Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
The current program figures below are hydrated from Lendmire’s down payment assistance standards source at each visit, so the options shown for Auburn, WA 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.
Covers the whole FHA down payment
No payment and no interest on the assistance: it covers the entire 3.5% FHA minimum down payment and is forgiven after 36 on-time first-mortgage payments.
On every option offered here
None of the options offered in Washington caps your income: a higher-earning household qualifies the same as anyone else, and the assistance is measured on the purchase price alone.
Credit score to start
This is the lowest score that opens an option here — the forgivable second liens; the repayable options start a little higher, so a stronger score opens more choices.
| Option | Assistance | What you repay | Credit · mortgage · 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 · five options offered in Washington · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
Nothing on this page is a Loan Estimate, an approval, a quote, or a commitment to lend. Down payment assistance eligibility, amounts, and terms depend on the first-lien program, the option, the property, the buyer’s credit and category, and full underwriting through select wholesale lenders licensed in sixteen states; the calculator’s rate is an editable benchmark and its payment an estimate. Lendmire is a mortgage broker and is 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.
First-time home buyer programs are not one program; they are a family of down payment assistance options paired with a government-backed first lien, and the right one for an Auburn, WA buyer depends on credit, the first lien, the property, and whether the help needs to reach closing costs.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s down payment assistance program, or the statewide guide at Down Payment Assistance in Washington.
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
For an Auburn buyer the choice is about cost to carry. The forgivable options cost nothing if the first lien stays current through the forgiveness period; the repayable option is a second loan with its own disclosure and a balloon that reaches closing costs.
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
No option requires a first-time buyer, and no option carries an income limit beyond the first lien’s own rules; an Auburn buyer who has owned before qualifies on credit, first lien, and property alone.
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 Auburn’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Census housing and income data describe who buys in Auburn, WA and what it costs to get in; a lender reads those figures as context for the first lien, not as underwriting inputs.
Read the figures as backdrop. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show how far Auburn’s prices have moved against its incomes, 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 Auburn submarkets, distinct property rules.
Across Auburn’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.
Townhomes and attached homes
Attached homes and townhomes in Auburn 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 Auburn sits near $97,884 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes, owner-occupied
In Auburn, owner-occupied small multi-unit buildings qualify for assistance when the buyer lives in one of the units; the unit count decides which option applies. About 39% of Auburn’s households rent — roughly 11,981 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
Renovation purchases in Auburn 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 Auburn is about $1,786 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Manufactured homes on owned land
For Auburn 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 Auburn’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $19,200 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Condominiums close to work
In Auburn, a condominium near the job is the first home many buyers can reach; the program pairs with it as long as the project clears FHA review, and the assistance covers the minimum investment the same way it would on a house. Auburn counts a population near 86K within the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area.
New construction and infill
New construction in Auburn 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 Auburn runs near $547,900 on the latest Census estimate.
None of this is a valuation or an approval; it is the backdrop an Auburn file is read against before the first lien and the option decide the numbers.
Four ways Auburn buyers put down payment assistance to work.
How Auburn 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 two-to-four-unit home and live in one unit
An owner-occupied duplex, triplex, or fourplex in Auburn 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
An Auburn 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
In USDA-eligible areas around Auburn, the forgivable and repayable options pair with a no-down-payment first lien and cover closing costs and prepaids instead; HUD-184 first liens pair with the same options.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
The most common Auburn, WA file: an FHA first lien, the assistance covering the minimum investment, and the buyer’s own funds reserved for moving costs and reserves.
Size the assistance on an Auburn price before requesting a quote.
The calculator does what a loan officer’s first pass does for an Auburn 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.
Auburn FHA payment with assistance
Illustrative Auburn inputs; the calculator recalculates on every change.
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 $550,000 price near Auburn’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA first lien is realistic), the strongest assistance option offered in Washington applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Washington (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.
An Auburn, WA 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 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.
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 second-lien options carry the Auburn file, and the closing costs are what the assistance covers. 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 Auburn, WA file where it reads best.
What to prepare for an Auburn 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.
A down payment assistance file in Auburn, WA 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 Auburn file clean and fundable.
A clean Auburn 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: choose by cost to carry first, amount second.
- Understand the clock: expect no resubordination and no additional liens.
- Confirm the property: check condominium approval and manufactured-home width.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered two ways in Auburn, WA, and the difference is entirely in what happens after closing: nothing if the first lien stays current, or a second loan that comes due; the options table shows what is offered.
The forgiveness clock on the forgivable options
The clock starts at closing and runs with the first lien’s payments; an Auburn buyer who plans to sell or refinance inside the period should expect the second lien to be paid at that point, since it is not resubordinated.
Property type and unit count select the option
The property itself can move an Auburn, WA 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
An Auburn buyer eligible for a local or employer program chooses between it and these options; they do not stack, so the comparison is made program against program before the contract is signed.
Blended scores for two-borrower files
On the second-lien options, two occupying borrowers can qualify on the average of their representative scores when the higher earner has the higher score; the loan must carry an automated approval, and every borrower still needs a score.
From an Auburn pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The process for an Auburn, WA 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 an Auburn, WA 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 Auburn 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.
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 Washington against an Auburn 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 Auburn 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
An Auburn 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.
Auburn down payment assistance FAQs
Straight answers for Auburn 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. None of the options requires a first-time buyer; an Auburn buyer who has owned before qualifies on credit, first lien, and property alone.
Is there an income limit?
There is no income limit on the forgivable or repayable options; the first lien’s rules are the only income test an Auburn buyer meets.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Auburn?
Assistance measured as a percentage of the price, in shapes that differ by what you owe afterward: nothing if the first lien stays current, or a second loan with a balloon. Credit, the first lien, and the property decide which fits.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
The forgivable second liens: no interest and no payment, released after the on-time payment period on the first lien, and they pair with FHA, USDA, and HUD-184 first liens. The repayable option is a loan with its own payment.
What credit score do I need?
An Auburn buyer’s credit tier decides which options are open — the options table on this page shows the floor for every option offered in Washington.
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.
What is the rate on the mortgage and on the assistance?
A scenario review produces the actual terms; the calculator here shows an estimate at a benchmark rate you can change, with the assistance sized on the price you enter.
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.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
Not on the options offered in Washington; a HUD-approved homebuyer education course is still worth taking on a first purchase, and some first liens encourage it.
Can I combine this with another assistance program?
The options do not stack with each other or with local, state, or employer programs; an Auburn buyer eligible for more than one chooses the one that fits best.
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 Auburn — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Washington, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Also in Washington: Chelan · Sammamish · Bellingham · Wenatchee · FHA Loans · USDA Loans