Kansas First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Programs

Kansas offers a bit of everything: the urban energy of Kansas City, the college town vibe of Lawrence or the calm of the open prairie. If you’re a first-time homebuyer looking for financial help in the state, start with the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC). The state’s primary housing agency offers down payment assistance that could help you affordably purchase a home.

Kansas down payment assistance

KHRC First-Time Homebuyer Program

The KHRC offers a down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers, appropriately called the First-Time Homebuyer Program. The KHRC’s assistance, a second loan with no monthly payments, can help you cover as much as 15 percent and 20 percent of the home’s purchase price (up to a maximum of $40,000). Your income determines what amount you qualify for:

• 20 percent – If your household income is 50 percent or less of the area median income where you’re buying, you can qualify for a loan of up to 20 percent of the purchase price.
• 15 percent – If your household income is between 51 percent and 80 percent of the area median income, you can qualify for a loan of up to 15 percent of the purchase price.

If you’re buying a home in Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence, Kansas City or Johnson County, you’ll need to look for other options. The KHRC’s assistance is only available to buyers outside these areas.

• Requirements
  

  • No minimum credit score, but you’ll need to be approved for a 30-year conventional, FHA, VA or USDA loan for at least the first 80 percent of the home’s purchase price
  • You must contribute between 1 and 10 percent of your own funds to the purchase
  • You can’t have owned a home in the previous three years (unless you’re a displaced homemaker, single parent or the owner of a manufactured home)
  • The home you’re buying can’t exceed maximum purchase price amounts; in most counties, the limit is $143,000, but there are some exceptions that range all the way to $257,000 in Douglas County

• Pros and cons
  

  Pros

  • More affordable interest rates
  • Loan is forgiven after 10 years of living in the home
  • Loan has zero interest
  • Can be used for down payment and closing costs
  • Multiple property types eligible (single-family, condo, townhome, half of duplex, manufactured home on permanent foundation, new construction)

  Cons

  • Not eligible for borrowers in Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence, Kansas City or Johnson County
  • Must contribute 1 percent of own funds toward purchase (cannot be gift money)

KansasDPA

Co-sponsored by Sedgwick County and Shawnee County, KansasDPA is a statewide program that helps people in Kansas become first-time or repeat homeowners. If you participate in this program, you’ll get a 30-year fixed-rate conventional or government-backed loan, as well as a grant to pay for a percentage of your down payment or closing costs.

• Requirements
  

  • Must have a minimum 640 credit score
  • Must meet income and purchase price limits
  • Must purchase an eligible property type (single-family detached, duplex, condo, townhome, manufactured home)

• Pros and cons
  

  Pros

  • Grant assistance does not need to be repaid
  • Open to multiple property types

  Cons

  • Can be used toward the down payment or closing costs

FHLBank Topeka Homeownership Set-aside Program (HSP)

The FHLBank Topeka Homeownership Set-aside program helps people build or buy homes across four states, including Kansas, by awarding first-time homebuyer grants to Kansas buyers. Funding ranges from $2,500 to $15,000 and can go toward down payments, closing costs or repairs. If you live in your home for at least five years, the grant will be forgiven.

• Requirements
  

  • Must live in Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska or Oklahoma
  • Must earn 80 percent or less of the median income in your area
  • Must take an approved homebuyer education course

• Pros and cons
  

  Pros

  • Doesn’t require repayment after five years
  • Open to condos, townhomes, manufactured homes
  • Can be used for down payments, closing costs or repair assistance

  Cons

  • Funding is limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis

City of Wichita’s HOMEownership 80 Program

Planning on purchasing a house in Wichita? The city of Wichita’s HOMEownership 80 Program provides grants to first-time homebuyers in certain parts of the city, with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

• Requirements
  

  • Must buy a home through one of the city’s housing development partners (such as Mennonite Housing or Habitat for Humanity)
  • Must qualify for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage
  • Must meet income requirements
  • Must complete a homebuyer education course

• Pros and cons
  

  Pros

  • Can be used for closing costs and the down payment
  • Grant funds do not require repayment

  Cons

  • Limited to new construction single-family homes made by certain development partners

City specific homebuyer assistance programs

Topeka Opportunity to Own (TOTO) Program

As one of the biggest cities in Kansas, Topeka might be on your shortlist. If so, it’s worth considering the Topeka Opportunity to Own (TOTO) program, which helps first-time homebuyers secure up to $30,000 to repair a home in the city. It also offers up to $5,000 in down payment assistance.

• Requirements
  

  • A minimum down payment of $500
  • A maximum home sales price of $75,000
  • Buyers can’t own any real estate at the time of closing
  • Must complete 12 hours of homebuyer and home maintenance education courses
  • An income less than 80 percent of the area median income ($69,840 for a family of four)

• Pros and cons
  

  Pros

  • Low down payment requirement ($500)
  • Up to $30,000 toward home repairs

  Cons

  • Home must be within Topeka city limits
  • Funds can only be used for down payment assistance and home repairs (not closing costs)
  • Low maximum home sales price ($75,000)

City of Leavenworth Home Ownership Program

The city of Leavenworth is also making a big push to attract first-time homebuyers since more than half of its residential properties are rentals. Under this program, you can receive up to $8,000 in grant funding for purchasing a home in the city.

• Requirements
  

  • Must be a first-time recipient
  • Cover half of the down payment with own funds
  • Not have owned a home in the past five years
  • Have a low to moderate income (meet HUD income limits)
  • Complete a HUD-approved homebuyer education course
  • Must be working with a licensed Realtor

• Pros and cons
  

  Pros

  • Doesn’t require repayment (if you own the home for at least five years)

  Cons

  • Must be a first-time recipient
  • Home must be within the city of Leavenworth
  • Must cover half of the down payment with your own funds

Other Kansas homebuyer assistance programs

Kansas First-Time Home Buyer Savings Accounts

While it’s not a loan or grant, this is another useful program that helps first-time buyers purchase or build a home in Kansas. It lets Kansas residents open a dedicated savings account — with interest-free tax benefits — for a future home purchase.

With one of these accounts, you can contribute $3,000 (individual filers) or $6,000 (joint filers) to the account each year, tax-free. In total, you can save up to $50,000 in the account, which you can spend on a down payment or closing costs.

Other Kansas first-time homebuyer loans

In addition to exploring state and local homebuying assistance options in Kansas, it’s also worth looking into the following government-backed loans, which are available nationwide.

• FHA loans: Insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), FHA loans have looser credit score and down payment requirements than conventional loans. With an FHA loan, you’ll only need to make a down payment of 3.5 percent if your credit score is 580 or higher.
• VA loans: If you’re a veteran, active-duty service member or surviving military spouse, you may qualify for a VA loan. These loans, which are guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, don’t require you to put any money down when buying a home and often have lower interest rates than conventional 30-year loans.
• USDA loans: Like VA loans, USDA loans are also no-down payment mortgages. To qualify, you’ll need to purchase a property in a designated rural area.

Get started

If you’re serious about buying a home in Kansas, start comparing options to get a good sense of what mortgage rates are available from banks, credit unions and other types of mortgage lenders in the state.

You can also use Bankrate’s guide to first-time homebuyer loans and programs to see what you can qualify for on a national level. And before taking the plunge into first-time homeownership, be sure you understand all the associated costs — including things like home maintenance and homeowners insurance.

• Explore other first-time homebuyer programs by state