Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
One source feeds every down payment assistance page Lendmire publishes; the Pasadena, CA figures below refresh when the program sheets are updated.
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.
Covers the whole FHA down payment
Nothing to repay, ever: this option pays the full 3.5% FHA minimum down payment and leaves no lien behind, for buyers within 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
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 California · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
This page describes down payment assistance at the program level. The option for any file comes from the credit tier, the first lien, the property, and the eligibility category; the first lien’s approval, the appraisal, and full underwriting decide the actual terms, subject to lender program eligibility. Nothing here is a quote, a fee, or a commitment to lend; the calculator’s rate is a market benchmark you can edit and its payment an estimate. Lendmire is never the lender and is not affiliated with FHA, USDA, HUD, or the federal government.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
First-time home buyer programs are not one program; they are a family of down payment assistance options paired with a government-backed first lien, and the right one for a Pasadena, CA buyer depends on credit, the first lien, the property, and whether the help needs to reach closing costs.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s down payment assistance program, or the statewide guide at Down Payment Assistance in California.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
In Pasadena, CA, 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
The assistance comes as a grant where it is offered, as a forgivable second lien, or as a repayable second lien; each pairs with the first lien differently, and the options table on this page shows what is offered in California.
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 Pasadena 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.
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 Pasadena’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Market data for Pasadena, CA 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. 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 Pasadena submarkets, distinct property rules.
The metropolitan market around Pasadena splits into distinct pockets; a lender underwrites the home in front of it, but the pocket sets the expectations.
Townhomes and attached homes
In Pasadena, a townhome in a planned development pairs cleanly with the program; the association’s rules and dues are read alongside the first lien, and the assistance covers the down payment. Pasadena counts a population near 137K within the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area.
Condominiums close to work
Buyers in Pasadena’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. The median owner-occupied home value in Pasadena runs near $1,093,300 on the latest Census estimate.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
The older streets of Pasadena 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 Pasadena sits near $105,192 on the latest Census estimate.
New construction and infill
Infill and new-build homes in Pasadena pair with the assistance as long as the property is the buyer’s primary residence and the first lien is a government program. About 57% of Pasadena’s households rent — roughly 33,016 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Two-to-four-unit homes, owner-occupied
The small multi-unit stock in Pasadena 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. Median gross rent in Pasadena is about $2,265 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In Pasadena, a manufactured home on a fee-simple lot pairs with the program; leaseholds do not, and the home’s width decides which option carries it. On a home at Pasadena’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $38,300 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
These are patterns, not promises: each Pasadena purchase is underwritten on its own appraisal, its own credit, and its own option.
Four ways Pasadena buyers put down payment assistance to work.
Down payment assistance in Pasadena, CA is used for more than a first purchase; these are the structures Pasadena buyers ask about most.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
Owners in Pasadena with an FHA loan and little cash for a refinance use the refinance-cost option, subject to its own credit floor and combined-leverage limit.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
The larger option exists for the Pasadena, CA closing where the down payment is only half the problem: it carries the minimum investment and a further share for costs.
Buy a home that needs work with a renovation mortgage
Renovation purchases in Pasadena, CA qualify for the assistance on the price before repairs, so the down payment help and the repair budget close together.
Buy a two-to-four-unit home and live in one unit
For a Pasadena buyer choosing a small multi-unit home, the assistance attaches to the first lien on the building, up to the option’s unit limit.
Size the assistance on a Pasadena price before requesting a quote.
Run a Pasadena 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.
Pasadena FHA payment with assistance
Seeded with Pasadena’s median home value; every field is editable, and the estimate updates as you change the price, the option, your cash, or the rate.
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 $600,000 price near Pasadena’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA first lien is realistic), the strongest assistance option offered in California applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for California (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 Pasadena, CA 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.
Assistance paired with the first lien at closing: the minimum investment covered, the shape chosen by credit, first lien, and eligibility category, and the second-lien options open to repeat buyers with no income limit.
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 second-lien options carry the Pasadena file, and the closing costs are what the assistance covers. 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; a documented gift fits when family can help — Lendmire places the Pasadena, CA file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Pasadena 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.
Every Pasadena file is underwritten individually, but the same handful of considerations recur; they are worth settling before the contract is signed.
Use these checks to keep the Pasadena file clean and fundable.
A clean Pasadena 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: complete the homebuyer education course where required.
- Plan for the balloon: treat the tenth-year balloon as a planning date.
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
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
A Pasadena buyer choosing the larger option should read the balloon as a planning date: the second lien is settled by sale, refinance, or payoff before it, and the first lien continues on its own schedule.
Escrow holdbacks for minor repairs
A Pasadena 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.
The mortgage and the county loan limit
A Pasadena buyer near the county loan limit should settle the first lien’s size first; a high-balance first lien narrows the options to the repayable ones, and the choice of USDA or HUD-184 narrows them further.
From a Pasadena pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The process for a Pasadena, CA purchase with assistance is deliberate, because the details around the assistance are what stall closings.
Pick the option
Every Pasadena file starts with the option and the first lien; the category, the education course, and the property rules are then settled around them, in that order.
Get the mortgage approved
Lendmire packages the Pasadena 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
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
Final underwriting reads the whole Pasadena, CA 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
A Pasadena 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 Pasadena, CA first lien is the foundation the assistance stands on.
The right wholesale program
A Pasadena 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.
Pasadena down payment assistance FAQs
Straight answers for Pasadena buyers weighing down payment assistance; the mortgage approval and the option’s rules decide every actual figure.
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, never on whether you have owned before.
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 Pasadena households use it.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Pasadena?
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 California.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
For a Pasadena buyer, the nothing-to-repay option where offered, otherwise a forgivable second lien; the options table on this page shows what each costs to carry.
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.
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?
The first lien’s rate is set by the lender at lock; the calculator on this page seeds its rate field from the weekly Freddie Mac conventional benchmark as a market reference, not an FHA quote, and every field stays editable. The repayable second lien’s terms are set by the program and disclosed on its own documents; the forgivable and nothing-to-repay options carry no interest.
What if my mortgage is above the county loan limit?
Above the county limit, the repayable options carry the assistance; below it, every option is available. The price and the limit are settled before the option is chosen.
Which mortgages can the assistance be used with?
Government first liens only: FHA for every option, USDA and HUD-184 for the second-lien options.
Is there an option for refinancing?
Yes, a refinance-cost option: a repayable second lien sized as a share of the balance on an existing FHA loan, covering closing costs and keeping the first lien inside FHA leverage limits. It is not a streamline, and it cannot refinance a loan that already carries assistance.
Place your Pasadena purchase on the right option today.
Request a scenario review with the price and the first lien in mind; Lendmire answers with the option, the floor, and what the file will need.
This guide covers Pasadena — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in California, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Also in California: Hemet · Alameda · South San Francisco · Livermore · FHA Loans · USDA Loans