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 Mission, TX 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.
Covers the whole FHA down payment
The FHA minimum down payment is 3.5%, and this option covers all of it 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
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 Texas · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
Program figures are hydrated 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.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
The first-time home buyer programs work the same way in Mission, TX 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 Texas.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
Every option is sized on the price, not on a fixed sum: the smaller options cover the minimum investment, the larger repayable option covers it and reaches closing costs and prepaid items too.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
Nothing to repay, forgiven over time, or repaid with a balloon: the three purchase shapes in Mission, TX cover the same minimum investment and differ in what the buyer owes afterward.
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.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
A Mission buyer who has owned before is eligible; the second-lien options carry no income limit and no first-time-buyer rule, and the nothing-to-repay option opens on any one of four categories.
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 Mission’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
The share of Mission, TX households that rent, the median home value, and the median household income together sketch the gap the assistance closes for a first purchase.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. A large renter share signals demand for the program; a moderate median value signals that the minimum investment is within the assistance’s reach; 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 Mission submarkets, distinct property rules.
The metropolitan market around Mission splits into distinct pockets; a lender underwrites the home in front of it, but the pocket sets the expectations.
Condominiums close to work
In Mission, 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. Mission counts a population near 87K within the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX area.
Two-to-four-unit homes, owner-occupied
The small multi-unit stock in Mission is a path to a first home that also earns rent; the assistance pairs with the first lien on the building, up to the option’s unit limit. About 29% of Mission’s households rent — roughly 8,261 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Townhomes and attached homes
Attached homes and townhomes in Mission 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. Median household income in Mission sits near $60,767 on the latest Census estimate.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
The older streets of Mission 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 Mission is about $950 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
New construction and infill
New construction in Mission 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 Mission runs near $175,700 on the latest Census estimate.
Manufactured homes on owned land
For Mission buyers looking at manufactured housing, the assistance is available on owned land, with single-width homes reaching only the option that accepts them. On a home at Mission’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $6,100 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
None of this is a valuation or an approval; it is the backdrop a Mission file is read against before the first lien and the option decide the numbers.
Four ways Mission buyers put down payment assistance to work.
How Mission 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.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
In USDA-eligible areas around Mission, the forgivable and repayable options pair with a no-down-payment first lien and cover closing costs and prepaids instead; HUD-184 first liens pair with the same options.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
A Mission buyer with the income for the payment but not the cash to close uses the assistance to cover the FHA minimum investment, some with nothing to repay, and keeps savings for the move.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
A Mission 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.
Buy a two-to-four-unit home and live in one unit
House-hacking in Mission, TX 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 Mission price before requesting a quote.
Run a Mission price through the options before you request a quote: the minimum investment, the assistance applied, what is left for closing costs, the mortgage insurance tier, and the estimated payment. Enter income to see the ratios a lender reads.
Mission FHA payment with assistance
Starting assumptions reflect Mission’s home values; change any field and the loan, the mortgage insurance, and the payment are recalculated.
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 $175,000 price near Mission’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA first lien is realistic), the strongest assistance option offered in Texas applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Texas (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.
The right structure for a Mission, TX buyer depends on savings, credit, the first lien, and whether the help needs to reach closing costs.
Assistance on a government loan, saving the minimum, or a gift.
Covers the FHA minimum investment as a percentage of the price — some with nothing to repay — 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.
USDA and HUD-184 first liens pair with the forgivable and repayable options, which then cover closing costs and prepaids rather than a down payment the first lien does not require. For the USDA first lien, see the USDA loan program.
If the payment fits but the cash to close does not, down payment assistance is the structure; if the cash is there, the plain purchase; if the property is USDA-eligible, the USDA first lien with assistance for costs.
What to prepare for a Mission 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 Mission buyer can use — or whether the assistance attaches at all.
Use these checks to keep the Mission file clean and fundable.
Three checks keep a Mission assistance file on track: know which option the credit tier opens, know which first lien the property can carry, and know the category that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
- Know the option: read the second lien as the loan it is.
- Confirm the category: remember that the second-lien options carry no income limit.
- Plan for the balloon: read the second lien’s own disclosures.
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; a nothing-to-repay option released at closing where it is offered.
The eligibility category for the nothing-to-repay option
For a Mission 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.
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.
The mortgage and the county loan limit
In Mission, TX, 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.
From a Mission pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Four steps take a Mission, TX assistance file from a first read to funding; the first one is the one most buyers skip.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Mission scenario against the options offered in Texas: the credit tier, the first lien, the unit count, the category, and whether the help must reach closing costs.
Get the mortgage approved
The first lien’s approval carries the file; the assistance is arranged alongside it, with the eligibility category and the education certificate in hand where they apply.
Clear the property
Property review runs in parallel with the first lien; the Mission 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
The Mission 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 Mission 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 Mission 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 Mission, TX first lien is the foundation the assistance stands on.
The right wholesale program
Not every wholesale lender carries down payment assistance, and the ones that do differ on shape, floors, and states; Lendmire knows which is which.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Mission down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Mission, TX 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?
Only on the nothing-to-repay option, and only when no other category applies: household income at or below the area median income limit, measured where the property sits. The forgivable and repayable second-lien options carry no income limit beyond the first lien’s own rules.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Mission?
A Mission buyer can cover the FHA minimum investment through a nothing-to-repay option where offered, a forgivable second lien, or a repayable second lien that reaches closing costs; the calculator on this page sizes each one on a price you enter.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
A nothing-to-repay option is released at closing with no lien and no payment. The forgivable second liens also cost nothing — no interest, no payment — as long as the first lien stays current through the forgiveness period, and they pair with USDA and HUD-184 first liens as well as FHA.
What credit score do I need?
A Mission buyer’s credit tier decides which options are open — the options table on this page shows the floor for every option offered in Texas.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
Required on one option, optional on the rest; schedule it early if the nothing-to-repay option is the plan.
What does Lendmire do on a Mission first-time home buyer file?
The structural work: option, first lien, property, category, education, disclosures, closing. A Mission buyer brings the contract; Lendmire brings the fit.
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.
What is the repayable option and when does it make sense?
The repayable second lien covers the minimum investment and closing costs; plan around its balloon and read its disclosures as the loan it is.
What if my mortgage is above the county loan limit?
Only the repayable options pair with a high-balance first lien; the nothing-to-repay and forgivable options stop at the lesser of the conforming limit or the county limit.
From a pre-approval to keys — with the assistance in place.
Start with the price, the first lien you expect, and your credit tier. No credit pull or commitment is required to request an initial scenario review.
This guide covers Mission — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Texas, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Also in Texas: Allen · Garland · Edinburg · Pharr · FHA Loans · USDA Loans