Current down payment assistance guidelines, updated from one source.
One source feeds every down payment assistance page Lendmire publishes; the Sammamish, WA figures below refresh when the program sheets are updated.
Of the purchase price
The largest option is a repayable second lien that covers your down payment and can reach closing costs and prepaids too; the smaller options cover the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment.
Covers the whole FHA down payment
This covers the full 3.5% FHA minimum down payment as a second lien with no payment and no interest, forgiven once you have made 36 on-time payments on the first mortgage.
On every option offered here
No income limit on any option offered in Washington — one of the biggest advantages of this program. Earn what you earn; the assistance is sized on the price, not on your income.
Credit score to start
The score that opens the forgivable options; the repayable options start a step higher. Two-borrower files may use a blended score on the second-lien options.
| Option | Assistance | What you repay | Credit · mortgage · 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 · five options offered in Washington · 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.
What down payment assistance is — and how the options differ.
The first-time home buyer programs work the same way in Sammamish, WA 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 Washington.
Assistance covers the FHA down payment
The gap the program closes for a Sammamish buyer is the minimum investment: the assistance covers that share of the price, the first lien carries the rest, and the buyer’s own savings stay for the move.
Four shapes: grant, forgivable, repayable, refinance
For a Sammamish buyer the choice is about cost to carry. The forgivable options cost nothing if the first lien stays current through the forgiveness period; the repayable option is a second loan with its own disclosure and a balloon that reaches closing costs.
Credit floors, mortgage programs, and unit counts
A Sammamish 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 Washington.
Eligibility without a first-time-buyer rule
No option requires a first-time buyer, and no option carries an income limit beyond the first lien’s own rules; a Sammamish buyer who has owned before qualifies on credit, first lien, and property alone.
The calculator below runs this math on a price you enter. Choose an assistance option offered in Washington and add any cash of your own; it sizes the minimum investment, the assistance, what is left for closing costs, the FHA loan with its mortgage insurance, and the payment at an editable market benchmark rate.
Where Sammamish’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how the assistance fits.
Census housing and income data describe who buys in Sammamish, WA and what it costs to get in; a lender reads those figures as context for the first lien, not as underwriting inputs.
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 Sammamish submarkets, distinct property rules.
Across Sammamish’s established neighborhoods, county-limit homes, and rural edges, the same program produces different closings because prices, property types, and first liens differ block by block.
Two-to-four-unit homes, owner-occupied
The duplexes and small multi-unit homes of Sammamish pair with the assistance on the first lien, up to the option’s unit limit. On a home at Sammamish’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $49,300 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
Homes that need work
The older stock in Sammamish pairs with a renovation first lien and the assistance together: the help is figured on the purchase price, and the loan covers price plus repairs. Median household income in Sammamish sits near $239,690 on the latest Census estimate.
Manufactured homes on owned land
In Sammamish, a manufactured home on a fee-simple lot pairs with the assistance; the home’s width decides which option carries it. About 17% of Sammamish’s households rent — roughly 3,864 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
New construction
New construction in and around Sammamish works with the program; the appraisal and the builder’s timeline set the pace, and the assistance closes with the first lien. Median gross rent in Sammamish is about $2,857 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
USDA-eligible areas
Much of the area around Sammamish is USDA-eligible, which pairs a no-down-payment first lien with the second-lien assistance options; the assistance then covers closing costs and prepaids. Sammamish counts a population near 66K.
Established neighborhoods
Buyers in Sammamish’s core neighborhoods use the assistance to close the gap between qualifying for the payment and having the cash to close. The median owner-occupied home value in Sammamish runs near $1,407,300 on the latest Census estimate.
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 Sammamish buyers put down payment assistance to work.
From a first home to a small multi-unit building to an FHA refinance, down payment assistance in Sammamish, WA solves a specific set of problems.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
A Sammamish buyer with the income for the payment but not the cash to close uses the assistance to cover the FHA minimum investment, some forgiven in as little as three years, and keeps savings for the move.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
In USDA-eligible areas around Sammamish, 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.
Cover closing costs too on the larger option
When the minimum investment is covered but closing costs and prepaids are the remaining hurdle, the larger repayable option in Sammamish, WA reaches both — the balance above the minimum investment goes toward the closing.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
A Sammamish 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.
