DevNW Downpayment Assistance Program (2020)

The 2020 DevNW Downpayment Assistance Program provides no interest loans of up to $15,000 for first time home buyers to cover a portion of the down payment/closing costs associated with their purchase of a home.

Here some frequently asked questions:

How much is it?

Eligible house may apply for $15,000.

What is the income eligibility?*

You are eligible to buy in the following counties. Your household gross income must be at or under the following income limits for the county you are purchasing in:

• Benton County –$81,000
• Clackamas County - $92,100
• Lane County - $72,174
• Lincoln County - $55,783
• Linn County –$64,500
• Marion County –$70,600
• Polk County – $70,600

What is the other eligibility?

• Be a “first-time homebuyer.” That is, you cannot have owned a home in the past three years.
• Purchase in an eligible county: Benton, Clackamas, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion or Polk counties
• Purchase a single-family home, including a detached home, a condo, or a manufactured home on owned land
• Occupy the home
• Have a minimum of $1500 of your own saving for downpayment (or a minimum of 3.5% of the purchase price if you are getting an FHA loan)
• Additional loan requirements

What are the required to apply for downpayment assistance?

• Fill out our pilot application (English | Spanish). We will be opening the application on August 27th, 2020 to the general public and begin reviewing applications thereafter. If you are current DevNW member or have been referred by DevNW partnering organization, we encourage you to apply during this pilot period.
• Get pre-approval from a lender within 30 days from your application. Instruct lender to send pre-approval letter to .
• Attend DevNW’s Fundaciones de Comprar de Vivienda (Spanish) or Homebuying Foundations (in English). Sign up here to get started.
• Meet with a DevNW HUD-certified homeownership counselor.
• You have 60 day from the day your application is approved to get in contract on a house. You are “in contract” when a seller accepts your offer. Lender must send contract to .

Is there a cost for the required homeownership class and counseling?

Yes, $75.

What is down payment assistance and how does it work?

Downpayment assistance is a zero-interest loan for first-time homebuyers to help cover a portion downpayment and closing costs. Here is a longer explanation.

Is it a loan or a grant?

It’s a no interest loan. When you sell or refinance, you’ll return the zero percent interest downpayment plus shared appreciation to DevNW.

How does shared appreciation work?

Your DevNW homeownership counselor will go over this with you. For example, if you purchase a home for $300,000 with $15,000 downpayment assistance, the downpayment assistance is 15,000/300,000, or 5% of the purchase price. If your home has appreciated when you sell or refinance, you will return the $15,000 zero interest loan plus 5% of your proceeds from the transaction back to DevNW. If you sell or refinance and the home has not appreciated, you will not have any shared appreciation due at sale or refinance.

Learn more how this works in the Homebuying Foundations and the application process.

Can this downpayment assistance be paired the Oregon Bond Program, Individual Development Accounts or other downpayment assistance programs?

Yes, the DevNW’s downpayment can be layered with other programs. If you are interested in also using the Oregon Bond Program, you must work with an approved lender.

Where does the funding come from?

It comes from the Oregon Housing and Community Services.

If you have any additional questions, please email and put “DPA question” in the subject line.

*Note: we will note on this blog post when the funding has been exhausted.