds requirement is covered by the assistance, and the builder’s closing date is met once the first lien is approved. About 49% of Raleigh’s households rent — roughly 100,202 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Manufactured homes on owned land
Manufactured housing on owned land near Raleigh is eligible, with the option decided by the home’s width: the nothing-to-repay option accepts single-width homes, while the second-lien options accept double-width only. Median household income in Raleigh sits near $85,395 on the latest Census estimate.
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 Raleigh buyers put down payment assistance to work.
How Raleigh buyers put the program to work depends on the first lien, the property, and what the help needs to cover; these four paths cover most files.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
For a Raleigh buyer choosing a small multi-unit home, the assistance attaches to the first lien on the building, up to the option’s unit limit, with the buyer living in one of the units.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
The most common Raleigh, NC file: an FHA first lien, the assistance covering the minimum investment, and the buyer’s own funds reserved for moving costs and reserves.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
A Raleigh homeowner refinancing an existing FHA loan can use the refinance-cost option, a repayable second lien sized on the balance, to cover closing costs and keep the first lien inside FHA limits.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
A Raleigh, NC 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.
Size the assistance on a Raleigh price before requesting a quote.
Enter a Raleigh purchase price, choose an assistance option offered in North Carolina, and add any cash of your own. The calculator sizes the FHA minimum investment, applies the assistance to the down payment and closing costs, builds the FHA loan with its upfront and monthly mortgage insurance, and estimates the payment at an editable market benchmark rate — with housing and total ratios when you enter income.
Raleigh FHA payment with assistance
Seeded from Raleigh’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 $415,000 price near Raleigh’s median owner-occupied home value, the strongest assistance option offered in North Carolina applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for North Carolina (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.
A Raleigh, NC buyer can reach the closing table several ways; the difference is where the minimum investment comes from and what it costs to carry afterward.
Assistance on an FHA loan, your own down payment, or assistance on a USDA or HUD-184 loan.
Assistance that closes with the first lien: it covers the minimum investment; its shape is chosen by the credit tier and the first lien, with the eligibility category where the nothing-to-repay option is in play, and the second-lien options stay open to repeat buyers with no income limit.
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 Raleigh 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 Raleigh, NC file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Raleigh scenario review.
What a down payment assistance review usually starts with.
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.
A down payment assistance file in Raleigh, NC is won or lost on details a plain purchase never meets: the eligibility category, the forgiveness clock, the balloon on the repayable option, the county loan limit, the property type.
Use these checks to keep the Raleigh file clean and fundable.
A clean Raleigh file starts with the option chosen, the first lien matched to the property, and the homebuyer education course completed where it is required.
- Know the option: confirm the option is offered in the state.
- Confirm the category: remember that the second-lien options need no category and carry no income limit.
- Consider a blended score: every borrower needs a score of their own.
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; where it is offered, a nothing-to-repay option released at closing costs nothing at all.
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.
Blended scores for two-borrower files
A Raleigh, NC 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 Raleigh, NC 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 in Raleigh, NC, 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 Raleigh pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The path from a Raleigh pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place runs through the option first and the paperwork second.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Raleigh scenario against the options offered in North Carolina: the credit tier, the first lien, the unit count, the category, and whether the help must reach closing costs.
Get the mortgage approved
Lendmire packages the Raleigh file for the first lien first, because the assistance follows its approval; the option’s floor and the first lien’s rules both have to clear.
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 Raleigh 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.
An assistance file rewards preparation, and preparation is what a brokerage built for first-time and moderate-income buyers provides.
The option, matched to the buyer
Lendmire reads the options offered in North Carolina against a Raleigh 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
FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 is chosen with the Raleigh 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 Raleigh, NC file where its credit, its first lien, and its property read best, subject to lender program eligibility.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Raleigh down payment assistance FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Raleigh 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 — and that surprises most Raleigh 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?
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 Raleigh?
Four shapes paired with a government mortgage: 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 North Carolina.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
For a Raleigh buyer, the nothing-to-repay option where offered, otherwise a forgivable second lien; the options table on this page shows what each costs to carry.
What credit score do I need?
Scores in the low six hundreds open the first option, and each step up in score opens more of them. The mortgage program has its own rules too, so the credit score, the mortgage, and the property are read together before the option is named.
Can I buy a duplex or a fourplex with assistance?
Owner-occupied small multi-unit homes qualify, with the unit count deciding the option; a Raleigh, NC buyer living in one unit of a fourplex uses the nothing-to-repay option, the one purchase option that reaches four units; the second-lien options stop at two.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
Primary residences only. Investment properties and second homes are outside the program.
What is the rate on the mortgage and on the assistance?
It depends on the first lien, the option, and the file; the rate shown in the calculator is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and the payment it produces is an illustrative estimate. A scenario review produces the terms.
How does a forgivable second lien work — the small second loan behind the mortgage?
It is recorded as a second lien with no interest and no monthly payment, and it is released after the on-time payment period on the first lien — three years on one option, five on the other — as long as there is no serious delinquency in that window and the home stays the primary residence.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
Required on one option, optional on the rest; schedule it early if the nothing-to-repay option is the plan.
Talk through a Raleigh assistance file before the contract is signed.
Share the property, the price, and a little about your situation; a Lendmire loan officer names the option that fits and follows up.
This guide covers Raleigh — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in North Carolina, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in North Carolina: Cary · Wake Forest · Apex · Holly Springs · Durham · Chapel Hill · Rocky Mount · Goldsboro
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans