What is IHDA?
The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) is the state's housing finance agency. IHDA does not make mortgage loans directly. Instead, it partners with approved mortgage lenders and provides second-lien assistance that layers on top of your first mortgage — covering down payment, closing costs, or both.
Depending on which IHDA program you use, that assistance is either forgiven over time, deferred for the life of your first mortgage, or repaid as a small second monthly payment. In every case it's secured by your home, which means IHDA isn't writing you a check — it's extending real financing you'll want to understand before you sign.
If you're buying in Illinois with limited cash on hand, IHDA is usually the first place to look. The programs exist specifically to make homeownership reachable for buyers with stable income and decent credit but not the traditional 5%–20% down payment.
How we help — and what we don't
Before you read further, a direct disclosure: New Market Mortgage is not currently an IHDA Mortgage Approved Lender. That means we can't originate an IHDA-backed loan for you directly. IHDA assistance has to run through a participating lender on IHDA's approved list.
What we can do:
- Explain the programs in plain English — which we're about to do in detail.
- Review your overall mortgage picture — credit, income, affordability, loan type options — and tell you honestly whether IHDA looks like the right path for your situation.
- Run the math for both sides — an IHDA-assisted purchase through a participating lender, compared to a non-IHDA loan we can originate directly (FHA, VA, conventional, jumbo, refinance). Sometimes IHDA is the clear winner. Sometimes a non-IHDA FHA with gift funds or a different low-down-payment conventional works out better. We'll tell you either way.
- Point you to a participating lender if IHDA turns out to be the right fit.
What we can't do:
- Originate an IHDA-assisted loan. We're not currently on IHDA's approved lender list.
- Guarantee IHDA approval or eligibility. That's always the participating lender's call, and depends on your exact numbers against IHDA's county-by-county income and purchase price limits.
With that out of the way, let's get into the programs.
The four IHDA Access programs
As of the most recent IHDA program materials, there are four active Access programs. All four currently require a minimum 640 credit score and completion of a pre-purchase homebuyer education course before closing.
1. Access Home — up to $15,000
6% of the purchase price · Interest-free, deferred for the life of your first mortgage
The largest assistance amount IHDA currently offers. Access Home provides 6% of the purchase price up to $15,000 toward down payment and closing costs, structured as an interest-free second mortgage deferred for the life of your first mortgage. There is no monthly payment on the assistance — you only pay it back when you sell, refinance, or pay off the first mortgage.
Access Home is the only IHDA Access program currently restricted to first-time homebuyers. If you've owned a principal residence in the past three years, you don't qualify unless you meet an exemption: eligible veterans or buyers purchasing in a federally designated targeted area (many Chicago census tracts qualify — a participating lender will check eligibility by property address).
2. Access Forgivable — up to $6,000
4% of the purchase price · Forgiven monthly over 10 years
Access Forgivable provides 4% of the purchase price up to $6,000, structured as a second mortgage forgiven monthly over 10 years. Stay in the home and keep your first mortgage in good standing, and after the 10-year term the second mortgage is fully released — you never pay it back.
The simplest program to understand. For a modest purchase where the full $6,000 lands, the math is hard to beat: effectively $6,000 of free money if you stay in the home for 10 years.
3. Access Deferred — up to $7,500
5% of the purchase price · Interest-free, deferred for the life of your first mortgage
Access Deferred provides 5% of the purchase price up to $7,500 as an interest-free second mortgage deferred for the life of your first mortgage. No monthly payment on the assistance — you pay it back only when you sell, refinance, or pay off the first mortgage.
The middle-of-the-road program. More assistance than Forgivable, less than Access Home, with no lifetime forgiveness but also no monthly second payment to worry about.
4. Access Repayable — up to $10,000
10% of the purchase price · Interest-free, repaid monthly over 10 years
Access Repayable provides 10% of the purchase price up to $10,000. The assistance is interest-free but repaid monthly over a 10-year period — meaning you'll have a small second-mortgage payment for 10 years on top of your regular mortgage payment.
Makes sense when you need a larger up-front amount than Forgivable or Deferred and the 10-year monthly repayment fits cleanly into your budget. Worth running the math before you commit.
Quick comparison
| Program | Max | % of price | FTHB only? | Repayment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Access Home | $15,000 | 6% | Yes (or exempt) | Interest-free, deferred for the life of your first mortgage |
| Access Forgivable | $6,000 | 4% | No | Forgiven monthly over 10 years |
| Access Deferred | $7,500 | 5% | No | Interest-free, deferred for the life of your first mortgage |
| Access Repayable | $10,000 | 10% | No | Interest-free, repaid monthly over 10 years |
Which first-mortgage types pair with IHDA assistance?
All four IHDA Access programs currently pair with the most common first-mortgage types:
- FHA loans — the most common pairing for first-time buyers, especially at 3.5% down.
- VA loans — IHDA assistance can cover the VA funding fee and much of the closing costs, making a truly $0-out-of-pocket purchase realistic for eligible veterans.
- USDA loans — for eligible rural properties within IHDA's coverage area.
- Conventional loans via Fannie Mae HFA Preferred and Freddie Mac HFA Advantage — specialized conventional programs for state housing finance agency assistance.
For context on the individual loan types, see our FHA loans in Chicago and VA loans in Chicago pages. Note that if you want to combine one of those with IHDA assistance specifically, the first mortgage would need to be originated through an IHDA participating lender, not through us.
Who qualifies?
Beyond the per-program rules above, IHDA applies a few standard requirements across all Access programs:
- Minimum 640 credit score on the borrower profile used to qualify.
- Pre-purchase homebuyer education course completed before closing. Most approved courses are online, self-paced, and take roughly 6–8 hours. Your participating lender will direct you to an approved course.
- Primary residence only. Investment properties and second homes are not eligible.
- Household income under the IHDA county limit. IHDA sets income limits that vary by county and are updated periodically.
- Purchase price under the IHDA county limit. Same: varies by county, updated periodically, with different limits for federally-backed vs non-federally-backed program versions.
- Originated through an IHDA Mortgage Approved Lender. Not every bank or lender is on IHDA's approved list.
County income and purchase price limits change periodically. We deliberately don't hardcode numbers on this page that will age out. Current limits are maintained by IHDA and can be cross-checked on IHDA's official lender-facing site. Your participating lender will confirm current eligibility for the county you're buying in during pre-approval.
What "first-time buyer" actually means
For Access Home (and for any IHDA-related federal program eligibility), the first-time homebuyer definition follows the federal standard: you have not owned a principal residence in the past three years. If you owned a home more than three years ago — even if it was your own home before that — you usually still qualify as a first-time buyer under this definition.
Two exemptions apply when the first-time buyer rule would otherwise disqualify you:
- Eligible veterans with qualifying service
- Buyers purchasing in a federally designated targeted area (many Chicago census tracts qualify; a participating lender checks eligibility by property address)
What Chicago and Cook County buyers should know
A few practical notes specific to Chicago and the Chicagoland suburbs:
- Purchase price limits are typically higher in Cook County than in downstate Illinois, reflecting the higher cost of Chicagoland housing. Cook County buyers often have more room under IHDA's price limit than they expect.
- Many Chicago neighborhoods are in federally designated targeted areas, which can remove the first-time buyer requirement for Access Home and loosen some other eligibility rules. Which specific census tracts qualify changes periodically — a participating lender will check targeted-area eligibility by address during pre-approval.
- Cook County property taxes affect the affordability math more than IHDA numbers suggest. Qualifying for IHDA assistance doesn't mean the full monthly payment is comfortable — Cook County property taxes of roughly 2.0%–2.5% of assessed value push many Chicago mortgage payments substantially higher than a simple principal-and-interest calculation implies. When we review your numbers, we use the real tax bill on the target property.
- City of Chicago and Cook County programs sometimes stack with IHDA assistance. There are municipal down-payment programs for specific neighborhoods and census tracts that can layer on top of IHDA. Not every lender will tell you about these — ask.
Which IHDA program fits you best?
The right answer depends almost entirely on three factors: are you a first-time buyer, how much assistance do you actually need, and are you comfortable with a second monthly payment?
- First-time buyer who wants the maximum up-front help → Access Home. The $15,000 ceiling is unmatched, and there's no monthly payment on the assistance.
- Repeat buyer, or prefer forgiveness over deferral → Access Forgivable. Simplest program: $6,000 that disappears over 10 years as long as you stay in the home.
- Need more than $6,000 but no monthly payment on the assistance → Access Deferred. Gets you to $7,500, deferred until sale or refinance.
- Need the largest amount and OK with a modest second payment for 10 years → Access Repayable. Gets you to $10,000 with a 10-year payback.
For most Chicago first-time buyers, Access Home is the clear winner when eligibility lines up. For repeat buyers — or buyers who owned a home in the last three years and don't qualify for the exemptions — Access Forgivable and Access Deferred are usually the realistic paths.
How the IHDA process actually works
From start to finish, here's what using IHDA assistance looks like — through a participating lender (which, as noted, isn't us):
- Find a participating lender. IHDA assistance can only be originated through an IHDA Mortgage Approved Lender. If you apply through a non-participating bank or broker, they can't use the program even if they want to. If IHDA looks like the right fit for you, we'll point you to a participating lender.
- Get pre-approved. The participating lender runs your credit, verifies your income and assets, and confirms whether you fit under the county income and purchase price limits. They'll also tell you which Access program fits your profile best.
- Complete the homebuyer education course. IHDA requires a qualifying pre-purchase homebuyer education course before closing. The participating lender directs you to an approved option — most are online and take roughly 6–8 hours.
- Find your home and go under contract. Standard purchase process from here.
- Close. The IHDA assistance is disbursed at closing as part of the funding package — you don't receive it separately and you don't have to chase it. It shows up as a credit on your closing disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
Does New Market Mortgage originate IHDA loans?
Is IHDA assistance a grant?
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer to use IHDA?
What credit score do I need for IHDA?
Can I use IHDA with an FHA or VA loan?
Is the homebuyer education course really required?
How much can I actually receive from IHDA?
Do IHDA income and purchase price limits vary by county?
What counts as a federally designated targeted area in Chicago?
Can I use IHDA on an investment property or a second home?
What if my credit score is below 640?
Are there fees to use IHDA?
What a 15-minute call with us can give you
IHDA is real money — enough to meaningfully change whether you can buy a home this year or need to keep saving. But IHDA is only one piece of the picture, and chasing it isn't always the best path for every borrower.
Here's what a 15-minute pre-approval conversation with us actually gets you:
- An honest read on your credit tier — whether you clear the 640 IHDA floor, and what rate you'd likely qualify for across FHA, VA, and conventional.
- Real affordability math — not a generic calculator estimate, but your actual maximum payment given your income, debts, and the real Cook County property tax bill on the property you're considering.
- A straight answer on IHDA — based on the program rules and your numbers, does IHDA look like the right path? Yes, no, or "it depends and here's what we'd need to check."
- Alternatives we can originate directly — if IHDA isn't the best fit for you (which happens more often than you'd think), we'll walk through the loan programs we handle ourselves: FHA, VA, conventional, jumbo, refinance, and second mortgages. You'll know your options before deciding which path to pursue.
If IHDA turns out to be the best fit, we can't originate it for you — we aren't currently on IHDA's approved lender list. What we can do is point you to a participating lender, tell you what to ask, and make sure you're not walking in blind. Most borrowers we talk to are relieved to hear the honest version: IHDA is worth looking into, but it's not automatically the right answer, and you don't have to figure it out alone.
Program details on this page — assistance amounts, percentages, minimum credit scores, first-time buyer rules, and which programs are currently active — are set by IHDA and subject to change. IHDA updates its programs periodically. Always confirm current eligibility and amounts with a participating lender before relying on any specific number. Official program information is maintained by IHDA at ihda.org. New Market Mortgage, Inc. is a licensed Illinois mortgage broker (NMLS #232966) and is not currently an IHDA Mortgage Approved Lender.