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 Johnson City, TN 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, in whole or, on the lowest tier, in part.
Covers the FHA down payment, in whole or in part
The FHA minimum down payment is 3.5%, and this option covers it in whole or, on its lower tier, in part with nothing to pay back — no lien, no payment, no interest — for buyers at or below the area income limit or in 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
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 Tennessee · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
Program figures are refreshed from one guideline source and change when it changes. The nothing-to-repay option is not offered in every state; the forgivable and repayable options are second liens; no option combines with another assistance program; all are for owner-occupied primary residences. The rate in the calculator is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and the payment shown is an illustrative estimate; no fee or lender identity appears on this page. Lendmire is the broker, not 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.
For Johnson City, TN 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 Tennessee.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
The gap the program closes for a Johnson City 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 Johnson City, TN 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 Johnson City 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 Tennessee.
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.
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 Johnson City’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Census housing and income data describe who buys in Johnson City, TN and what it costs to get in; a lender reads those figures as context for the first lien, not as underwriting inputs.
Market context only. In most markets, the renter households are the pool the program exists for: qualified for a payment close to their rent, short the cash to close; the assistance is the bridge from one to the other.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Johnson City submarkets, distinct property rules.
The metropolitan market around Johnson City splits into distinct pockets; a lender underwrites the home in front of it, but the pocket sets the expectations.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
In Johnson City’s established neighborhoods, a buyer can use the program with a limited renovation loan or, on the nothing-to-repay option, a standard one, so the down payment help and the repair budget close together. Median gross rent in Johnson City is about $1,023 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Townhomes and attached homes
Attached homes and townhomes in Johnson City 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. Johnson City itself counts a population near 72K.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
In Johnson City, owner-occupied small multi-unit buildings qualify for assistance when the buyer lives in one of the units, up to four units on a purchase; the unit count decides which option applies. About 49% of Johnson City’s households rent — roughly 14,931 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Manufactured homes on owned land
Manufactured housing on owned land near Johnson City 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. Median household income in Johnson City sits near $57,254 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums close to work
Condominiums are often the entry point in Johnson City, 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 Johnson City runs near $268,200 on the latest Census estimate.
New construction and infill
A newly built Johnson City home is eligible; the buyer’s own funds requirement is covered by the assistance, and the builder’s closing date is met once the first lien is approved. On a home at Johnson City’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $9,400 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Read the submarkets as orientation. The file’s figures come from the first lien, the option, and the program’s rules.
Four ways Johnson City buyers put down payment assistance to work.
From a first home to an FHA refinance, down payment assistance in Johnson City, TN solves a specific set of problems, and the cards below take up the ones that come up most.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
Owners in Johnson City 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.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
A Johnson City, TN buyer on a USDA or HUD-184 first lien uses the second-lien options, forgivable or repayable; the nothing-to-repay option pairs only with FHA first liens.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
The most common Johnson City, TN file: an FHA first lien, the assistance covering the minimum investment, and the buyer’s own funds reserved for moving costs and reserves.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
For an older Johnson City home, the renovation first lien and the assistance fit together, with the assistance measured on the purchase price rather than the repaired value.
Size the assistance on a Johnson City price before requesting a quote.
The calculator does what a loan officer’s first pass does for a Johnson City 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.
Johnson City FHA payment with assistance
A Johnson City 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 $270,000 price near Johnson City’s median owner-occupied home value, the strongest assistance option offered in Tennessee applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Tennessee (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.
The right structure for a Johnson City, TN buyer depends on savings, credit, the first lien, and whether the help needs to reach closing costs.
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 Johnson City 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 Johnson City, TN file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Johnson City 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 Johnson City, TN 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 Johnson City file clean and fundable.
A clean Johnson City 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.
- Confirm the category: settle which category applies before the application is signed.
- Take the course: keep the certificate for the file.
The option decides what you owe afterward
Choose the shape before the amount: the forgivable options cover the minimum investment and cost nothing to carry when the first lien stays current; the repayable option covers more and is repaid; where it is offered, a nothing-to-repay option released at closing costs nothing at all.
The eligibility category for the nothing-to-repay option
For a Johnson City buyer, the category question is worth answering early: a buyer inside the income limit or in a qualifying occupation reaches the nothing-to-repay option; a buyer outside every category uses the forgivable or repayable second liens, which carry no income limit.
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.
The mortgage and the county loan limit
In Johnson City, TN, 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.
Property type and unit count select the option
The property itself can move a Johnson City, TN 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.
From a Johnson City pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The process for a Johnson City, TN purchase with assistance is deliberate, because the details around the assistance are what stall closings.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Johnson City scenario against the options offered in Tennessee: the credit tier, the first lien, the unit count, the category, and whether the help must reach closing costs.
Get the mortgage approved
The FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 first lien runs through automated underwriting, with the assistance attached as its own loan where a second lien applies; a Johnson City buyer’s income, credit, and reserves are read the way the first lien requires.
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 first lien and the assistance close at the same table — the assistance as a grant released at closing where offered, or as a second lien with its own loan number — and the Johnson City buyer receives keys with the minimum investment covered.
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
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 Johnson City, TN buyer, not by default.
The mortgage, matched to the property
FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 is chosen with the Johnson City 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
Assistance programs differ across wholesale lenders in what they offer and where; Lendmire places a Johnson City, TN file where its credit, its first lien, and its property read best, subject to lender program eligibility.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Johnson City down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Johnson City, TN buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
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?
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 Johnson City households use it.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Johnson City?
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 Tennessee.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
It depends on the shape you choose. Grant-style help is released at closing and never repaid; a forgivable second lien is forgiven after the on-time period; a repayable second lien is a real second loan with a balloon. A Johnson City buyer chooses by what they want to carry after closing.
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 is the repayable option and when does it make sense?
It is a loan — the repayable options are the only purchase options with a payment — in exchange for covering the most. A Johnson City buyer chooses it for the closing-cost coverage or the high-balance pairing.
Is there an option for refinancing?
For an existing FHA loan, yes — a repayable option sized on the balance, for a full refinance rather than a streamline.
Can I combine this with another assistance program?
The options do not stack with each other or with local, state, or employer programs; a Johnson City buyer eligible for more than one chooses the one that fits best.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
Primary residences only. Investment properties and second homes are outside the program.
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 Johnson City assistance file before the contract is signed.
No credit pull, no commitment: an initial review places your Johnson City purchase on the right option and tells you what to gather.
This guide covers Johnson City — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Tennessee, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in Tennessee: Kingsport · Bristol · Morristown · Sevierville · Gatlinburg · Pigeon Forge · Knoxville · Cleveland
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans