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 Arlington, VA always shows the options in force.
Of the purchase price
Up to this share of the price can come from assistance: the largest option reaches closing costs as well as the down payment, while the smaller options cover the 3.5% FHA minimum, in whole or, on the lowest tier, in part.
Covers the FHA down payment, in whole or in part
This covers the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment in whole or, on its lower tier, in part, 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
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 Virginia · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
This page describes down payment assistance at the program level. The option for any file comes from the credit tier, the first lien, the property, and the eligibility category; the first lien’s approval, the appraisal, and full underwriting decide the actual terms, subject to lender program eligibility. Nothing here is a quote, a fee, or a commitment to lend; the calculator’s rate is a market benchmark you can edit and its payment an estimate. Lendmire 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.
The first-time home buyer programs work the same way in Arlington, VA 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 Virginia.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
The gap the program closes for an Arlington 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 Arlington, VA 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
An Arlington 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 Virginia.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
In Arlington, VA, the question is not whether this is a first home; it is which option fits the credit, the first lien, and the property — and, for the nothing-to-repay option, which qualifying category applies.
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 Arlington’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for Arlington, VA 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 renter share says how many households the program could serve; the median value says how far the minimum investment sits from a typical price; the two together describe where the program closes most files.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Arlington submarkets, distinct property rules.
Arlington’s entry-level stock is not one market. Each submarket below carries its own price points, its own property rules, and its own fit with the assistance options.
Condominiums close to work
In Arlington, 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. Median household income in Arlington sits near $142,114 on the latest Census estimate.
Townhomes and attached homes
In Arlington, a townhome in a planned development pairs cleanly with the program; the association’s rules and dues are read alongside the first lien, and the assistance covers the down payment. Arlington itself counts a population near 236K; it sits within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area.
New construction and infill
Infill and new-build homes in Arlington pair with the assistance as long as the property is the buyer’s primary residence and the first lien is a government program. On a home at Arlington’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $31,300 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
The older streets of Arlington are full of homes that need work, and the assistance pairs with a renovation first lien: the assistance is figured on the purchase price, while the loan itself covers price plus repairs. About 59% of Arlington’s households rent — roughly 65,806 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
A buyer who lives in one unit of an Arlington duplex can use the program on the whole building; the nothing-to-repay option, which reaches four units, makes a house-hacking purchase reachable with the minimum investment covered. Median gross rent in Arlington is about $2,322 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Manufactured homes on owned land
Manufactured housing on owned land near Arlington 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Arlington runs near $895,000 on the latest Census estimate.
None of this is a valuation or an approval; it is the backdrop an Arlington file is read against before the first lien and the option decide the numbers.
Four ways Arlington buyers put down payment assistance to work.
How Arlington 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 first home with the down payment covered
An Arlington buyer with the income for the payment but not the cash to close uses the assistance to cover the FHA minimum investment, a grant with nothing to repay, and keeps savings for the move.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
Where the first lien is USDA or HUD-184, the second-lien assistance options carry the file in Arlington, forgivable or repayable by the buyer’s choice and credit profile.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
An Arlington buyer who needs more than the minimum investment uses the repayable option that covers down payment, closing costs, and prepaid items, including costs paid outside closing.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
The refinance-cost option in Arlington, VA 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.
Size the assistance on an Arlington price before requesting a quote.
Enter an Arlington purchase price, choose an assistance option offered in Virginia, 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.
Arlington FHA payment with assistance
An Arlington scenario to start from — adjust the price, the option, your own cash, the term, and the rate to see the assistance and the payment.
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 $600,000 price held below Arlington’s median owner-occupied home value, where an FHA first lien is realistic, the strongest assistance option offered in Virginia applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Virginia (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 an Arlington 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.
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 forgivable options and the ten-year repayable option carry the Arlington 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 Arlington, VA file where it reads best.
What to prepare for an Arlington 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.
A down payment assistance file in Arlington, VA 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 Arlington file clean and fundable.
Settle the option, the first lien, the property’s eligibility, and the category before the appraisal is ordered; an Arlington file that clears these reads cleanly.
- Know the option: choose by cost to carry first, amount second.
- Confirm the category: identify the category that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
- Handle small repairs: escrow more than the estimated cost.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in Arlington, VA, 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
An Arlington 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 mortgage and the county loan limit
An Arlington buyer near the county loan limit should settle the first lien’s size first; a high-balance first lien narrows the options to the repayable ones, and the choice of USDA or HUD-184 narrows them further.
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.
From an Arlington pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Four steps take an Arlington, VA assistance file from a first read to funding; the first one is the one most buyers skip.
Pick the option
Every Arlington 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
Lendmire packages the Arlington 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 property side of an Arlington, VA file is where the option can change: unit count, project approval, and the loan limit are confirmed before the closing is scheduled.
Close both loans together
The Arlington 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
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 Arlington, VA buyer, not by default.
The mortgage, matched to the property
An Arlington 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 an Arlington, VA file where its credit, its first lien, and its property read best, subject to lender program eligibility.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Arlington down payment assistance FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Arlington 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?
You do not. Every option is open to repeat buyers; the file is placed on the price, the credit score, the mortgage program, and the home — having owned before closes nothing, and a first purchase is only one of the categories that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
Is there an income limit?
An Arlington buyer above the area income limit still reaches the nothing-to-repay option through an occupation, a first purchase, or the tract, and reaches the second-lien options regardless of income.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Arlington?
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 Virginia.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
For an Arlington 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?
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.
Which mortgages can the assistance be used with?
Government first liens only: FHA for every option, USDA and HUD-184 for the forgivable and repayable second liens (the closing-cost repayable option, the one that also reaches prepaid items, is FHA only).
What property types are eligible?
Most primary-residence property types, with the condominium’s approval, the manufactured home’s width and title, and the unit count deciding which option attaches.
What is the repayable option and when does it make sense?
The repayable second lien covers the minimum investment and closing costs, and it makes sense when the help has to reach closing costs or the first lien is high balance; plan around its balloon and read its disclosures as the loan it is.
Can I buy a duplex or a fourplex with assistance?
Yes, if you live in one of the units. The nothing-to-repay option reaches four units; the purchase second-lien options stop at two; the refinance-cost option reaches four with one unit owner-occupied.
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.
Ready to size the assistance on an Arlington home? Start with the price.
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 Arlington — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Virginia, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in Virginia: Alexandria · McLean · Reston · Winchester · Luray · Massanutten · Charlottesville · Richmond
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans