Do you want to buy a house, but aren’t sure you can cover the down payment? Let’s talk about
some down-payment assistance programs that may be able to help.

Down payment assistance can be the difference between saying “yes”
or “no” to a first home. If you are interested in buying a home but don’t
have cash on hand for a down payment, or if you have a son, daughter
or any other friend or family member who would like to purchase a home
but doesn’t have cash for a down payment in the state of Illinois, there
are several government programs that can assist you in securing a
down payment for your new dream home.

The First Home Illinois Program This program offers a forgivable
loan of $7,500 to buyers who will live in their new home for at least 5
years. This program will discontinue in December 2018, so to take
advantage of this down-payment assistance opportunity, your home
loan must be originated by December 15, 2018.

Even though this program will be discontinued for much of Illinois past
2018, there are other down-payment assistance programs that will be
available moving forward into 2019 and beyond:

- A forgivable loan of up to $6,000, with the amount based on the total
price of the home, forgivable after 5 years.

- A $7,500 deferred program. This loan is repaid through a second
mortgage the buyer doesn’t make payments on, but is...