CHFA down payment assistance comes in two forms, and the difference matters more than the headline amount. The DAP loan is a small second mortgage you pay back monthly alongside your CHFA first mortgage. Time To Own is a zero-interest second mortgage with no payment that is forgiven ten percent a year until it is gone after ten years. Both attach only to a CHFA first mortgage, both carry income rules, and neither is a grant in the strict sense. Here is who qualifies, how much each covers in 2026, what you repay if you move, and how the two fit together.
Two kinds of CHFA down payment assistance
Every CHFA assistance loan is a second mortgage recorded behind your CHFA first mortgage, with a note and a deed. CHFA gives no cash grants. What changes between the two programs is whether, and when, you pay it back.
| DAP loan | Time To Own | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Second mortgage, repaid monthly | Second mortgage, zero interest, no monthly payment |
| Maximum | Lesser of 4% of the price or value, or $15,000 | $25,000 at or below 80% of AMI; $18,750 above 80% through 100% |
| Minimum | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Covers | The minimum down payment (3% conventional, 3.5% FHA) plus closing costs | Up to 20% of the price for the down payment and 5% for closing costs |
| Term | 30 years, fixed rate | 10 years; 10% of the original amount forgiven each anniversary |
| Interest | The lower of the first mortgage rate or a cap CHFA publishes | None |
| Residency | None beyond the first mortgage rules | Every borrower a Connecticut resident for the past three years |
| Lender fees | Up to $600 application and $200 settlement agent | Up to $600 application and $200 settlement agent |
| On sale or refinance | Balance due; cannot be subordinated | Unforgiven balance due; cannot be subordinated |
AMI is area median income for the CHFA planning region (table below). Combined loans may not exceed 105% of the home value. Source: CHFA Loan Program Outlines (Bond), DAP and Time To Own sections, revised October 5, 2026.
The Time To Own program in CT: forgivable assistance
Time To Own launched in 2022 with state money; on September 8, 2026 the State Bond Commission authorized more, and CHFA posts the balance open for reservations on its Time To Own page weekly. When it runs out, reservations pause.
You take a CHFA first mortgage and CHFA adds a second at zero percent with no payment. Each anniversary of closing, ten percent of the original amount is forgiven: stay ten years and you owe nothing; sell in year four and you repay the sixty percent not yet forgiven from your proceeds. The rules that catch people:
- Every borrower has lived in Connecticut for the three years before closing, shown with three years of federal tax returns or transcripts.
- The amount depends on your AMI tier in the table below, and over 100% of AMI the program is not available.
- The appraisal may not come in 10% or more above the price after seller concessions, and sales between related parties, including gifts of equity, are not allowed.
- The new housing payment must be at least 30% of qualifying income, which keeps the program aimed at buyers who need it.
| Planning region | 100% of AMI (upper limit) | 80% of AMI (full amount below this) |
|---|---|---|
| Capitol | $129,200 | $103,360 |
| Greater Bridgeport | $156,800 | $125,440 |
| Lower Connecticut River Valley | $129,200 | $103,360 |
| Naugatuck Valley | $114,000 | $91,200 |
| Northeastern CT | $126,500 | $101,200 |
| Northwest Hills | $124,500 | $99,600 |
| South Central CT | $123,200 | $98,560 |
| Southeastern CT | $111,900 | $89,520 |
| Western CT | $156,800 | $125,440 |
At or below 80%: up to $25,000. Above 80% through 100%: up to $18,750. Milford, West Haven, New Haven, Hamden and Orange are South Central; Stratford and Bridgeport are Greater Bridgeport; Shelton is Naugatuck Valley. Source: CHFA Time To Own Program Area Median Income Limits, as of June 13, 2026.
The DAP loan: a second mortgage you pay back
DAP covers the minimum down payment and some closing costs for a buyer who can afford the monthly payment but has not saved the cash. The amount is 4% of the lower of the price or appraised value, up to $15,000, never less than $3,000: the full 3.5% down payment plus closing costs on FHA, the full 3% on CHFA conventional (2% on two to four units), closing costs only on VA and USDA. It is a 30-year fixed-rate loan with a monthly payment, at the lower of your first mortgage rate or a cap CHFA publishes, and the lender qualifies you for both payments together. It needs no title insurance, lender fees are capped at $600 plus a $200 settlement agent fee, and it is paid off when you sell or refinance.
Who qualifies for down payment assistance in CT
The gate is the CHFA first mortgage. If you qualify for that, you can apply for the assistance, subject to the rules each program adds:
- First-time buyer under the CHFA three-year rule, or buying in a targeted census tract, with no other property owned at closing.
- Applicant income under the CHFA limit for your planning region and household size, plus the Time To Own AMI tiers.
- Purchase price under the CHFA sales price limit for the town, and an owner-occupied one to four unit home, condo or townhouse in Connecticut.
- A free homebuyer education certificate before closing, and the ability to carry the first mortgage and DAP together within the CHFA debt-to-income caps.
- For Time To Own, three years of Connecticut residency for every borrower.
