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1 Grant Programs There are countless grant programs out there, available for just about anything but you need to know where to look. Among the notable grant programs are Chenoa, state-funded programs, and Good Neighbor Next Door. Chenoa was originally created to assist Native Americans and other minorities with purchasing homes. It has since expanded to provide assistance to any qualifying borrower who may need assistance. And through HUD, Good Neighbor Next Door offers qualifying public servants, like teachers, law enforcement officers, and firefighters, assistance. While this program doesn't provide down payment assistance per se, it does offer qualifying borrowers 50 percent off of the list price of the home. 2 Government Loans Whereas lenders typically require a 20 percent down payment for a home, federal loans may reduce that percentage to figures like 3.5 percent. US veterans, meanwhile, may be eligible for a VA loan, which allows for a 9 percent down payment. Those who have served can speak with their lender to be sure they meet qualifications. There are also FHA, or Federal Housing Administration, loans. FHA loans are great options because they offer financing to those who may not otherwise qualify. The minimum credit score for an FHA loan is 500, and the maximum debt-to-income ratio is 57 percent, which means that even if your financial situation isn't perfect, you may still qualify to purchase a home. Plus, the down payment is a flat 3.5 percent of the purchase price for single-family homes all the way up to 4-unit properties. 3 Borrowing from Yourself If this is your first time purchasing a home, you may qualify to borrow from your retirement account. Some taxes or penalties may apply (especially if you're nowhere near retirement age), so you'll want to tread carefully. For a Roth IRA, you could borrow up to $10,000 without penalty to fund your down payment. Other IRAs have similar rules, though they may require that you pay income taxes on what you've borrowed. When you consider the boost $10,000 could give you (and if you're moving in with a partner who also dips into their retirement fund for a total of $20,000) that puts a big dent in the down payment. You're also able to take a loan from your 401K, though there are limits to the amount and you must pay back your loan with interest. Talk to a mortgage broker and consider the impact of taking on bigger loans from yourself, which will incur debt and may impact your mortgage loan interest rate.