DCA (Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance)
North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA / ND Housing) — the official state housing finance agency
Amount: 3% of the first mortgage loan amount, provided as a credit toward the borrower's out-of-pocket cash requirement (down payment, closing costs, and prepaids). Some secondary sources describe it as a 0%-interest deferred loan repaid at sale/refinance/payoff, but ND Housing's own site (ndhousing.nd.gov/dca) describes it as a credit toward cash needed at closing rather than a separate repayable loan — borrowers should confirm the exact structure with an NDHFA-approved lender since terminology varies by source.
Type: State HFA down payment/closing cost assistance, paired with a NDHFA first mortgage (FirstHome, HomeAccess, or Start)
Must obtain the first mortgage through NDHFA (paired with FirstHome, HomeAccess, or Start); must contribute at least $500 of the borrower's own cash; must meet county- and household-size-based income limits (effective June 15, 2026: e.g., Burleigh/Cass/McKenzie/McLean/Morton/Oliver counties — $63,300 for 1 person up to $119,350 for 8 people; all other ND counties — $60,000 for 1 person up to $113,150 for 8 people); property must be a 1-2 unit home with borrower occupying one unit; must complete an NDHFA-approved homebuyer education course with certificate dated before closing; standard credit underwriting per the paired loan program applies (no single published minimum credit score on the official page); cannot be combined with any other down payment assistance program. FirstHome/HomeAccess pairing requires not having owned a home as a principal residence in the last 3 years (first-time buyer definition); Start-paired DCA use may have different first-time-buyer rules.
Start Program
North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA / ND Housing)
Amount: 3% of the first mortgage loan amount as a credit toward the borrower's out-of-pocket cash requirement at closing (same structure/amount as DCA, but under the Start program's own income and eligibility rules)
Type: State HFA down payment/closing cost assistance paired with a Start first mortgage, aimed at low-to-moderate income borrowers who may not qualify under FirstHome's stricter limits
Available to low- to moderate-income homebuyers; 1-2 unit properties only (borrower must occupy one unit); cannot be combined with other down payment assistance programs; does not require the strict 3-year no-homeownership rule that applies to FirstHome, making it more accessible to repeat buyers as well as first-timers; exact current income/purchase-price limits and credit score standards should be confirmed with an NDHFA-approved lender, as ND Housing's public pages did not list Start-specific numeric limits at the time of this research (only that they are set 'by family size and location').
FirstHome Program
North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA / ND Housing)
Amount: Not a direct cash grant itself — it is the discounted first-mortgage loan program that first-time buyers pair with DCA or Start to receive the 3% down payment/closing cost assistance described above
Type: State HFA first mortgage program for first-time home buyers (the vehicle through which DCA/Start assistance is delivered)
Borrower must not have owned a home as a principal residence in the past three years (first-time buyer requirement); must make a minimum $500 out-of-pocket cash contribution; must meet income limits and purchase price limits that vary by county and family size; credit underwriting standards vary by participating lender ('every situation is different' per NDHFA); homebuyer education course required when paired with DCA.
North Dakota Roots
North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA / ND Housing)
Amount: Down payment and closing cost assistance delivered through the Start program (same 3%-of-loan-amount structure) attached to a Roots first mortgage
Type: State HFA mortgage option for buyers (including repeat buyers) whose income exceeds FirstHome/HomeAccess limits
No income or purchase price restrictions (unlike FirstHome/HomeAccess); loan amount must comply with Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac conforming loan limits; offered as either a below-market or market-rate interest loan; not restricted to first-time buyers, making it the fallback option for buyers who don't meet FirstHome's first-time-buyer or income criteria; credit requirements set by participating lenders.