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 Goshen, IN always shows the options in force.
Of the purchase price
Measured on the purchase price or the appraised value, whichever is lower; the largest option covers the down payment and reaches closing costs, and 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
Nothing to repay, ever: this option pays the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment in whole or, on its lower tier, in part, and leaves no lien behind, for buyers within the area income limit or in a qualifying category.
On the forgivable and repayable options
The forgivable and repayable options have no income limit at all — one of the biggest advantages of this program. Only the nothing-to-repay option asks for income at or below 140% of the area median, or a qualifying category.
Credit score to start
The score that opens the nothing-to-repay option; the forgivable options start a step higher and the repayable options higher still. Two-borrower files may use a blended score on the second-lien options.
| 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 Indiana · 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. Lendmire, LLC — NMLS #2371349. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
For Goshen, IN 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 Indiana.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
In Goshen, IN, the assistance attaches to the first lien at closing and covers the buyer’s required investment; on the larger option, what remains after the minimum investment goes toward closing costs.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
Nothing to repay, forgiven over time, or repaid with a balloon: the three purchase shapes in Goshen, IN 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
A Goshen 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 Indiana.
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.
The calculator below runs this math on a price you enter. Choose an assistance option offered in Indiana and add any cash of your own; it sizes the minimum investment, the assistance, what is left for closing costs, the FHA loan with its mortgage insurance, and the payment at an editable market benchmark rate.
Where Goshen’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for Goshen, IN frame the question every assistance file answers: at this price, how large is the minimum investment, and which option covers it?
These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show what a Goshen 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 Goshen submarkets, distinct property rules.
Across Goshen’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.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
A buyer who lives in one unit of a Goshen 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 household income in Goshen sits near $59,184 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums close to work
Condominiums are often the entry point in Goshen, and the assistance follows the first lien: the building needs FHA approval, or a single-unit approval, before the down payment help can attach to it. The median owner-occupied home value in Goshen runs near $184,900 on the latest Census estimate.
New construction and infill
New construction in Goshen 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. On a home at Goshen’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $6,500 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Manufactured homes on owned land
Manufactured housing on owned land near Goshen 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. Goshen itself counts a population near 34K; it sits within the Elkhart-Goshen, IN area.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
The older streets of Goshen 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. Median gross rent in Goshen is about $1,093 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Townhomes and attached homes
The townhome rows of Goshen are where many first purchases happen, and the assistance is designed for exactly that: the minimum investment covered, the closing costs reachable on the larger option. About 38% of Goshen’s households rent — roughly 4,677 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Read the submarkets as orientation. The file’s figures come from the first lien, the option, and the program’s rules.
Four ways Goshen buyers put down payment assistance to work.
The same assistance serves several purposes in Goshen, IN; four of the most common are below.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
The larger option exists for the Goshen, IN closing where the down payment is only half the problem: it carries the minimum investment and a further share for costs.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
Owners in Goshen with an FHA loan and little cash for a refinance use the refinance-cost option, subject to its own credit floor and the combined-leverage limit it carries.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
Renovation purchases in Goshen, IN qualify for the assistance on the price before repairs, so the down payment help and the repair budget close together at one table.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
House-hacking in Goshen, IN pairs with the program when the buyer occupies a unit; the unit count decides which option applies, and the first lien carries the building.
Size the assistance on a Goshen price before requesting a quote.
This tool applies the program to a Goshen 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.
Goshen FHA payment with assistance
Illustrative Goshen inputs; the calculator recalculates on every change.
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 $185,000 price near Goshen’s median owner-occupied home value, the strongest assistance option offered in Indiana applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Indiana (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 Goshen, IN 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 Goshen 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 Goshen, IN file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Goshen 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 Goshen assistance file before the option is confirmed; each one can move the structure.
Use these checks to keep the Goshen file clean and fundable.
The checks below keep a Goshen assistance file on track, and each one comes from the option’s own terms rather than from a lender’s preference.
- Know the option: choose by cost to carry first, amount second.
- Confirm the category: settle which category applies before the application is signed.
- Match the first lien: check the price against the county loan limit.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in Goshen, IN, 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.
The mortgage and the county loan limit
In Goshen, IN, 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.
Homebuyer education on the nothing-to-repay option
The nothing-to-repay option requires a HUD-approved homebuyer education or pre-purchase counseling course, online or in person; the buyer pays for it up front and the cost is credited back at closing. The second-lien options do not require it.
Escrow holdbacks for minor repairs
A Goshen 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 Goshen pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Lendmire runs a Goshen assistance file in a set order: pick the option, match the first lien, clear the property, close with the assistance in place.
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 a Goshen, IN buyer — settled before anything is ordered.
Get the mortgage approved
Lendmire packages the Goshen 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
Property review runs in parallel with the first lien; the Goshen home is checked against the option’s rules and the first lien’s, from the unit count to the association package.
Close both loans together
Final underwriting reads the whole Goshen, IN 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.
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
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 Goshen, IN buyer, not by default.
The mortgage, matched to the property
A Goshen 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 Goshen, IN file where its credit, its first lien, and its property read best, subject to lender program eligibility.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Goshen down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Goshen, IN buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No. None of the options requires a first-time buyer. Being a first-time buyer is one of four categories that opens the nothing-to-repay option; the second-lien options have no first-time-buyer rule and no income limit at all.
Is there an income limit?
Income limits apply to one option only — the nothing-to-repay grant — and only for buyers outside its categories. Everything else on this page is open at any income, which is why higher-earning Goshen households use it.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Goshen?
Down payment help in four shapes for a Goshen, IN buyer: money with nothing to repay, a forgivable second lien that costs nothing while the mortgage stays current, a repayable second lien that reaches closing costs, and a refinance-cost option for an existing FHA loan. The forgivable and ten-year repayable shapes pair with an FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 mortgage; the rest pair with FHA only.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
Where the nothing-to-repay option is offered, nothing at all — no lien, no payment, no interest. The forgivable second liens are also free to carry: no payment and no interest, and they disappear once you have made the on-time mortgage payments the program asks for. Only the repayable option comes with a payment.
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.
What does Lendmire do on a Goshen first-time home buyer file?
The structural work covers the option, the first lien, the property, the category, the education course, the disclosures, and closing. A Goshen buyer brings the contract; Lendmire brings the fit.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
Primary residences only. Investment properties and second homes are outside the program.
Can the assistance cover closing costs too?
Yes, on the larger repayable option, which covers the minimum investment and a further share of the price for closing costs and prepaid items, including costs paid outside closing. The nothing-to-repay and forgivable options cover the minimum investment only.
How does a forgivable second lien work — the small second loan behind the mortgage?
It is a lien that costs nothing to carry and disappears on schedule; the clock runs with the first lien’s payments.
Can I buy a duplex or a fourplex with assistance?
Two units on the second-lien options, up to four on the nothing-to-repay option, always with the buyer living in one of them.
From a pre-approval to keys — with the assistance in place.
No credit pull, no commitment: an initial review places your Goshen purchase on the right option and tells you what to gather.
This guide covers Goshen — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Indiana, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in Indiana: Elkhart · Mishawaka · South Bend · La Porte · Fort Wayne · Michigan City · Kokomo · Gary
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans