Kansas first-time homebuyer grants and down payment assistance (2026)

Why KHRC’s program skips Johnson County and four cities

HUD gives HOME money straight to the Kansas City, Kansas area, Johnson County, Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita. KHRC spends the state’s share only outside those places ⁠⁹. So the home cannot be in Johnson County or inside the city limits of Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka or Wichita. Suburbs and rural areas in the same counties do qualify, for example Derby in Sedgwick County or Bonner Springs in Wyandotte County ⁠¹⁠². KHRC’s Homebuyer 101 page points buyers in the excluded areas to local programs. These include Topeka’s Opportunity to Own program through Money Management International, Lawrence’s Tenants to Homeowners land trust, Leavenworth’s CDBG home ownership program, and a Wyandotte County community land trust ⁠¹⁰.

You count as a first-time buyer if your household has not owned a home in the three years before the purchase. Three groups qualify even if they owned more recently: displaced homemakers, single parents who did not keep the house in a divorce, and owners of a manufactured home that is not on a permanent foundation ⁠².

How the 15% or 20% second mortgage is forgiven over 10 years

The assistance is a 0% “soft second” mortgage with no monthly payment. It can pay the down payment, closing costs or other loan-closing costs, and you get no cash back. All adults must sign it ⁠². Its size depends on income ⁠²:

• 20% of the sales price if household income is under 50% of area median income (AMI).
• 15% of the sales price if income is between 51% and 80% of AMI.
• The loan is never less than $1,000 or more than $40,000. Total subsidy from all programs combined can be up to 40% of the price ⁠²⁠³.

KHRC splits the loan into two equal halves ⁠³:

If you sell, refinance or stop living there before year 10, you repay the second half in full plus the part of the first half not yet forgiven ⁠²⁠³. Example: a $180,000 home bought by a buyer at 60% of AMI brings $27,000 of assistance. That loan is in the 10-year tier, so after five years about $6,750 of the first half has been forgiven and $20,250 would still be owed on a sale. For all 10 years, your homeowners insurance must name KHRC as second mortgagee ⁠².

2026 income and purchase price limits by Kansas county

KHRC uses HUD’s FY2026 HOME income limits, which took effect June 1, 2026 ⁠⁴⁠⁵. The “LOW INCOME” row is 80% of AMI, the ceiling for the program. The “VERY LOW INCOME” row is 50% of AMI, so income below it gets the 20% tier ⁠²⁠⁴. Metro counties are listed under HUD’s metro-area names, not their own names.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Counties that are not named in HUD’s table belong to the metro area shown in parentheses. Use the row for your household size from KHRC’s PDF ⁠⁴.

The price limit is HUD’s HOME value limit, effective Dec. 1, 2025. Most counties are capped at $219,000. The cap is $252,000 in Leavenworth, Linn and Wyandotte, $266,000 in Miami, and $285,000 in Douglas County ⁠⁶. Johnson County ($328,000) is not eligible ⁠⁶.

KHRC’s underwriting rules: no score floor, 30% housing ratio, 45% DTI

KHRC sets no minimum credit score, but the participating lender must approve you, and the lender’s own standards apply ⁠⁹. The rest is in KHRC’s operations manual ⁠³:

• First mortgage: a 30-year fixed-rate FHA, VA, USDA Rural Development, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or conventional loan. The rate can be no more than 0.65 percentage points above Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey rate. Prepayment penalties are not allowed.
• Fees: origination fees are capped at 1.5% of the loan or $3,000, whichever is greater.
• Debt ratios: your housing payment must be 15% to 30% of income, and total debt 45% or less.
• Your money: at least 1% of the sales price, and no more than 10%, must come from your own funds. Gifts above that can add up to 9% more ⁠³.
• Assets: households with $10,000 or more in non-retirement assets must spend some of it down ⁠².
• The home: an existing house of 5 acres or less, a condo or townhome, half of a duplex, or a modular or post-June 15, 1976 manufactured home on a permanent foundation. New construction qualifies only if the purchase contract is dated after the certificate of occupancy. Flood zones A and V are excluded, and so are contracts for deed. A home rented out in the past three months qualifies only if the buyer is the renter ⁠².
• Inspection: KHRC orders its own inspection. The seller has 30 days to make required repairs at their expense, and homes built before 1978 need lead clearance. That is why KHRC warns that fixer-uppers rarely work ⁠³.

The two HUD-agency sessions KHRC requires before closing

Every FTHB buyer needs two certificates from HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. One is a one-on-one pre-purchase counseling session of at least 60 to 90 minutes. The other is a homebuyer education course of at least 4 hours ⁠⁷. Finish both at least 10 to 14 days before closing, and give your lender the certificates and receipts. What you pay for them counts toward your 1% contribution ⁠³⁠⁷. As of April 7, 2026, KHRC’s list named four agencies: Balance (free two-session Saturday workshop, or $75 online), CHES ($100 online through eHomeAmerica), Greenpath ($75 online) and Money Management International ($45 online). Counseling is free at some of these agencies after their course and costs $150 to $179 at others ⁠⁷.

KansasDPA: the Sedgwick-Shawnee program with no first-time rule

KansasDPA pairs a 30-year fixed FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae HFA Preferred or Freddie Mac HFA Advantage loan with assistance of up to 5% of the note. You can use it for the down payment, closing costs, prepaids or to pay down principal ⁠¹¹. On Oct. 20, 2026, the rate chart offered 4% on government loans only with the “EDGE” option (a 2% discount point, which the assistance can pay), at 7.250%. Conventional loans got 3%, at 7.875%, or 7.250% with EDGE ⁠¹². KansasDPA’s web page calls the money a non-repayable grant, but its guide says otherwise. At closing you sign a Notice of Grant Subject to Recapture: sell or refinance within 30 years and you repay all of it ⁠¹¹⁠¹².

• Who qualifies: repeat buyers are allowed, and there is no price limit beyond the loan agency’s own limits ⁠¹¹.
• Credit and debt: a 640 minimum middle score, or 660 for manufactured homes. Manufactured homes are capped at 45% DTI ⁠¹¹⁠¹².
• Income (new reservations from May 11, 2026): $141,820 in most areas, $158,760 in the Kansas City MSA, $154,560 in Douglas County, and slightly higher in McPherson, Nemaha, Pawnee and Thomas counties ⁠¹¹.
• Education: none, except first-time buyers on Freddie Mac loans take its CreditSmart tutorial ⁠¹¹.
• Where: the home must be in a participating city or the unincorporated part of a participating county. The list includes Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence, Olathe and Overland Park ⁠¹³.

KHRC allows its loan to be layered with other homebuyer programs as long as total subsidy stays at or below 40% of the price. Ask whether your loan officer can originate both FTHB and KansasDPA ⁠².

Wichita, Topeka and Kansas City buyers: what is left

Wichita’s HOMEownership 80 Program is funded with HUD HOME money. As of a Sept. 17, 2026 copy of the city page, Wichita takes applications only from buyers of new homes built by its partners: Mennonite Housing, Residential Housing Solutions, Power CDC, Jakub’s Ladder, Wichita Habitat for Humanity and Hope Community Development. You apply through the partner, and the city’s housing line is 316-462-3769 ⁠¹⁴. The page does not publish the dollar amount. Buyers in Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City, Kansas should start from KHRC’s local referral list ⁠¹⁰. KansasDPA is the main option inside those city limits ⁠¹³.

Anyone can also save ahead with a Kansas First-Time Home Buyer Savings Account. Deposits of up to $3,000 a year ($6,000 joint) are deductible on your Kansas return, up to $24,000 lifetime ($48,000 married). The money must stay in the account at least one year before you use it on a Kansas home ⁠¹⁵.

Applying through a KHRC participating lender, step by step

1. Confirm the address is eligible

   It must be outside Johnson County and outside the four city limits. Then compare your household income with your county’s FY2026 row ⁠¹⁠⁴.

2. Optional: send KHRC’s initial assessment form

   Staff reply by email about likely eligibility ⁠⁹.

3. Pick a participating lender

   Use KHRC’s Oct. 5, 2026 list, which gives each lender’s service area. The FTHB cannot be used with a first mortgage from any other lender ⁠³⁠⁸.

4. Get pre-approved and sign a purchase contract

   The price must be at or under your county cap, and the contract must be fully signed before the lender can reserve funds ⁠³⁠⁶.

5. Have the lender submit the full file

   It includes pay stubs for the last 2 months, three years of federal tax returns, Social Security cards for adults, asset statements, and custody or divorce papers if they affect household size. KHRC confirms income eligibility within 10 business days. Funds are reserved first-come, first-served, and a reservation lasts 120 days ⁠³.

6. Get through KHRC’s inspection

   Results come within 20 business days. The lender pays $125 for each re-inspection if repairs are not finished ⁠³.

7. Finish counseling and education

   Get both certificates to the lender before funds are requested ⁠³⁠⁷.

8. Close

   KHRC gives final approval within three business days of receiving the signed documents. Keep the second mortgage, the forgiveness notice and proof of insurance for 10 years ⁠³.

If KHRC finds you over income or the house fails inspection, ask the lender whether KansasDPA or another house would work. Contact KHRC at [email protected] or 785-217-2044 ⁠¹. More Kansas guides are on the Kansas page, and other states are compared on the first-time homebuyer grants page.