Down payment assistance in San Diego
Amir Nurani · NMLS #197458 · (619) 366-9494
Read the 2026 down payment assistance guide
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Quick answer: Down payment assistance is a named city, county, or state program that layers a second loan or grant behind a first mortgage. It is not the same as a family gift, and it is not the same as a low-down first mortgage. Funding opens and closes. Call (619) 366-9494 before you count it in an offer.
Down payment assistance is a named city, county, or state program that layers a second loan or grant behind a first mortgage. It is not the same as a low-down first mortgage. Funding opens and closes. Do not write an offer that depends on assistance until the program, funding, and first-mortgage pairing are confirmed.
How these programs usually work
Most local programs are deferred junior loans, not free money. You typically occupy the home as your primary residence, complete homebuyer education, and meet income and purchase-price rules. City of San Diego (San Diego Housing Commission), County of San Diego, and CalHFA programs are separate. The property address decides which agency applies.
Confirm the file before you count the money
Some files we can originate. Some require a participating lender for that specific program. We are not claiming Left Coast Leaders is an SDHC participating lender. If a program is a fit, we will say whether we can originate it or whether you need a participating channel.
2026 fact: San Diego buyers can look at CalHFA MyHome, San Diego Housing Commission programs inside city ZIP codes, County of San Diego programs outside the city, and CalHFA Dream For All when a voucher round is open.
2026 published SDHC middle-income materials on our DPA guide show $50,000 total assistance, structured as a $40,000 deferred down-payment loan plus a $10,000 closing-cost grant, and a $1,250,000 purchase-price figure. Those numbers change with funding. Re-check SDHC before you count them in an offer. City programs generally apply to 921 ZIP codes. The first mortgage still has to fit the 2026 1-unit San Diego County high-cost conforming line of $1,104,000 when the file is conventional or FHA.
Related reading: Down Payment Assistance Programs for San Diego Buyers 2026.
First-time buyers comparing FHA 3.5% down, VA $0 down, and assistance in 2026 can start on first-time homebuyer loans in San Diego (2026).
A family gift is not DPA
Gift funds are money from a person, usually family, that does not have to be repaid. That is a different path. See gift funds down payment San Diego. We do not invent gift-letter rules as a guarantee. Do not mix a gift and a DPA program in an offer until both are confirmed.
The first mortgage still has to work
Assistance sits behind a first loan. FHA typical down is 3.5% even without DPA. Conventional still follows the 2026 1-unit line: high-cost conforming $1,104,000, baseline $832,750. Above $1,104,000 is generally jumbo. VA with full entitlement is not capped by the old county VA limit. Credit, DTI, and occupancy still have to work. We do not invent a max DTI.
Root money pages: jumbo loan San Diego · conventional loan San Diego · FHA loan San Diego · VA loan San Diego · Refinance San Diego. Also first-time home buyer San Diego and get pre-approved San Diego.
Frequently asked questions
No. Down payment assistance is a named city, county, or state program that layers a second loan or grant behind a first mortgage. It is not the same as a low-down first mortgage. Funding opens and closes.
Most local programs are deferred junior loans, not free money. You typically occupy the home as your primary residence, complete homebuyer education, and meet income and purchase-price rules. City of San Diego (San Diego Housing Commission), County of San Diego, and CalHFA programs are separate. The property address decides which agency applies.
Some files we can originate. Some require a participating lender for that specific program. We are not claiming Left Coast Leaders is an SDHC participating lender. If a program is a fit, we will say whether we can originate it or whether you need a participating channel.
No. A gift is money from a person that does not have to be repaid. DPA is a named city, county, or state program. See gift funds down payment San Diego. Do not mix them in an offer until both are confirmed.
No. 2026 published SDHC middle-income materials on our DPA guide show that structure. Those numbers change with funding. Re-check SDHC before you count them in an offer.
San Diego County and Riverside County. Left Coast Leaders is a San Diego mortgage broker. Company NMLS 2394495. Amir Nurani NMLS 197458. Call (619) 366-9494.
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