Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
These figures are read from Lendmire’s centralized down payment assistance standards source and update automatically when the programs change. Every state and city guide in this series reads the same source.
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
The FHA minimum down payment is 3.5%, and this option covers all of it with no interest and no monthly payment; it is forgiven after 36 on-time payments on your first mortgage.
On every option offered here
No income limit on any option offered in Washington — one of the biggest advantages of this program. Earn what you earn; the assistance is sized on the price, not on your income.
Credit score to start
The score that opens the forgivable options; the repayable options start a step higher. Two-borrower files may use a blended score on the second-lien options.
| 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.
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 a Bellevue, 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 a Bellevue 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
A Bellevue 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 Bellevue buyer who has owned before qualifies on credit, first lien, and property alone.
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 Bellevue’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for Bellevue, WA 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 Bellevue submarkets, distinct property rules.
A down payment assistance file in Bellevue reads differently by submarket — condominium approval, association packages, unit counts, and USDA eligibility all shift from one to the next.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In Bellevue, a manufactured home on a fee-simple lot pairs with the program; leaseholds do not, and the home’s width decides which option carries it. On a home at Bellevue’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $46,900 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
Renovation purchases in Bellevue 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 Bellevue is about $2,572 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
New construction and infill
New construction in Bellevue 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 Bellevue runs near $1,340,300 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums close to work
Buyers in Bellevue’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. About 48% of Bellevue’s households rent — roughly 29,743 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Townhomes and attached homes
In Bellevue, 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. Median household income in Bellevue sits near $165,576 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes, owner-occupied
A buyer who lives in one unit of a Bellevue duplex or triplex can use the program on the whole building; the option that allows up to four units makes a house-hacking purchase reachable with the minimum investment covered. Bellevue counts a population near 152K within the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area.
None of this is a valuation or an approval; it is the backdrop a Bellevue file is read against before the first lien and the option decide the numbers.
Four ways Bellevue buyers put down payment assistance to work.
How Bellevue 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.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
The larger option exists for the Bellevue, WA closing where the down payment is only half the problem: it carries the minimum investment and a further share for costs.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
For a first purchase in Bellevue, the assistance closes the down payment gap; the option is chosen by credit, first lien, and eligibility category.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
Renovation purchases in Bellevue, WA qualify for the assistance on the price before repairs, so the down payment help and the repair budget close together.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
Owners in Bellevue with an FHA loan and little cash for a refinance use the refinance-cost option, subject to its own credit floor and combined-leverage limit.
Size the assistance on a Bellevue price before requesting a quote.
This tool applies the program to a Bellevue scenario: the price sets the minimum investment, the option and your cash set the down payment, and the FHA loan, mortgage insurance, and payment follow at the benchmark rate shown. Every field is editable; the rate is a market reference, not a quote.
Bellevue FHA payment with assistance
Seeded with Bellevue’s median home value; every field is editable, and the estimate updates as you change the price, the option, your cash, or the rate.
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 $600,000 price near Bellevue’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 Bellevue, 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.
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 Bellevue 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 Bellevue, WA file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Bellevue 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.
Beyond the credit tier and the first lien, a handful of details decide which option a Bellevue buyer can use — or whether the assistance attaches at all.
Use these checks to keep the Bellevue file clean and fundable.
A clean Bellevue 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.
- Understand the clock: keep the first lien current through the forgiveness period.
- Do not stack: expect no combination with other assistance.
The option decides what you owe afterward
A forgivable second lien costs nothing if the first lien stays current through the forgiveness period; a repayable second lien is a loan with a balloon that reaches closing costs. A Bellevue buyer chooses by cost to carry first and by amount second.
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.
No stacking with other assistance
A Bellevue 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
Blending is a qualification tool on the second-lien options and nothing more; a Bellevue file that blends still needs each borrower to have a representative score, and manual underwriting is off the table.
Escrow holdbacks for minor repairs
A Bellevue 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.
From a Bellevue pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Lendmire runs a Bellevue assistance file in a set order: pick the option, match the first lien, clear the property, close both liens together.
Pick the option
Every Bellevue 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
Lendmire packages the Bellevue 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 a Bellevue, WA 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 Bellevue 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.
Pairing the right assistance to the right first lien for a Bellevue buyer means knowing which option the credit opens, which the property allows, and what each costs to carry — before the contract is signed.
The option, matched to the buyer
A Bellevue 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
USDA where the address is eligible, HUD-184 where the buyer qualifies, FHA everywhere; the Bellevue, WA first lien is the foundation the assistance stands on.
The right wholesale program
A Bellevue 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.
Bellevue down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Bellevue, 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?
There is no income limit on the forgivable or repayable options; the first lien’s rules are the only income test a Bellevue buyer meets.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Bellevue?
Three shapes paired with a government first lien: 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 Washington.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
For a Bellevue 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 Bellevue buyer’s credit tier decides which options are open — the options table on this page shows the floor for every option offered in Washington.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
No option offered in Washington requires it, though the course covers the budget, the closing, and the responsibilities that come with the first lien and is worth an evening.
Can the assistance cover closing costs too?
The repayable options reach closing costs; the others stop at the down payment. A Bellevue buyer short on both uses the larger option.
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 Bellevue first-time home buyer file?
Reads the options offered in Washington against the credit, the first lien, the property, and the category; chooses the wholesale program that carries the fit; packages the first lien and the assistance together; and manages both liens through closing. Lendmire is the broker, never the lender, and is not affiliated with FHA, USDA, HUD, or the federal government.
Can I combine this with another assistance program?
One option, one first lien, one closing — no combination with other assistance.
Place your Bellevue purchase on the right option today.
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 Bellevue — 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: Shoreline · Port Angeles · Bellingham · Bremerton · FHA Loans · USDA Loans