DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE · TWIN CITIES

Homeownership in the 21st centuryispossible.

Down payment assistance (DPA) is help from state, city, county and nonprofit programs toward your down payment or closing costs. Programs, rules and amounts differ by area. Here’s how it works in the Twin Cities.

See what fits youHow it works ↓

No credit pull

A COMMON MYTH

It’s not just for low incomes.

Income limits are set by each program and by household size, and many reach well into middle incomes. Most programs are for first-time buyers, which usually means you haven’t owned a home in the last three years.

FOR EXAMPLE

$196,600

a year, household of three

can still qualify for some Twin Cities programs.

FIVE KINDS OF HELP

Help comes in five shapes.

Point to a finger to see how that kind works. Some programs mix two.

GRANTFree money, with rules. Never repaid while you follow them.
FORGIVEN OVER TIMEA loan that shrinks each year you stay. Some forgive all at once at the end.
DEFERREDNo monthly payment. Repaid when you sell, refinance or move out.
SECOND PAYMENTA real second mortgage with a small monthly payment.
SHARED EQUITY OR LAND TRUSTPay less now, share some of the growth later.
ILLUSTRATION: hand (coming)

4 VERIFIED PROGRAMS · UP TO $18,000 FROM ONE PROGRAM

SECOND PAYMENT

Monthly Payment Loan (with Step Up)

up to $14,000

THE CATCHSame Monthly Payment Loan as mn_mpl_startup but paired with the Step Up first mortgage for REPEAT buyers (not first-time). Higher income and price limits than Start Up's MPL channel for non-metro counties.
HOW YOU QUALIFY
Income under the limit
Home price under the limit
Homebuyer class
REPAID WHEN YOU SELL

Deferred Payment Loan (DPL)

up to $14,000

THE CATCHA Minnesota Housing down payment loan up to $14,000 at 0% interest with no monthly payment. You repay it only when you sell, transfer title, stop using the home as your primary residence, refinance, or pay off the first mortgage. First-time buyers only, with a Start Up first mortgage; income limits are lower than the Monthly Payment Loan and a $13,000 cap applies to leftover cash after closing.
HOW YOU QUALIFY
Income under the limit
First-time buyer
Home price under the limit
Homebuyer class
Cash left after closing under $13,000
REPAID WHEN YOU SELL

Deferred Payment Loan Plus (DPL+)

up to $18,000

THE CATCHMinnesota Housing's largest deferred down payment loan, up to $18,000 at 0% interest with no monthly payment, for first-time buyers who meet added targeting criteria (including a first-generation homebuyer path). Start Up first mortgage required; same 0% deferred repayment and $13,000 cash cap as the standard Deferred Payment Loan.
HOW YOU QUALIFY
Income under the limit
First-time buyer
Home price under the limit
Homebuyer class
Cash left after closing under $13,000
SECOND PAYMENT

Monthly Payment Loan (with Start Up)

up to $14,000

THE CATCHA Minnesota Housing down payment loan up to $14,000, repaid over 10 years with a monthly payment at the same rate as your first mortgage. Available statewide with a Start Up first mortgage for first-time buyers; income and price limits depend on your county.
HOW YOU QUALIFY
Income under the limit
First-time buyer
Home price under the limit
Homebuyer class

THE REAL HEROES

The real work happens at your local nonprofit.

Housing nonprofits do the part no website can. Diorama gets you to them ready: the right class, the right documents, in the right order. They do the rest.

PHOTO · COUNSELOR AT WORK(FROM PARTNER)

They teach the homebuyer class

Budgeting, mortgages, inspections, what to expect at closing. Most programs require it.

PHOTO · COUNSELOR AT WORK(FROM PARTNER)

They sit down with you one-on-one

A counselor looks at your real situation and builds a plan with you.

PHOTO · COUNSELOR AT WORK(FROM PARTNER)

They take your application, and stay

Many run or receive program applications, and they’re still there after you close.

OUR NONPROFIT PARTNERS

PARTNER
PARTNER
PARTNER
PARTNER

THE ORDER MATTERS

The rules that trip people up.

  1. 01

    Class and counseling

    With a housing nonprofit

  2. 02

    Pre-approval

    With a lender

  3. 03

    Purchase agreement

    With your agent

  4. 04

    Program applications

    Through each program’s organization

  5. 05

    Program review

    Each program sets its own timeline

  6. 06

    Closing

    Assistance applied

WATCH OUT

Class before you sign

Some programs say no if you sign a purchase agreement before finishing the homebuyer class.

WATCH OUT

Some need a signed agreement

Some programs only take your application once you have a purchase agreement. Others reserve funds before.

WATCH OUT

Not every program combines

Some programs stack together. Others can’t be used with each other.

WATCH OUT

Limits and your main home

Income and price limits apply, and the home has to be where you live.

Diorama keeps these in order for you, so the class comes first and nothing gets signed too early.

NO COMMON APP

How applying actually works.

01

Each program has its own application

You apply through that program’s organization, on their forms. Sometimes that’s two applications.

02

We show you which, in what order

The forms you need, the documents each one asks for, and when to send them.

03

Then we hand you to their form

Diorama never runs a program or decides who qualifies. The organization does.

BEYOND FINDING A PROGRAM

Finding a program is only part of it.

Credit

Most programs and lenders have a minimum score.

What helps: A counselor can help you plan to get there.

Funds run out

Programs open, pause and close as money comes and goes.

What helps: We show what’s open now and flag what’s paused.

Timelines

Programs add time before closing, and sellers notice.

What helps: Your agent writes the timeline into the offer.

People who haven’t done it

Some agents and lenders rarely work with assistance.

What helps: We point you to ones who have.

See your programs.

No credit pull. Save them if you want.

See what fits you