Buying a home in Tyler is one of those goals that feels close and far at the same time. You see yourself in an East Texas neighborhood, under the trees, maybe grilling in the backyard or watching a summer storm roll in from the porch. Then you look at the down payment, closing costs, and all the little fees that stack up, and it suddenly feels like too much to handle at once.
You are not wrong to feel that tension. The good news is you do not have to solve it by yourself. Between the City of Tyler’s own programs and several Texas-wide options that work beautifully in Smith County, there is real help for buyers who are ready for a mortgage but need support with the upfront cash.
Tyler homebuyers actually have more help available than most people realize, especially if the down payment is the one thing keeping you on the sidelines. At the local level, the City of Tyler offers a generous first-time buyer program that can cover a significant portion of your down payment and closing costs. Here’s a list of Tyler’s citywide downpayment assistance programs:
The main local program is the City of Tyler First Time Homebuyers Program, managed by the city’s Neighborhood Services Department. You still get a regular first mortgage from a lender; the city simply steps in with extra support to close the gap between what you have and what you need.
In simple terms, this program gives you a second loan that is designed to be gentle:
Deferred means you do not make monthly payments on the city’s portion. Forgivable means that if you live in the home as your primary residence and follow the program rules for the required number of years, some or all of that assistance is written off instead of repaid like a normal second lien.
For many first-time buyers, that is the piece that makes homeownership possible without draining every savings account.
The Tyler First Time Homebuyers Program is focused on buyers who truly need the help, not just those who prefer not to dip into a large nest egg. To qualify, you typically need to:
The city reviews your income, assets, and purchase details, then sizes the assistance based on actual need rather than automatically handing you the maximum.
If you currently have a Housing Choice Voucher through the city and are enrolled in the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program, there is another path that often flies under the radar: the HCV Homeownership Program.
Instead of traditional down payment assistance, this program lets qualified voucher holders use their voucher to help cover a monthly mortgage payment rather than rent.
The remaining down payment can come from your FSS escrow account or other approved sources. The voucher then helps support the monthly payment, which can dramatically shift the math for long-time renters who have been doing things right but still feel stuck.
If you are already working with the voucher program and have thought, “I wish this could go toward my own place,” it is worth exploring whether the homeownership track is open to you.
On top of what the City of Tyler offers, you also have access to several Texas-wide programs that work in Smith County. These do not care that you are in Tyler specifically; they care about your credit, income, loan type, and whether you are buying a primary residence.
The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) runs two popular programs:
Both pair a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with down payment assistance, usually 3 to 5 percent of your loan amount. You can receive it as a grant or as a deferred second lien, whichever works better for your situation.
If you are working full-time in Tyler, doing the kind of job that keeps the community going, TSAHC is often worth a serious look.
Where TSAHC is a nonprofit, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) is a state agency, and it brings its own menu of programs that also apply in Tyler. TDHCA’s down payment assistance is usually paired with a 30-year fixed mortgage and can be used with FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional loans, depending on the lender and your profile.
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) runs programs under the Texas Homebuyer Program umbrella:
Both provide a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and down payment assistance up to about 5 percent of your loan amount. For a buyer in Tyler who earns too much for the city program but still needs help with upfront costs, TDHCA can be a very practical solution.
Many Tyler buyers also combine TDHCA loans with a Texas Mortgage Credit Certificate, which can reduce federal income tax liability year after year and free up cash flow for other bills or savings. The key is to work with a lender that is approved for these programs, because not every bank or credit union participates.
The SETH 5 Star Texas Advantage Program, offered by the Southeast Texas Housing Finance Corporation, is another tool that often works well in this part of the state.
SETH provides down payment and closing-cost assistance up to 5 percent of the final loan amount, paired with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. The assistance usually comes as a second loan, and you can choose between options that are forgiven after a few years or deferred until you sell, refinance, or reach the end of the term.
SETH can be used with FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional loans, which gives you and your lender a lot of flexibility.
A good local loan officer in Tyler will usually compare TSAHC, TDHCA, SETH, and the City of Tyler program side by side, then show you what your monthly payment and cash-to-close would look like under each.
Yes. The program is funded and managed by the City of Tyler, so the home must be within city limits. If you are looking in the county but outside the city, statewide programs like TSAHC, TDHCA, or SETH become more important.
Program descriptions indicate assistance up to around $50,000, structured as a no-interest, deferred, forgivable loan. The exact amount depends on your purchase price, your first mortgage, and the genuine gap once your own funds are counted.
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on each program’s rules at the time and how the liens would be stacked. This is where an experienced lender earns their keep. They can quickly tell you whether layering is allowed or whether it makes more sense to rely on just one main source of assistance.
A simple, low-stress starting point is to get prequalified with a lender who already works with the City of Tyler, TSAHC, TDHCA, and SETH regularly. At the same time, you can sign up for a HUD-approved homebuyer education class. By the time you finish those two steps, you usually have a realistic price range, a short list of programs that actually fit, and a clear sense of what it would take to move from thinking about buying to actually doing it.
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If you are ready to stop guessing and start seeing real numbers, it helps to talk with someone who matches buyers every day with the right combination of down payment assistance and loan programs. A quick, honest conversation can show you what you qualify for, how much home truly fits your budget, and which path gets you into a place of your own with some breathing room left in your bank account.
Call us today at (877) 280-4833 to speak with a home loan specialist who understands Texas programs and can walk you through your options step by step. You bring your goals and your questions, they bring the experience and structure, and together you can turn the idea of owning a home into something real and achievable.