How much down payment assistance you can get
Work it from the first mortgage backward. The first mortgage sets the minimum down payment: 3% on CHFA conventional, 3.5% on FHA, zero on VA and USDA. DAP covers that minimum plus closing costs up to $15,000; Time To Own goes up to 20% of the price plus 5% for closing costs, capped by AMI tier. Combined loans cannot exceed 105% of value, and cash back at closing is limited to your earnest money and items you paid up front. A South Central buyer under 80% of the program AMI can often finance the entire minimum down payment and most closing costs with Time To Own alone; between 80% and 100% it is smaller and may pair with DAP or savings; above 100%, DAP is the tool.
Grants for first time home buyers in CT: what actually exists
Searches for first-time buyer grants in Connecticut mostly land on Time To Own, and that is fair: a forgivable, zero-interest loan behaves like a grant if you stay. True grants that never have to be repaid tend to be local and small: a town or regional housing program, an employer-assisted housing benefit, or a nonprofit matched savings account. They come and go with funding, and most can sit under a CHFA loan as long as the total stays under the 105% cap and the agency insuring the first mortgage accepts the source. Tell me the town and your employer and I will check what is open. The wider menu is on the first-time home buyer programs page.
How the process works
- 01
Pre-approval and the CHFA income calculation
I document income the CHFA way, which counts overtime and bonus and looks back three months, and place you against the bond limit and the Time To Own AMI tier.
- 02
First mortgage and class
Conventional or government, based on credit, AMI and mortgage insurance cost. The free class is online with a lender coupon code or in person at an approved agency.
- 03
Contract and reservation
Under contract, the lender reserves the first mortgage and registers DAP or Time To Own at the same time, while funds are open.
- 04
Appraisal, CHFA review, closing
The appraisal has to clear the 10% Time To Own line and the 5% price-limit line. CHFA reviews the file, and the assistance is funded at your attorney closing and recorded behind the first mortgage.
Selling or refinancing with CHFA assistance in place
Both programs are due in full when you sell, and neither can be subordinated to a new first mortgage, so a refinance pays them off too. Time To Own forgives on the anniversary date, so if you are close to one, the timing of a sale can be worth a tenth of the loan. The servicer for both is Capital For Change in Wallingford, not CHFA. The recapture tax rules on the CHFA loans page attach to the first mortgage either way.
Is this the right loan for you?
- 01
A first-time buyer in West Haven or New Haven with steady income under 80% of area median and less than 3% saved.
- 02
A buyer who can carry the monthly payment but has not been able to save a down payment while paying Fairfield County rent.
- 03
A buyer of a two-family in Bridgeport or Hamden who needs help with the larger down payment a multi-unit purchase brings.
A recent example
Time To Own on a West Haven two-bedroom
A single buyer renting in West Haven had rebuilt her credit into the high 600s and had about one month of closing costs saved, not a down payment. Her income was under 80% of the CHFA South Central program AMI, and she had filed Connecticut returns for three years. We paired a CHFA Government Insured FHA first mortgage with Time To Own at the full amount, which covered the 3.5% down payment and most of her closing costs; the seller credited the rest. The appraisal came in close to the contract price, well under the 10% line. Her only monthly payment is the FHA loan; the Time To Own balance drops by a tenth every year she stays.
How I shop this loan
Down payment assistance is where a broker earns the fee, because the first mortgage drives everything and the first mortgage is a choice. For a buyer under 80% of AMI I compare the CHFA conventional loan with reduced mortgage insurance against CHFA FHA with Time To Own, then compare both against a non-CHFA FHA loan with a seller credit and no second mortgage, because sometimes the simpler loan costs less over five years. The CHFA rate is the same at every participating lender, so what I shop is the lender fee sheet, credit overlays, turn time on a CHFA file, and whether they will add Time To Own to a reservation quickly when funds reopen. Rates change daily; I show you the full stack, dated, before you sign a contract.
The questions I get most
01What is CHFA down payment assistance?
02How does the Time To Own program in CT work?
03How much down payment assistance can I get in CT?
04Is CHFA down payment assistance a grant or a loan?
05What are the income limits for Time To Own?
06Do you have to pay back CHFA down payment assistance?
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Keep reading
- CHFA Loans in ConnecticutCHFA loans are 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages at a below-market rate for first-time and moderate-income buyers in Connecticut, available only through CHFA participating lenders and the brokers they sponsor.
- CHFA Income and Purchase Price LimitsCHFA income limits run from $129,500 to $195,600 for one or two people and $148,925 to $228,200 for three or more, depending on the planning region and targeted tracts; purchase price limits run from $566,350 to $800,000.
- First-Time Home Buyer Programs in ConnecticutThe main first-time home buyer programs in Connecticut are the CHFA below-market mortgage with Time To Own and DAP down payment help, FHA at 3.5% down, VA and USDA at zero down, and 3% down conventional loans.
- Connecticut mortgage broker: home
Written by
AJ Doerr
Loan Officer, NMLS #2051311. Mortgage broker in Milford, Connecticut, licensed in Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts. Updated October 2026. About AJ.