Tennessee down payment assistance, with the payment and forgiveness differences explained.
THDA Great Choice Plus, Heroes, conventional assistance, new-construction help, Memphis local programs and national DPA—with published minimum FICO.
Reviewed September 11, 2026 • Joshua Dobson, NMLS #190260
Quick comparison
| Program | Potential assistance | Published min. FICO | Who | Biggest catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Choice Plus — Deferred | $6,000 or $10,000 | 640 | Eligible Great Choice buyers | 0% / no payment, forgiven only after 10 years; sale/refi sooner triggers repayment. |
| Great Choice Plus — Amortizing | Up to 5%, max $15,000 | 640 | Eligible Great Choice buyers | 30-year second with monthly payment at same rate as first. |
| Homeownership for Heroes | Great Choice Plus options | 640 | Defined military, first responder, teacher, law-enforcement groups | Reduced first-mortgage rate; occupation rules apply. |
| HFA Advantage Plus | $6,000 deferred or up to 5% / $15,000 amortizing | 640 under THDA Great Choice criteria | Conventional; no first-time requirement | Different income methodology; compare second-payment structure. |
| THDA new-construction builder assistance | Up to $25,000 | 640 | First-time / veteran / targeted area | Eligible participating new construction; $500k statewide sales cap. |
| Memphis local DPA | Up to $25,000 in current city materials | Program/lender specific | Memphis city/designated-area buyers | Income/geography/affordability period vary by subprogram. |
| National programs | Varies | Product/lender specific | Varies | Compare first + second mortgage together. |
THDA Great Choice Home Loan + Great Choice Plus
THDA's Great Choice program provides a 30-year fixed-rate first mortgage. Current THDA guidance requires at least a 640 credit score for everyone on the loan application, with household-income and purchase-price limits varying by county. Homebuyer education is required when using Great Choice Plus DPA.
Great Choice Plus has two materially different assistance structures:
Deferred option: up to $6,000 or $10,000 as a 0% second mortgage with no monthly payments. THDA says it is forgiven at the end of the 10-year term. If the home is sold or refinanced before then, the assistance is due in full.
Amortizing option: up to 5% of the sales price, capped at $15,000, as a 30-year amortizing second mortgage with a monthly payment and an interest rate equal to the first mortgage.
Homeownership for Heroes
THDA's Homeownership for Heroes program is available on eligible FHA, USDA and VA loans for active-duty military, National Guard, veterans, EMTs/paramedics, firefighters, full-time Tennessee K–12 teachers, and state/local law-enforcement officers.
Heroes receives the Great Choice benefits plus a reduced first-mortgage interest rate. Qualified military/veteran borrowers can also have the first-time-homebuyer requirement waived throughout Tennessee.
Published minimum FICO: 640 under Great Choice program criteria.
Freddie Mac HFA Advantage + HFA Advantage Plus
THDA also offers Freddie Mac HFA Advantage conventional financing. There is no first-time-homebuyer requirement, and THDA uses qualifying borrower income rather than Great Choice's household-income method.
The DPA choices mirror the core structure: a $6,000 0% deferred/forgivable second or an amortizing second of up to 5% of the sales price, maximum $15,000. The amortizing second has the same interest rate as the first mortgage.
THDA Participating Builder / New-Construction Assistance
THDA's current builder program advertises up to $25,000 in down payment and closing-cost assistance for qualifying new-construction purchases through participating builders.
Published minimum FICO: 640. Current requirements include a $500,000 statewide purchase-price limit, primary occupancy, approved homebuyer education, and first-time-buyer, veteran, or targeted-area eligibility. Site-built, modular and manufactured homes can be eligible under the stated program.
Great Choice for eligible repeat buyers
Great Choice isn't exclusively for first-time buyers. THDA says repeat buyers may qualify if they have not lived in a home they own for at least three years, are buying in an eligible targeted county/area, or qualify through the military/spouse exception.
Published minimum FICO: 640. County household-income and purchase-price limits still apply.
Memphis has a separate local DPA layer
City of Memphis Down Payment Assistance
The City of Memphis operates several DPA programs for new and existing homes inside Memphis or designated program areas. Current City information lists a Citywide DPA for households up to 80% AMI, a Memphis Housing Authority DPA, and incentive programs for qualifying citizens in designated areas, Memphis police, Memphis firefighters and Memphis-Shelby County Schools employees.
Recent City Council materials describe assistance of up to $25,000 per participant for eligible Memphis purchases, with a purchase price up to $300,000 in that cited program material.
Published minimum FICO: the City's public overview does not establish one universal credit-score floor across all of these subprograms, so Mortgage Navigator correctly labels it program/lender specific.
National programs Tennessee buyers should also check
National Homebuyers Fund
NHF multi-state assistance should be compared against THDA rather than treated as automatically better or worse. The exact minimum FICO, first-mortgage pricing and repayment/forgiveness depend on the current participating-lender product.
Chenoa Fund
Chenoa Fund provides FHA down payment assistance through approved lender partners and Tennessee is within its stated footprint. Current program matrices control credit, pricing and second-mortgage terms.
Tennessee's biggest DPA lesson
Two borrowers can both say “I got THDA assistance” while having very different financing. One might have a 0% deferred second with no payment; another might have a 30-year amortizing second with a monthly payment. A qualifying Hero could also have a reduced first-mortgage rate, while a new-construction buyer may have access to a larger assistance amount.
Mortgage Navigator therefore compares assistance + first-mortgage rate + second-mortgage payment + forgiveness + FICO + geography, not just the headline DPA percentage.
Let Josh compare the complete structure.
Send the city/ZIP, purchase price, credit range, occupation and first-time-buyer status. Those details can change both the assistance and the first-mortgage option.