 TITLE: How to Get Down Payment Assistance CONTENT: Who Qualifies for Down Payment Assistance?\n------------------------------------------\nTo qualify for down payment assistance, you usually need to be a first-time homeowner (defined as someone who hasn't owned a home within the previous three years) and meet other requirements, like income limits. Income limits are the maximum amount of income a household can receive to be eligible for assistance. Income limits vary depending on the program you're considering, where you live and how large your family is. Certain programs may also have debt-to-income ratio (DTI) requirements. Additionally, some down payment assistance programs target specific groups of people, such as teachers, veterans and police officers.\nCredit requirements may be more relaxed for down payment assistance programs than for typical mortgage approval. That said, if you have a credit score below 620, you'll want to work on improving your score to give yourself the best shot at qualifying for down payment assistance. If you're not sure where your credit stands, you can get your free credit report and score from Experian to see where you're at and how you might improve. END