Size the assistance on a Sammamish price before requesting a quote.
This tool applies the program to a Sammamish scenario: the price sets the minimum investment, the option and your cash set the down payment, and the FHA loan, mortgage insurance, and payment follow at the benchmark rate shown. Every field is editable; the rate is a market reference, not a quote.
Sammamish FHA payment with assistance
Starting assumptions reflect Sammamish’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 $600,000 price near Sammamish’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA first lien is realistic), the strongest assistance option offered in Washington applied against the FHA minimum investment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Washington (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.
A Sammamish, WA 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 a government loan, saving the minimum, or a gift.
Covers the FHA minimum investment as a percentage of the price — some forgiven in as little as three years — 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.
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 second-lien options carry the Sammamish 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 Sammamish, WA file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Sammamish 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.
A down payment assistance file in Sammamish, WA is won or lost on details a plain purchase never meets: the eligibility category, the forgiveness clock, the balloon on the repayable option, the county loan limit, the property type.
Use these checks to keep the Sammamish file clean and fundable.
Before making an offer on a Sammamish, WA home, confirm the option, the county loan limit, and the property’s unit count and type.
- Know the option: choose by cost to carry first, amount second.
- Understand the clock: plan a sale or refinance around the release date.
- 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 two ways in Sammamish, WA, and the difference is entirely in what happens after closing: nothing if the first lien stays current, or a second loan that comes due; the options table shows what is offered.
The forgiveness clock on the forgivable options
For a Sammamish, WA 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.
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
A Sammamish 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.
No stacking with other assistance
A Sammamish buyer eligible for a local or employer program chooses between it and these options; they do not stack, so the comparison is made program against program before the contract is signed.
From a Sammamish pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
Lendmire runs a Sammamish assistance file in a set order: pick the option, match the first lien, clear the property, close both liens together.
Pick the option
Every Sammamish 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
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
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 Sammamish 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.
Down payment assistance is where a generalist stumbles: the options differ by first lien, by credit tier, by unit count, and by state, and the wholesale programs that carry them competently are a short list.
The option, matched to the buyer
A Sammamish 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 Sammamish 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.
Sammamish down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Sammamish, WA 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; a Sammamish buyer who has owned before qualifies on credit, first lien, and property alone.
Is there an income limit?
There is no income limit on the forgivable or repayable options; the first lien’s rules are the only income test a Sammamish buyer meets.
What first-time home buyer programs are available in Sammamish?
Three shapes paired with a government first lien: 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 Washington.
Do I have to pay the assistance back?
The forgivable second liens: no interest and no payment, released after the on-time payment period on the first lien, and they pair with FHA, USDA, and HUD-184 first liens. The repayable option is a loan with its own payment.
What credit score do I need?
A Sammamish buyer’s credit tier decides which options are open — the options table on this page shows the floor for every option offered in Washington.
What is the rate on the mortgage and on the assistance?
It depends on the first lien, the option, and the file; the rate shown in the calculator is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and the payment it produces is an illustrative estimate. A scenario review produces the terms.
How does a forgivable second lien work — the small second loan behind the mortgage?
A lien that costs nothing to carry and disappears on schedule; the clock runs with the first lien’s payments.
What is the repayable option and when does it make sense?
It is a loan — the only purchase option with a payment — in exchange for covering the most. A Sammamish buyer chooses it for the closing-cost coverage or the high-balance pairing.
Can I combine this with another assistance program?
The options do not stack with each other or with local, state, or employer programs; a Sammamish buyer eligible for more than one chooses the one that fits best.
Can I buy a duplex or a fourplex with assistance?
Owner-occupied small multi-unit homes qualify, with the unit count deciding the option; a Sammamish buyer living in one unit of a fourplex uses the option that reaches four.
The down payment is the hurdle. Let us clear it.
No credit pull, no commitment: an initial review places your Sammamish purchase on the right option and tells you what to gather.
This guide covers Sammamish — for the statewide options, categories, and property rules, see Down Payment Assistance in Washington, part of Lendmire’s down payment assistance program.
Also in Washington: Longview · Kirkland · Tumwater · Port Angeles · FHA Loans · USDA Loans