Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
The snapshot below is not typed onto this page — it is pulled from one down payment assistance guideline source and refreshed when that source changes, so Friday Harbor, WA always shows the options in force.
Of the purchase price
The largest option is a repayable second lien that covers your down payment and can reach closing costs and prepaids too; the smaller options 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
Every option offered in Washington is open regardless of income, so there is no ceiling to stay under; the file is placed on the price, the credit score, and the home.
Credit score to start
Starting score for the program in Washington; each option carries its own floor, and the higher your score, the more of the options open to you.
| 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.
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.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
The first-time home buyer programs work the same way in Friday Harbor, WA 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 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
The options differ in what they cost to carry: forgivable second liens with no interest and no payment, released after an on-time payment period; a repayable second lien with a balloon that reaches closing costs; and a refinance-cost option for an existing FHA loan.
Credit floors, mortgage programs, and unit counts
A Friday Harbor 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 Washington.
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; a Friday Harbor buyer who has owned before qualifies on credit, first lien, and property alone.
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 Friday Harbor’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for Friday Harbor, WA frame the question every assistance file answers: at this price, how large is the minimum investment, and which option covers it?
Market context only. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show how far Friday Harbor’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 Friday Harbor submarkets, distinct property rules.
A down payment assistance file in Friday Harbor reads differently by submarket — condominium approval, association packages, unit counts, and USDA eligibility all shift from one to the next.
Workforce condominiums
Condominiums are often the reachable option in Friday Harbor, and the assistance follows the first lien: the building needs FHA approval, and hotel-style projects are outside the program. Friday Harbor counts a population near 2.7K.
Year-round neighborhoods
Second homes and rentals are outside the program; a Friday Harbor buyer’s own home in a year-round neighborhood is exactly inside it. About 41% of Friday Harbor’s households rent — roughly 503 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Townhome and PUD communities
In Friday Harbor’s planned communities, the assistance works the same way as on a detached home, with the association package read alongside the file. Median gross rent in Friday Harbor is about $1,696 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
USDA-eligible edges
Outside Friday Harbor’s core, USDA-eligible areas pair a no-down-payment first lien with the second-lien assistance options, which then cover closing costs and prepaids. Median household income in Friday Harbor sits near $80,378 on the latest Census estimate.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In Friday Harbor, a manufactured home on a fee-simple lot pairs with the assistance; the home’s width decides which option carries it. The median owner-occupied home value in Friday Harbor runs near $570,400 on the latest Census estimate.
County-limit homes
Where Friday Harbor prices run high, the first lien’s size against the county limit is settled before the option is chosen. On a home at Friday Harbor’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $20,000 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
None of this is a valuation or an approval; it is the backdrop a Friday Harbor file is read against before the first lien and the option decide the numbers.
Four ways Friday Harbor buyers put down payment assistance to work.
Down payment assistance in Friday Harbor, WA is used for more than a first purchase; these are the structures Friday Harbor buyers ask about most.
Buy a two-to-four-unit home and live in one unit
An owner-occupied duplex, triplex, or fourplex in Friday Harbor 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 closing costs too on the larger option
When the minimum investment is covered but closing costs and prepaids are the remaining hurdle, the larger repayable option in Friday Harbor, WA reaches both — the balance above the minimum investment goes toward the closing.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
In USDA-eligible areas around Friday Harbor, 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.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
A Friday Harbor 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.
Size the assistance on a Friday Harbor price before requesting a quote.
The calculator does what a loan officer’s first pass does for a Friday Harbor 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.
Friday Harbor FHA payment with assistance
Starting assumptions reflect Friday Harbor’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 $570,000 price near Friday Harbor’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.
A Friday Harbor, 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.
Covers the FHA minimum investment as a percentage of the price — some forgiven in as little as three years — 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.
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.
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.
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 Friday Harbor, WA file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Friday Harbor 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.
These are the points a lender reads on a Friday Harbor assistance file before the option is confirmed; each one can move the structure.
Use these checks to keep the Friday Harbor file clean and fundable.
Settle the option, the first lien, the property’s eligibility, and the category before the appraisal is ordered; a Friday Harbor file that clears these reads cleanly.
- Know the option: read the second lien as the loan it is.
- Understand the clock: plan a sale or refinance around the release date.
- Handle small repairs: keep holdback repairs minor and non-structural.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered two ways in Friday Harbor, 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
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.
Escrow holdbacks for minor repairs
On the second-lien options, minor, non-structural repairs can be escrowed at closing: the repairs must not affect health, safety, or livability, and the work is completed and inspected within a set period after closing.
The balloon on the repayable option
A Friday Harbor buyer choosing the larger option should read the balloon as a planning date: the second lien is settled by sale, refinance, or payoff before it, and the first lien continues on its own schedule.
The mortgage and the county loan limit
In Friday Harbor, WA, the first-lien program is chosen with the property: USDA where the address is eligible, HUD-184 where the buyer qualifies, FHA everywhere. The county loan limit then decides whether a larger first lien can still carry an assistance option.
From a Friday Harbor pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The path from a Friday Harbor pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place runs through the option first and the paperwork second.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Friday Harbor scenario against the options offered in Washington: 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 Friday Harbor 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
Final underwriting reads the whole Friday Harbor, WA 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.
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
A Friday Harbor scenario is placed on the right option first — the credit tier, the first lien, and the category — and the rest of the file is then built to fit it, before anything is ordered.
The mortgage, matched to the property
A Friday Harbor file is matched to the first-lien program that carries the property — FHA everywhere, USDA or HUD-184 where they fit — and the assistance option follows that choice.
The right wholesale program
Assistance programs differ across wholesale lenders in what they offer and where; Lendmire places a Friday Harbor, WA file where its credit, its first lien, and its property read best, subject to lender program eligibility.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Friday Harbor down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Friday Harbor, WA buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No option requires it. First-time status is not a rule of the program in Washington; the options open on the credit tier, the first-lien program, and the property.
Is there an income limit?
No. The options offered in Washington carry no income limit beyond the first lien’s own rules; a USDA first lien has its own limits, and an FHA or HUD-184 first lien has none.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Friday Harbor?
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?
For a Friday Harbor buyer, a forgivable second lien — it costs nothing to carry as long as the first lien stays current through the period; the options table on this page shows what each option costs to carry.
What credit score do I need?
A Friday Harbor buyer’s credit tier decides which options are open — the options table on this page shows the floor for every option offered in Washington.
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.
Which mortgages can the assistance be used with?
FHA on every option, including the repair-escrow and renovation programs; USDA and HUD-184 on the forgivable and repayable second liens. Conventional first liens are outside the program.
What if my mortgage is above the county loan limit?
Above the county limit, the repayable options carry the assistance; below it, every option is available. The price and the limit are settled before the option is chosen.
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.
Talk through a Friday Harbor assistance file before the contract is signed.
A first read of a Friday Harbor assistance scenario takes a few minutes and commits you to nothing; the option, the category, and the property rules are explained before anything is ordered.
This guide covers Friday Harbor — 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: Lakewood · Sammamish · Tumwater · Ocean Shores · FHA Loans · USDA Loans