Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
The current program figures below are refreshed from Lendmire’s down payment assistance standards source at each visit, so the options shown for Midland, MI are the options in force.
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, 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
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
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 Michigan · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
Down payment assistance options are consumer mortgage programs arranged through select wholesale lenders, licensed in sixteen states, paired with FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 first liens. Assistance is stated as a percentage of price or value, never as a dollar figure a specific borrower would receive; the forgivable and repayable options are second liens with their own disclosures. Eligibility depends on the first lien’s approval, the option’s rules, the property, and full underwriting, subject to lender program eligibility. The calculator’s rate is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and its payment is an illustrative estimate; no fee or lender identity appears on this page. Lendmire is a mortgage broker and 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 Midland, MI 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 Michigan.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
Every purchase option for a Midland buyer is sized on the price (or the lesser of price and value), not on a fixed sum: the smaller options cover the minimum investment, in whole or, on the lowest tier, in part, and the larger repayable option covers it and reaches closing costs and prepaid items too; the refinance option is sized on the balance.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
The assistance comes as a grant where it is offered, as a forgivable second lien, or as a repayable second lien, with a refinance-cost version for an existing FHA loan; each pairs with the first lien differently, and the options table on this page shows what is offered in Michigan.
Credit floors, mortgage programs, and unit counts
Two-borrower files can qualify on a blended score on the second-lien options when the higher earner has the higher score and an automated approval is in hand; every borrower still needs a score of their own, and the first lien and the unit count place the file as the options table shows.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
No option requires a first-time buyer. The nothing-to-repay option asks for one qualifying category — income at or below the area limit, a community-service occupation, a first purchase, or an underserved tract — and a homebuyer education course; the second-lien options ask for neither.
The assistance is measured on the price, so the calculator starts there. It then applies the option you choose, your own cash, and an editable benchmark rate to show the loan, the mortgage insurance, and the payment.
Where Midland’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for Midland, MI 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 Midland submarkets, distinct property rules.
A down payment assistance file in Midland reads differently by submarket — condominium approval, association packages, unit counts, and USDA eligibility all shift from one to the next.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
The older streets of Midland 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 Midland is about $1,048 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Townhomes and attached homes
The townhome rows of Midland 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 33% of Midland’s households rent — roughly 6,098 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
New construction and infill
A newly built Midland 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 Midland’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $7,100 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Condominiums close to work
Condominiums are often the entry point in Midland, 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 Midland runs near $203,900 on the latest Census estimate.
Manufactured homes on owned land
Manufactured housing on owned land near Midland 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 Midland sits near $73,325 on the latest Census estimate.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
A buyer who lives in one unit of a Midland 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. Midland itself counts a population near 43K.
None of this is a valuation or an approval; it is the backdrop a Midland file is read against before the first lien and the option decide the numbers.
Four ways Midland buyers put down payment assistance to work.
How Midland 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
A Midland 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
A Midland 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.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
A Midland buyer taking on a fixer pairs a limited renovation first lien or, on the nothing-to-repay option, a standard one with the assistance; the help is figured on the purchase price, and the loan covers price plus repairs.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
An owner-occupied building of up to four units in Midland qualifies on the nothing-to-repay option, which reaches four units, and the buyer lives in one unit while the assistance covers the minimum investment on the whole building.
Size the assistance on a Midland price before requesting a quote.
The calculator does what a loan officer’s first pass does for a Midland 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.
Midland FHA payment with assistance
Illustrative Midland 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 $205,000 price near Midland’s median owner-occupied home value, the strongest assistance option offered in Michigan applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Michigan (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 a Midland 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.
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 Midland 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 Midland, MI file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Midland 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 Midland assistance file before the option is confirmed; each one can move the structure.
Use these checks to keep the Midland file clean and fundable.
The checks below keep a Midland assistance file on track, and each one comes from the option’s own terms rather than from a lender’s preference.
- Know the option: confirm the option is offered in the state.
- Confirm the category: settle which category applies before the application is signed.
- Plan for the balloon: read the second lien’s own disclosures.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in Midland, MI, 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 balloon on the repayable option
The repayable second lien amortizes over thirty years but comes due in the tenth year; it carries interest and a monthly payment, its own loan number, and a balloon disclosure. It is the option that reaches closing costs, and it is a loan.
Blended scores for two-borrower files
Blending is a qualification tool on the second-lien options and nothing more; a Midland 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 Midland 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 Midland pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The process for a Midland, MI purchase with assistance is deliberate, because the details around the assistance are what stall closings.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Midland scenario against the options offered in Michigan: 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 Midland 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 Midland buyer receives keys with the minimum investment covered.
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
Lendmire reads the options offered in Michigan against a Midland buyer’s credit, first lien, property, and category before anything is ordered, and names the fit by cost to carry.
The mortgage, matched to the property
FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 is chosen with the Midland 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
A Midland 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.
Midland down payment assistance FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Midland 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?
No — and that surprises most Midland buyers. The program has no first-time requirement; owning a home before does not close a single option, and being a first-time buyer is simply one of the doors into the nothing-to-repay option.
Is there an income limit?
The second-lien options have none; the nothing-to-repay option has an area income limit that a qualifying occupation, a first purchase, or an underserved tract can substitute for.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Midland?
Assistance measured as a percentage of the price, in shapes that differ by what you owe afterward: nothing, nothing if the mortgage stays current, or a second loan with a balloon. Credit, the mortgage, the property, and the eligibility category decide which fits.
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?
It depends on the option. The lowest floor belongs to the nothing-to-repay option; the second-lien options start higher, and the mortgage’s own rules apply on top.
Can I combine this with another assistance program?
One option, one first lien, one closing — no combination with other assistance.
What property types are eligible?
Single-family homes, FHA-approved condominiums, townhomes and planned developments, owner-occupied two-to-four-unit homes within each option’s limit, and manufactured homes on owned land — single-width on the nothing-to-repay option, double-width on the second-lien options. Unique property types are outside the second-lien options.
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.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
On the nothing-to-repay option, yes — a HUD-approved course, online or in person, with the cost credited back at closing. The second-lien options do not require it, though the course is worth taking on any first purchase.
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.
Ready to size the assistance on a Midland 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 Midland — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Michigan, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in Michigan: Bay City · Saginaw · Flint · East Lansing · Lansing · Pontiac · Grand Rapids · Kentwood
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans