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
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, in whole or, on the lowest tier, in part.
Covers the FHA down payment, in whole or in part
This covers the 3.5% FHA minimum down payment in whole or, on its lower tier, in part, and is forgiven at closing: no lien on the home, no monthly payment, no interest. It opens on the area income limit or on 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
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 Texas · no option requires a first-time buyer · no option combines with another assistance program · owner-occupied primary residences only.
Down payment assistance options are consumer mortgage programs arranged through select wholesale lenders, licensed in sixteen states, paired with FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 first liens. Assistance is stated as a percentage of price or value, never as a dollar figure a specific borrower would receive; the forgivable and repayable options are second liens with their own disclosures. Eligibility depends on the first lien’s approval, the option’s rules, the property, and full underwriting, subject to lender program eligibility. The calculator’s rate is an editable market benchmark, not a quote, and its payment is an illustrative estimate; no fee or lender identity appears on this page. Lendmire is a mortgage broker and 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 work the same way in Waxahachie, 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
In Waxahachie, TX, 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 Waxahachie, 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 Waxahachie 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
A Waxahachie 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 calculator below runs this math on a price you enter. Choose an assistance option offered in Texas 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 Waxahachie’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 Waxahachie, TX’s renters live, what a median home costs, and what a median household earns.
Market context only. Value and income rarely move at the same pace; the market figures below show what a Waxahachie 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 Waxahachie submarkets, distinct property rules.
Across Waxahachie’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.
New construction
A new-build home in Waxahachie pairs with the assistance as long as it is the buyer’s primary residence and the first lien is a government program. About 40% of Waxahachie’s households rent — roughly 6,327 renter households, the pool the program exists for.
Manufactured homes on owned land
For Waxahachie buyers choosing manufactured housing, the assistance is available on owned land, with the option set by the home’s width. On a home at Waxahachie’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $11,800 — the figure the assistance is built to cover.
USDA-eligible areas
Where a property near Waxahachie sits in a USDA-eligible area, the USDA first lien and the forgivable or ten-year repayable options fit together, keeping cash to close near zero for buyers who qualify. Waxahachie itself counts a population near 45K.
Homes that need work
The older stock in Waxahachie 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Waxahachie runs near $336,500 on the latest Census estimate.
Small multi-unit homes, owner-occupied
In Waxahachie, owner-occupied small multi-unit buildings qualify for assistance when the buyer lives in one unit, up to four units on a purchase; the unit count decides which option applies. Median household income in Waxahachie sits near $85,723 on the latest Census estimate.
Established neighborhoods
In Waxahachie, a first home in an older neighborhood pairs with the program on an FHA first lien, and the assistance covers the down payment the buyer would otherwise have to save. Median gross rent in Waxahachie is about $1,618 a month — the payment many renters already carry.
None of this is a valuation or an approval; it is the backdrop a Waxahachie file is read against before the first lien and the option decide the numbers.
Four ways Waxahachie buyers put down payment assistance to work.
Down payment assistance in Waxahachie, TX is used for more than a first purchase; these are the structures Waxahachie buyers ask about most.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
An owner-occupied building of up to four units in Waxahachie qualifies on the nothing-to-repay option, which reaches four units, and the buyer lives in one unit while the assistance covers the minimum investment on the whole building.
Pair the assistance with a USDA or HUD-184 mortgage
In USDA-eligible areas around Waxahachie, the forgivable and repayable options pair with a no-down-payment first lien (the separate closing-cost option is FHA only); HUD-184 first liens pair the same way.
Buy a first home with the down payment covered
For a first purchase in Waxahachie, the assistance closes the down payment gap; the option is chosen by credit and first lien, and by eligibility category where the nothing-to-repay option is in play, and the rest of the file is an ordinary FHA purchase.
Cover the costs of an FHA refinance
A Waxahachie 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 Waxahachie price before requesting a quote.
Run a Waxahachie 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.
Waxahachie FHA payment with assistance
A Waxahachie 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 $335,000 price near Waxahachie’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 Waxahachie, 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 Waxahachie 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.
For a Waxahachie, TX buyer with the cash in hand, the plain FHA purchase is the cleaner file; the assistance exists for the buyer who does not have it yet. 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 Waxahachie, 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 Waxahachie, TX file where it reads best.
What to prepare for a Waxahachie 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.
Beyond the credit tier and the first lien, a handful of details decide which option a Waxahachie buyer can use — or whether the assistance attaches at all.
Use these checks to keep the Waxahachie file clean and fundable.
A clean Waxahachie 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: read the second lien as the loan it is.
- Confirm the category: identify the category that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
- Understand the clock: keep the first lien current through the forgiveness period.
The option decides what you owe afterward
The same minimum investment can be covered three ways on a purchase in Waxahachie, TX, 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
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 forgiveness clock on the forgivable options
A forgivable second lien is released after the on-time payment period on the first lien — three years on one option, five on the other — with no interest and no payment in between; a serious delinquency inside the period keeps the lien in place.
Blended scores for two-borrower files
Blending is a qualification tool on the second-lien options and nothing more; a Waxahachie file that blends still needs each borrower to have a representative score, and manual underwriting is off the table.
Escrow holdbacks for minor repairs
A Waxahachie 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.
From a Waxahachie pre-approval to keys with the assistance in place.
The process for a Waxahachie, TX purchase with assistance is deliberate, because the details around the assistance are what stall closings.
Pick the option
Lendmire reads the Waxahachie 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
Lendmire packages the Waxahachie 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
Property review runs in parallel with the first lien; the Waxahachie 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 Waxahachie 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 Waxahachie 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
Lendmire reads the options offered in Texas against a Waxahachie 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 Waxahachie 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
Assistance programs differ across wholesale lenders in what they offer and where; Lendmire places a Waxahachie, TX file where its credit, its first lien, and its property read best, subject to lender program eligibility.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Waxahachie down payment assistance FAQs
The questions a Waxahachie, TX buyer asks before requesting an assistance review, answered plainly.
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 — having owned before closes nothing, and a first purchase is only one of the categories that opens the nothing-to-repay option.
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 Waxahachie?
Down payment help in four shapes for a Waxahachie, TX buyer: money with nothing to repay, a forgivable second lien that costs nothing while the mortgage stays current, a repayable second lien that reaches closing costs, and a refinance-cost option for an existing FHA loan. The forgivable and ten-year repayable shapes pair with an FHA, USDA, or HUD-184 mortgage; the rest pair with FHA only.
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?
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.
What is the repayable option and when does it make sense?
It is a loan — the repayable options are the only purchase options with a payment — in exchange for covering the most. A Waxahachie buyer chooses it for the closing-cost coverage or the high-balance pairing.
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.
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.
Do I need a homebuyer education course?
On the nothing-to-repay option, yes — a HUD-approved course, online or in person, with the cost credited back at closing. The second-lien options do not require it, though the course is worth taking on any first purchase.
Can the assistance cover closing costs too?
Yes, on the larger repayable option, which covers the minimum investment and a further share of the price for closing costs and prepaid items, including costs paid outside closing. The nothing-to-repay and forgivable options cover the minimum investment only.
Talk through a Waxahachie assistance file before the contract is signed.
A first read of a Waxahachie assistance scenario takes a few minutes and commits you to nothing; the option, the category, and the property rules are explained before anything is ordered.
This guide covers Waxahachie — 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: DeSoto · Mansfield · Grand Prairie · Arlington · Dallas · Mesquite · Burleson · Irving
Related programs: FHA Loans · USDA Loans · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans