Your down payment may already be out there.

Down payment assistance (DPA) is money from the state, a county, a city, a tribe or a nonprofit that helps pay your down payment and closing costs. In Minnesota it is usually a 0% interest second loan with no monthly payment. Many are forgiven if you live in the home for a set number of years. A few are outright grants.

Statewide programs typically provide $14,000 to $45,000. Local programs can add more. Combined, some buyers receive $60,000 to $110,000. Saint Paul's Inheritance Fund can reach $110,000, Edina's programs up to $90,000 to $100,000, and Ramsey County's first-generation option up to $93,150.

Sometimes. Grants (like Washington County's $5,000 first-generation grant) are never repaid. Forgivable loans become free if you stay long enough. Deferred loans must be repaid when you sell, refinance or pay off your mortgage. Monthly payment loans are repaid over time. Every card in our directory lists the terms.

Not always. Minnesota Housing's Step Up program, Metro Home, Project Reinvest, Community Keys and several city programs are open to repeat buyers. "First-time" usually means you have not owned a home in the past three years.

Most programs follow the first mortgage's rules, often 620 to 640. Advancing Black Homeownership accepts 580 or alternative credit. Nonprofit coaches like Build Wealth MN, NeighborWorks Home Partners and Bii Gii Wiin can help you get ready at no cost.

Many programs require the lesser of $1,000 or 1% of the purchase price from your own funds. A few ask for more (Otter Tail County requires 2%). Some cap how much cash you can have left after closing, often $25,000 to $50,000 excluding retirement accounts.

Start Up is Minnesota Housing's first mortgage for first-time buyers. It can be paired with a Deferred Payment Loan (up to $16,500), a Deferred Payment Loan Plus (up to $18,000, stricter income limits) or a Monthly Payment Loan. In 2026 the purchase price limit is $515,200 in the Twin Cities metro and $472,030 elsewhere.

Step Up serves repeat buyers and first-time buyers who earn too much for Start Up. Household income can reach about $196,600 depending on county. It pairs with a Monthly Payment Loan of up to $14,000.

No. That state program offered up to $35,000 and served 1,431 families before its one-time funds ran out on December 19, 2024. The separate First-Generation Homebuyers Community Down Payment Assistance Fund (up to $32,000, forgiven over five years) is accepting applications as of this update.

Minnesota Housing publishes a participating lender list on mnhousing.gov. Only those lenders can offer Start Up, Step Up and the down payment loans. Ask any lender directly whether they close Minnesota Housing loans often.

You qualify if you and your parents or legal guardians never owned a home in any country, or owned one but lost it to foreclosure. You must be a Minnesota resident. If you have a co-borrower, they must be a first-time buyer.

The statewide Community Fund offers up to 10% of the price, capped at $32,000, forgiven 20% per year over five years. Local first-gen programs add more: Saint Paul +$10,000, Hennepin County up to $35,000, St. Louis Park $45,000 to $75,000, Ramsey County suburbs up to $93,150, Carver County up to $50,000, Washington County a $5,000 grant.

Under the Community Fund's definition, ownership in any country counts, so you would not qualify as first-generation. You may still qualify for first-time buyer programs.

Yes. The Advancing Black Homeownership Community Fund offers Twin Cities first-time buyers up to 20% of the purchase price, capped at $45,000, as a 0% loan with no monthly payments. It serves U.S.-born Black buyers descended from people enslaved in the United States. You must be approved before signing a purchase agreement.

It helps descendants of families whose homes were taken for I-94 through the Rondo neighborhood and for the Riverview Industrial Park on the West Side Flats. Eligible buyers earning up to 100% AMI can layer up to $60,000 on top of Saint Paul's regular assistance, for as much as $110,000 in forgivable loans. The city reopened funding in April 2026; as of September 30, 2026 the Rondo program page says applications are currently closed.

Yes. Bii Gii Wiin CDLF provides coaching and mortgage lending focused on Native households. White Earth Investment Initiative offers up to $5,000 deferred loans in rural Minnesota. The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines' Native American Homeownership Initiative provides grants through member banks. Many tribal nations also run their own housing programs, and HUD Section 184 loans allow low down payments.

Yes. Special purpose credit programs are allowed under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act when they serve groups that have faced documented barriers to credit. Every other program on this site is open to all eligible buyers regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or familial status.

Minneapolis Homes: Access / Homeownership Opportunity Minneapolis provides up to $20,000 (at or below 60% AMI) or $10,000 (61–80% AMI) as a 0% deferred loan. North Minneapolis buyers can also look at Near North/Willard-Hay entry cost assistance and Grow North. Statewide and metro programs stack on top. NeighborWorks Home Partners administers several and has Somali, Spanish and Hmong speaking staff.

Saint Paul offers up to $40,000 for buyers at or below 60% AMI and $20,000 at 61–80% AMI, plus $10,000 for first-generation buyers, forgiven over 15 years. Inheritance Fund eligible buyers can reach $110,000. As of September 30, 2026 the city says program capacity has been reached and applications are closed; it will post any remaining funds on its website.

Hennepin County offers up to $30,000 forgivable (up to $35,000 on its first-generation track) outside the cities that run their own programs. Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Eden Prairie, Edina, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Richfield and St. Louis Park each have their own.

Yes. Look at Three Rivers Community Action (20 southeastern counties), One Roof Community Housing (Duluth area), Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency, Stearns County and St. Cloud HRA, Otter Tail County, Goodhue County, Austin/Mower County and Headwaters Regional Development Commission. Minnesota Housing and the First-Gen Community Fund cover all 87 counties.

Home Stretch is Minnesota's approved homebuyer education workshop, coordinated by the Minnesota Homeownership Center. Almost every program requires the certificate, often before you sign a purchase agreement. Some Minneapolis programs also require financial wellness coaching at least three months earlier.

Usually. Most programs allow single-family homes, townhomes and condos. Many allow duplexes and some allow up to four units or manufactured homes. Check each program's property rules.

It should not if your agent and lender plan for it. The real risks are timelines and price caps. An agent who works with DPA regularly writes offers that fit the program's rules and explains them to the seller's agent.

Deferred loans are repaid in full from your sale or refinance proceeds. Forgivable loans are repaid only for the unforgiven balance. Moving out and renting the home also typically triggers repayment.

Many programs receive a fixed yearly allocation and reserve funds first-come, first-served. Popular programs often pause mid-year. We mark programs that are paused or closed and update the directory as sources change.