Free Tool · Built by Patrick, a Loan Officer and Realtor
Down payment assistance in Texas typically comes in two sizes: up to 5% of your loan amount through state programs like TDHCA My First Texas Home and TSAHC Home Sweet Texas Home, or $1,000 to $30,000 from San Antonio's HIP 80 as a forgivable second loan. This free checker screens your county, household size, income, occupation and first-time buyer status against the main Texas programs, and shows you which ones plausibly fit before you talk to a lender. It takes about a minute and it is education, not a guarantee.
Interactive Screening Tool
County, household size, income, occupation, first-time buyer status. That is everything the main Texas programs ask about. Answer honestly and the checker shows where you plausibly stand, one line per program.
Your screening results will appear here.
Each Texas program gets a one-line verdict: looks like a fit, needs a detail confirmed, or likely out of reach.
Educational screening only, based on the published rules shown on this page. It is not an approval and not a guarantee of eligibility. Final eligibility is determined by each program and your lender, and limits can change. Confirm current figures before relying on them.
San Antonio HIP 80 only works inside San Antonio city limits. The state programs span all Texas counties.
HIP 80 checks income against its 2026 limits by household size. State programs check county-based limits the lender confirms.
Homes for Texas Heroes requires a qualifying occupation. Home Sweet Texas and My First Texas Home do not.
My First Texas Home is built for first-time buyers. Repeat buyers can look at My Choice Texas Home or Home Sweet Texas Home.
The checker shows the what. The webinar teaches the how.
How DPA, seller concessions and low-down-payment loans work together to cut cash to close, with real Texas examples and the Patriot Pro Tips. Get the full picture in the live webinar.
Straight Answer
Down payment assistance is money from a state or local program that covers part of your down payment or closing costs, usually as a grant you never repay or as a no-monthly-payment second lien that is forgiven after you stay in the home. In Texas the state programs center on up to 5% of the loan amount, and San Antonio's HIP 80 offers a forgivable second loan of $1,000 to $30,000. It is not a loan from a bank with a monthly payment, and it is available in far more cases than most buyers assume.
TDHCA My First Texas Home and both TSAHC programs can cover up to 5% of the loan amount for down payment and closing costs. That money arrives as a 0% interest loan or grant (TDHCA), or as a grant or a second lien forgiven after three years (TSAHC). On a $350,000 loan, 5% is $17,500 of help.
San Antonio's Homeownership Incentive Program (HIP 80) lends $1,000 to $30,000 at 0% interest with no payments, and the loan is forgiven over time. Loans of $1,000 to $15,000 are forgiven over 5 years; $15,001 to $30,000 over 10 years. It is only for primary residences inside San Antonio city limits, at or below 80% of area median income.
Most Texas DPA takes the form of a silent second lien with no monthly payment, forgiven after you meet the program's residency requirement. HIP 80 adds teardown details: an 8-hour HUD-approved homebuyer education course and a minimum $500 earnest money deposit are generally required. Patrick walks buyers through exactly this in the webinar.
The Programs
These are the current published basics, the same figures the checker uses. Income and purchase price limits vary by county, product and household size, so the lender runs the exact numbers for your file.
Source: City of San Antonio, Neighborhood & Housing Services
2026 HIP 80 income limits (City of San Antonio): 1 person $56,350 · 2 people $64,400 · 3 people $72,450 · 4 people $80,500 · 5 people $86,950 · 6 people $93,400. The checker compares your household income against these by household size.
A note on credit: none of these programs replace a qualifying mortgage, and every one expects a workable credit file, roughly 620 and up depending on program and loan type. The checker does not ask your score, because the income, county, occupation and first-time gates come first.
Straight Answers
Yes. State programs in Texas cover up to 5% of the loan amount for down payment and closing costs, and San Antonio's HIP 80 offers a forgivable 0% interest second loan of $1,000 to $30,000. It is not free money for everyone, the income, county, credit and first-time buyer rules apply, and you still need a qualifying mortgage for the rest. That is exactly why the checker runs your specific answers before you call anyone.
It depends on the program. Grants are never repaid, and second-lien assistance carries no monthly payment and is usually forgiven after you stay in the home for the required period. TSAHC assistance can be a grant or a second lien forgiven after three years. San Antonio HIP 80 loans of $1,000 to $15,000 are forgiven over 5 years, and $15,001 to $30,000 over 10 years. Sell or refinance before the forgiveness period ends and the remaining balance can come due, so the program details matter.
No. This is an educational screening tool, not an approval and not a guarantee of eligibility. It compares your answers to the published program basics so you know where you plausibly stand. Final eligibility is determined by each program and your lender, income limits and purchase price caps can change, and some figures are approximate until the program confirms them. Treat the result as a strong starting picture, not a yes.
No. TSAHC Home Sweet Texas Home welcomes repeat buyers, and TDHCA's My Choice Texas Home serves eligible repeat buyers alongside My First Texas Home. San Antonio HIP 80 generally requires first-time buyer status, and TSAHC Homes for Texas Heroes is gated by occupation rather than buyer history. If you have owned a home in the past 3 years, the state programs are still very much on the table.
Yes, and that is usually the point. TSAHC's program explicitly works with FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans, so a low-down-payment loan plus 5% assistance plus seller concessions can shrink your cash to close dramatically. How the pieces stack, where the limits are, and how Patrick sequences it in real transactions is part of the free webinar. Run your numbers in the Texas Cash-to-Close Calculator to see the difference assistance makes.
Keep Going
The checker shows where you stand. These pages show why Patrick is the one to run your numbers.
Over $11M in combined loan and real estate volume in plain dollars, aggregated with no client details.
See the resultsFive-star reviews from first-time buyers across San Antonio and Texas, quoted straight from Google.
Read the reviewsReal answers to the questions people ask before calling: credit, pre-approval, money, loans and closing.
Read the FAQEstimate your full cash to close, then subtract the assistance amounts above to see the real difference.
Run the numbersThis page is a screening tool built for education. It compares your answers to the published basics of TDHCA, TSAHC and City of San Antonio programs so you can see where you plausibly stand, and it is not an approval, not a loan application, and not a guarantee of eligibility.
Final eligibility for every program is determined by that program and by your lender: income and purchase price limits vary by county, product and household size, credit requirements apply, and program rules and figures can change. Purchase price caps for HIP 80 in particular are approximate; confirm the current caps with the City before relying on them.
Want to know which programs fit your real numbers? Call Patrick at 210-317-6514, or book a no-pressure conversation. He has run these programs on the mortgage side and the real estate side for over 23 years.
The checker shows which programs may fit. The webinar teaches how DPA, seller concessions and low-down-payment loans work together to cut cash to close, with real Texas examples, the Patriot Pro Tips and the mistakes to avoid.
Free • Live Q&A • 169-page Roadmap for live attendees