Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
These figures are read from Lendmire’s centralized down payment assistance standards source and update automatically when the programs change. Every state and city guide in this series reads the same source.
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
Nothing to repay, ever: this option pays the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment in whole or, on its lower tier, in part, 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 Texas · 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.
For Round Rock, TX 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 Texas.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
An FHA purchase asks for a minimum investment from the buyer; the assistance covers it, measured as a percentage of the lesser of price or value, and the largest option carries a further share for closing costs and prepaids.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
Nothing to repay, forgiven over time, or repaid with a balloon: the three purchase shapes in Round Rock, TX 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 Round Rock 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 Texas.
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.
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 Round Rock’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Census estimates give the backdrop for a down payment assistance file: where Round Rock, TX’s renters live, what a median home costs, and what a median household earns.
These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show what a Round Rock home costs and how many households rent, and the calculator shows what that means for the minimum investment.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Round Rock submarkets, distinct property rules.
Across Round Rock’s condominiums, townhomes, and older neighborhoods close to work, the same program produces different closings because prices, property types, and first liens differ block by block.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In Round Rock, 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 Round Rock’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $14,700 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Condominiums close to work
Condominiums are often the entry point in Round Rock, 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 Round Rock runs near $418,600 on the latest Census estimate.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
A buyer who lives in one unit of a Round Rock 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. Median household income in Round Rock sits near $99,287 on the latest Census estimate.
New construction and infill
A newly built Round Rock 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. About 44% of Round Rock’s households rent — roughly 21,631 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Older neighborhoods and renovation loans
The older streets of Round Rock 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 Round Rock is about $1,763 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
Townhomes and attached homes
In Round Rock, 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. Round Rock itself counts a population near 128K; it sits within the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX area.
Submarket descriptions are general market context; the first lien’s approval, the option’s rules, and full underwriting decide every figure in a file.
Four ways Round Rock buyers put down payment assistance to work.
From a first home to an FHA refinance, down payment assistance in Round Rock, TX solves a specific set of problems, and the cards below take up the ones that come up most.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
The most common Round Rock, TX file: an FHA first lien, the assistance covering the minimum investment, and the buyer’s own funds reserved for moving costs and reserves.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
Owners in Round Rock 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.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
The larger option exists for the Round Rock, TX closing where the down payment is only half the problem: it carries the minimum investment and a further share for costs.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
Where the first lien is USDA or HUD-184, the second-lien assistance options carry the file in Round Rock, forgivable or repayable by the buyer’s choice and credit profile.
Size the assistance on a Round Rock price before requesting a quote.
Enter a Round Rock purchase price, choose an assistance option offered in Texas, and add any cash of your own. The calculator sizes the FHA minimum investment, applies the assistance to the down payment and closing costs, builds the FHA loan with its upfront and monthly mortgage insurance, and estimates the payment at an editable market benchmark rate — with housing and total ratios when you enter income.
Round Rock FHA payment with assistance
Starting assumptions reflect Round Rock’s home values; change any field and the loan, the mortgage insurance, and the payment are recalculated.
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 $420,000 price near Round Rock’s median owner-occupied home value, 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, three very different closings.
A Round Rock, TX buyer can reach the closing table several ways; the difference is where the minimum investment comes from and what it costs to carry afterward.
Assistance on an FHA loan, your own down payment, or assistance on a USDA or HUD-184 loan.
The structure for a Round Rock buyer who qualifies for the payment but not the cash to close — the help is sized on the price and the option decides what, if anything, is owed afterward.
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.
USDA and HUD-184 first liens pair with the forgivable options and the ten-year repayable option on a Round Rock, TX 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 Round Rock, TX file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Round Rock 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.
The assistance is the easy part; the rules around it are where Round Rock, TX files stall. These are the ones that most often change a file’s shape.
Use these checks to keep the Round Rock file clean and fundable.
Before making an offer on a Round Rock, TX home, confirm the option, the county loan limit, and the property’s unit count and type.
- Know the option: read the second lien as the loan it is.
- Confirm the category: settle which category applies before the application is signed.
- Match the first lien: check the price against the county loan limit.
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 Round Rock 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 mortgage and the county loan limit
In Round Rock, 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.
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 forgiveness clock on the forgivable options
For a Round Rock, TX buyer, the forgivable options cost nothing to carry as long as the first lien stays current through the period; they are not resubordinated, not assumed, and no additional lien can be added behind them.
From a Round Rock pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The process for a Round Rock, TX purchase with assistance is deliberate, because the details around the assistance are what stall closings.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Round Rock 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 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 Round Rock 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 Round Rock 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.
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
Lendmire reads the options offered in Texas against a Round Rock 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
A Round Rock file is matched to the first-lien program that carries the property — FHA everywhere, USDA or HUD-184 where they fit — and the assistance option follows that choice.
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.
Round Rock down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Round Rock, TX buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No — and that surprises most Round Rock 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?
For most of the options, no. The forgivable and repayable second liens carry no income limit at all. The nothing-to-repay option is the one that looks at income, and even there a qualifying occupation, a first purchase, or an underserved census tract opens it as an alternative to the income test.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Round Rock?
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?
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 mortgage stays current through the forgiveness period, and they pair with USDA and HUD-184 mortgages as well as FHA. The repayable options are loans, with a monthly payment and a balloon.
What credit score do I need?
Each option has its own floor, starting in the low six hundreds on the nothing-to-repay option and stepping up on the forgivable and repayable second liens; every borrower needs a score, and two-borrower files may qualify on a blended score on the second-lien options. The snapshot shows the floors in force.
Can I use the assistance on a second home or a rental?
Primary residences only. Investment properties and second homes are outside the program.
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 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 combine this with another assistance program?
One option, one first lien, one closing — no combination with other assistance.
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.
Talk through a Round Rock assistance file before the contract is signed.
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 Round Rock — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Texas, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Nearby markets in Texas: Pflugerville · Cedar Park · Georgetown · Leander · Austin · Killeen · Kyle · Temple
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans