Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
One source feeds every down payment assistance page Lendmire publishes; the Nashville, TN figures below refresh when the program sheets are updated.
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
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
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 Tennessee · 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.
The first-time home buyer programs in Nashville, TN answer the most common reason a qualified buyer does not close — the cash to close — with assistance measured on the price and shaped to the buyer’s situation.
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
In Nashville, TN, 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 Nashville, 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 Nashville 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
In Nashville, TN, the question is not whether this is a first home; it is which option fits the credit, the first lien, and the property — and, for the nothing-to-repay option, which qualifying category applies.
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 Nashville’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
These Nashville, TN figures describe the market, not a borrower; the first lien’s approval and the option’s rules carry the file, and the numbers here only explain the neighborhood it sits in.
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 Nashville submarkets, distinct property rules.
The metropolitan market around Nashville splits into distinct pockets; a lender underwrites the home in front of it, but the pocket sets the expectations.
Manufactured homes on owned land
Manufactured housing on owned land near Nashville 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. Nashville itself counts a population near 690K.
Townhomes and attached homes
The townhome rows of Nashville 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. Median gross rent in Nashville is about $1,586 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
In Nashville, 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Nashville runs near $413,600 on the latest Census estimate.
New construction and infill
Infill and new-build homes in Nashville pair with the assistance as long as the property is the buyer’s primary residence and the first lien is a government program. On a home at Nashville’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $14,500 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Condominiums close to work
Buyers in Nashville’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 Nashville’s households rent — roughly 149,179 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
The older streets of Nashville 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 household income in Nashville sits near $77,371 on the latest Census estimate.
These are patterns, not promises: each Nashville purchase is underwritten on its own appraisal, its own credit, and its own option.
Four ways Nashville buyers put down payment assistance to work.
How Nashville 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
A Nashville, 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.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
The larger option exists for the Nashville, TN 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
The refinance-cost option in Nashville, TN is for an existing FHA loan, not a streamline, and not a loan that already carries assistance; it is sized on the lesser of balance or value.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
Renovation purchases in Nashville, TN qualify for the assistance on the price before repairs, so the down payment help and the repair budget close together at one table.
Size the assistance on a Nashville price before requesting a quote.
Run a Nashville 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.
Nashville FHA payment with assistance
A Nashville 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 $415,000 price near Nashville’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.
Down payment assistance is one of the ways a Nashville 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.
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 Nashville 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 Nashville, TN file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Nashville 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 Nashville buyer can use — or whether the assistance attaches at all.
Use these checks to keep the Nashville file clean and fundable.
The checks below keep a Nashville assistance file on track, and each one comes from the option’s own terms rather than from a lender’s preference.
- Know the option: read the second lien as the loan it is.
- Confirm the category: settle which category applies before the application is signed.
- Take the course: expect the cost to be credited back at closing.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in Nashville, TN, 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
For a Nashville 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.
No stacking with other assistance
No option may be combined with another down payment assistance program in Nashville, TN, and the nothing-to-repay and forgivable options do not combine with a high-balance first lien; one assistance option, one first lien, one closing.
The mortgage and the county loan limit
In Nashville, 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.
From a Nashville pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The path from a Nashville pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place runs through the option first and the paperwork second.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Nashville 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 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 Nashville 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 Nashville, TN 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.
Pairing the right assistance to the right first lien for a Nashville 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 Nashville 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
FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 is chosen with the Nashville 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
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.
Nashville down payment assistance FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Nashville 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. 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?
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 Nashville?
Think of it as one program with several ways to receive the help: forgiven at closing, forgiven after a run of on-time payments, or repaid over time. The options table on this page shows exactly which ones are offered in Tennessee and what each costs to carry.
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?
Lower than most buyers expect: the entry floor for a Nashville buyer sits in the low six hundreds, with the second-lien options a step or two higher. Two-borrower files may qualify on a blended score on the second lien when the higher earner has the higher score.
Is there an option for refinancing?
The refinance-cost option covers the costs of an FHA refinance with a repayable second lien, at its own credit floor and combined-leverage limit.
What does Lendmire do on a Nashville first-time home buyer file?
Reads the options offered in Tennessee 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.
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.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
The assistance is for the home you live in; rentals and second homes are financed other ways.
Which mortgages can the assistance be used with?
The nothing-to-repay option pairs only with FHA; the forgivable and repayable second liens pair with FHA, USDA, and HUD-184, the closing-cost repayable option with FHA only. The property and the buyer decide which first lien fits.
Bring the price. We will find the option.
No credit pull, no commitment: an initial review places your Nashville purchase on the right option and tells you what to gather.
This guide covers Nashville — 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: Hendersonville · Franklin · Smyrna · Gallatin · Lebanon · Murfreesboro · Spring Hill · Columbia
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans