• Assistance helps many buy their dream homehome sweet home image by David Dorner from Fotolia.com
  
  Down payment assistance allows low- to moderate-income home buyers to realize their dream of owning a home. In the past there were several different types of grants available for home owners. As of Oct. 1, 2008, the Housing Economic Recovery Act of 2008 ended most federally funded down-payment assistance programs.
  
  

American Dream Down Payment Initiative

• The American Dream Down Payment Initiative provides money for first-time home buyers looking to purchase single family homes. The program defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a home for three years or more prior to the purchase. The applicants must not have an income that exceeds 80 percent of the median income for the area. The funds can be used to purchase a single-family home, condominium unit, cooperative unit or manufactured home. The funds cover the down payment, closing costs and rehabilitation costs in conjunction with the home.
  
  U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  
  451 7th St. SW
  
  Washington, D.C. 20410
  
  202-708-1112
  
  http://www.hud.gov/
  
  

Down Payment Assistance

• As of Oct. 1, 2008, all Federal Housing Administration down-payment assistance programs were ended with the signing of the Housing Economic Recovery Act of 2008. This program blocks the ability of sellers to fund a percentage of the down payment on the purchased home. Currently there is only one federally funded down-payment program, the American Dream Down Payment Initiative Program. There are local agencies that assist with lowering down payment costs and interest rates by providing special loans for first-time home buyers, but these programs no longer provide down-payment grants.
  
  

State Programs and Counseling

• The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers home-buying programs and counseling in each state for those who wish to seek assistance through the process. These programs include assistance in determining the amount the buyer can afford to pay for a home, finding home loans and assistance with gaining reduced interest rates on the loans.