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Ohio program

OHFA Down Payment Assistance

Ohio route through Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA). This page stays free for the core public facts. Open paid access only when you need the full state board, related paths, and the decision layer around this program.

Seven-year forgivable second mortgage Forgivable if occupancy holds 2026-04-23
Agency Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA)
Support type Seven-year forgivable second mortgage
Amount highlight Current OHFA materials say borrowers can receive 3% of purchase price on conventional loans or 3.5% of purchase price on FHA, VA, and USDA loans for down payment and closing costs through a companion second mortgage.
Last verified 2026-04-23

Use carefully

Keep DPA separate from the base mortgage pages

This page stays public because the official structure is still useful, but these details should not be flattened into fake certainty.

OHFA Down Payment Assistance is detail-safe as its own statewide second-mortgage lane, but public copy should keep it separate from the base Homebuyer Program first mortgage and from the separate Next Home mortgage lane.

Decision-ready public facts

What stays free on this program page

Quick answer from published facts. Use this first, then jump to Go to Ohio program hub if you need the wider state context.

Amount

Current OHFA materials say borrowers can receive 3% of purchase price on conventional loans or 3.5% of purchase price on FHA, VA, and USDA loans for down payment and closing costs through a companion second mortgage.

Type

Seven-year forgivable second mortgage

Repayment

OHFA describes the assistance as a seven-year forgivable second mortgage with no monthly payment. If the home is sold within seven years, the buyer must repay the full assistance amount. If the borrower refinances outside the OHFA refinance path, the DPA second mortgage must be paid off at refinance.

First-time buyer

Varies

Program guide

What to know before you click through

This is still the free fact layer. Open the official source when a detail affects eligibility, repayment, lender choice, or whether this path should stay on your shortlist.

Who qualifies?

Ohio buyers pairing an eligible OHFA first mortgage with the OHFA DPA second mortgage, First-time homebuyers using the OHFA Homebuyer Program or veterans and target-area exceptions under OHFA rules, Repeat buyers using the separate Next Home mortgage lane with OHFA DPA, Borrowers working through OHFA-approved lenders and completing the required homebuyer education

What support do you get?

Current OHFA materials say borrowers can receive 3% of purchase price on conventional loans or 3.5% of purchase price on FHA, VA, and USDA loans for down payment and closing costs through a companion second mortgage.

Do you repay it?

OHFA describes the assistance as a seven-year forgivable second mortgage with no monthly payment. If the home is sold within seven years, the buyer must repay the full assistance amount. If the borrower refinances outside the OHFA refinance path, the DPA second mortgage must be paid off at refinance.

How do you apply?

Work with an OHFA-approved lender, choose an eligible OHFA first-mortgage family such as Homebuyer Program, Ohio Heroes, or Next Home, confirm the current county income and purchase-price limits, complete the required homebuyer education, and have the lender close the first mortgage together with the OHFA DPA second mortgage.

Official source evidence

Current OHFA materials show Down Payment Assistance remains a live statewide second-mortgage lane that provides 3% of purchase price on conventional loans or 3.5% on FHA, VA, and USDA loans, uses a seven-year forgiveness clock, and must be paired with an eligible OHFA first mortgage through an approved lender.

View official source

Last verified

2026-04-23

2025-07-01 program updates; current pages verified 2026-04-23

Paid preview

What paid access adds for OHFA Down Payment Assistance

See the shape of the comparison output, risk checks, lender questions, and next-step checklist before you decide whether this program is worth carrying into the paid layer.

Example paid output for this program. The free page stays visible either way.

Comparison preview

OHFA Down Payment Assistance

Amount: Current OHFA materials say borrowers can receive 3% of purchase price on conventional loans or 3.5% of purchase price on FHA, VA, and USDA loans for down payment and closing costs through a companion second mortgage.

Repayment: OHFA describes the assistance as a seven-year forgivable second mortgage with no monthly payment. If the home is sold within seven years, the buyer must repay the full assistance amount. If the borrower refinances outside the OHFA refinance path, the DPA second mortgage must be paid off at refinance.

First-time buyer: Varies

Risk checks preview

What gets flagged before you call a lender

  • OHFA Down Payment Assistance requires a participating lender.
  • OHFA Down Payment Assistance must be paired with a specific first mortgage.

Lender questions preview

Questions tied to this exact path

  • Is your team approved to originate OHFA Down Payment Assistance for this household and loan setup?
  • Which first-mortgage product must be paired with OHFA Down Payment Assistance, and what breaks eligibility?

Action checklist preview

What you would do next

  • Review the official OHFA Down Payment Assistance for OHFA Down Payment Assistance
  • Ask whether your lender is approved for this exact program and loan structure.
Open the full Ohio board

Paid research preview

What paid research already covers in Ohio

Paid research already tracks city and county programs, specialty and conditional paths for Ohio.

3 tracked deeper records

These are not generic promises. They are the local, employer, public-employee, and specialty directions already sitting behind the paid layer.

What unlocks after payment

Specific program names, source notes, current-vs-conditional judgments, and the next lender or agency questions tied to this state.

1 tracked

city and county programs

City and county down payment or closing-cost programs that never make it into the free statewide layer.

2 tracked

specialty and conditional paths

Conditional, paused, or specialty paths worth checking before you assume the state is a dead end.

Open the full Ohio board

Private workspace

What paid access adds after the free facts

This page stays free for public facts. Paid access turns this program into a shortlist item, a related-path decision layer, risk checks, lender-call prep, and a next-step queue.

If the public facts still look relevant, paid access is where you decide whether this path is stronger than your fallback and what to do next.

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Active accounts can save this program in one click. If you still need sign-in or checkout, the same button routes you to the right next step.

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Full state board

See what this should be compared against

3 tracked deeper leads sit behind the full Ohio board around this program.

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Risk and lender prep

Catch friction before you call

Use the paid layer for overlap checks, repayment friction, occupancy traps, and lender questions tied to this exact program.

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Action queue

Turn this page into next steps

Paid access turns the public facts into a follow-up list, lender-call order, and a clearer backup-path plan.

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