Down payment assistance in Henrico County, VA: who offers it and where to start

Henrico puts its own money into helping first-time buyers, in three ways: a county down payment program, an employee program and, since 2024, an Affordable Housing Trust Fund that lowers the price of newly built homes. Add the regional nonprofits and the state programs, and a Henrico buyer has more options than most, if they know where to look.

Here's who offers what, who it's for, and the order to apply in.

The short version#

Program	Run by	Mainly for	How you start
First-Time Homebuyer Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance	Henrico County, through HOME of VA and SCDHC	Low- and moderate-income first-time buyers	Call HOME of VA or SCDHC
Affordable Housing Trust Fund homes	Henrico County, administered by the Partnership for Housing Affordability	First-time buyers within set income levels, buying specific new homes	An agent, a pre-approval, then PHA's home search
Employee Home Purchase Assistance Program	Henrico County	Full-time county government, schools and constitutional officers' employees	An eligibility request through HR
Counseling and down payment assistance	HOME of VA and SCDHC (nonprofits)	First-time buyers, including those still working on credit or savings	Online application
Land trust and Habitat homes	Maggie Walker Community Land Trust, Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity	Buyers within income limits	Information session or a call
State programs	Virginia DHCD and Virginia Housing	First-time buyers within income limits	A local provider or an approved lender

To see which programs may match a particular Henrico home, run the free down payment help check. Every program here is also in the Henrico program guide, with who it's for and how to start.

What "80% of area median income" means here#

Henrico is part of the Richmond area, so its programs use the same area median income (AMI) figures as the city. The Partnership for Housing Affordability publishes the current table. At 80% of AMI the limits are $63,600 for one person, $72,650 for two, $81,750 for three and $90,800 for four. Its table runs from 60% up to 120% of AMI, which for a household of four is $136,200. Each program counts income its own way, so check with the one you're applying to.

Henrico's first-time homebuyer assistance#

The county's Department of Community Revitalization offers down payment and closing cost help to low- and moderate-income first-time buyers purchasing in Henrico. It's a deferred-payment, forgivable loan, and the county sets the amount based on your need. It comes with homebuyer education.

You don't apply to the county directly. Call one of its two partner agencies, which handle eligibility, education and counseling:

• HOME of VA: (804) 354-0641
• Southside Community Development & Housing Corp. (SCDHC): (804) 231-4449

The county's page doesn't publish amounts or income limits. HOME of VA's brochure lists its Henrico program at up to 80% of area median income, with program maximums from $7,500 to $20,000 set yearly by the funder, so ask the agency what's available now. See Henrico's program page.

The Affordable Housing Trust Fund: lower-priced new homes#

This works differently from down payment assistance. Henrico created the fund in 2024, using new revenue from data centers. It pays to lower the purchase price of newly built homes for first-time buyers, and builders get fee waivers and credits to help bring the price down. The money comes off the price at closing.

The county named some of the communities using it, including Landmark and Parkside Towns in Varina and Walnut Ridge, at a Board of Supervisors meeting in May 2026. What's available changes as homes sell, so check the current listings.

Who it's for: first-time buyers, meaning you haven't owned your main home in the last three years (with some exceptions), with household income within the level a home is offered at. The Partnership for Housing Affordability (PHA) runs the program and counts income from every adult earner in the household.

How it works, per PHA:

1. Find a real estate agent.
2. Get pre-approved with a lender.
3. Use PHA's AMI calculator to find your income level, then search the homes listed for it.
4. Contact the listing agent or builder. You'll send income documents to your lender and PHA before you sign a purchase agreement.

These homes carry a recorded Declaration of Covenants that keeps them affordable and owner-occupied. Read it before you commit, so you understand the resale and occupancy rules that come with the lower price. See PHA's homebuyer page and the county's Trust Fund page.

If you work for Henrico County#

The Employee Home Purchase Assistance Program (EHPAP) offers up to $25,000 toward the down payment and closing costs, as an interest-free loan. It's forgiven over five years as long as you stay a full-time county employee and live in the home. The county notes that the assistance is taxable.

To qualify you need to be:

• a full-time permanent employee of Henrico County Government, Henrico County Public Schools or a constitutional officer
• with 12 months of consecutive full-time service and an "acceptable" or better rating
• a first-time buyer, with no ownership interest in any real estate in the last five years
• someone with a credit score of 600 or higher and at least $1,000 of your own money going into the purchase

Household income limits are $98,300 for one person, $148,400 for two and $169,600 for three or more. Household assets have to be under $50,000, not counting primary vehicles and retirement accounts. The home must be in Henrico and priced at $550,000 or less.

The process starts with an eligibility request to HR and includes a HUD-certified homebuyer course plus six hours of one-on-one counseling, all before you sign a purchase agreement. Finishing the steps doesn't guarantee funding, because a review committee decides. Ask Community Revitalization at (804) 501-7616 whether it's taking new applications. See the county's EHPAP page.

HOME of VA and SCDHC#

Beyond running the county's program, both nonprofits offer their own free counseling, and they're the place to start if your credit or savings aren't ready yet:

• HOME of VA offers one-on-one counseling, homebuyer and credit recovery classes, and down payment assistance for first-time buyers. To apply for assistance you need at least $40,000 in household income and to be under the 80% AMI limit.
• SCDHC serves Richmond and Henrico with counseling and down payment assistance. Its screening questions ask about a credit score above 640, $2,000 in savings and $40,000 in income. It also offers SPARC enrollment (an interest-rate reduction on eligible state loans) and VIDA, which matches what you save toward a down payment.

For more on what counseling covers and how to get the most from it, see free credit and homebuyer counseling in Richmond.

Land trust and Habitat homes#

• Maggie Walker Community Land Trust has sold homes in Henrico, built with county funding and land. You buy the house, the trust keeps the land under a ground lease, and the resale price follows a formula tied to area income growth. Income limits depend on the home. Its Henrico homes have been offered to households at or below 115% of AMI. See MWCLT's Henrico homes.
• Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity serves Henrico, Richmond and Chesterfield. It's for households whose current housing is overcrowded, unsafe, unaffordable or otherwise not working, or who can't get a traditional mortgage. You put in 200 hours of sweat equity and take homebuyer classes, and Habitat says the mortgage payment won't exceed 30% of your gross income. Ask whether applications are open. See Habitat's homeownership page.

State programs#

• Virginia DHCD funds two down payment programs through local nonprofit providers: one for buyers at or below 80% of AMI (up to $40,000, deferred) and a pilot for buyers at or below 60% (a forgivable second mortgage of $20,000 to $50,000). Funding is set each year. See DHCD's down payment assistance page.
• Virginia Housing, the state's housing finance agency, offers grants, a second mortgage, the SPARC rate reduction and a free homebuyer course, all through approved lenders. For current terms, see Virginia Housing's homebuyer pages.

The order to do things in#

1. See what may fit. Run the down payment help check on a home or area you're considering.
2. Call HOME of VA or SCDHC early. They're the way into the county's assistance, and their education and counseling come before any money. Months ahead is not too early.
3. If you're interested in a Trust Fund home, get pre-approved and look at PHA's listings early. These are specific new homes, and the good ones go.
4. Pick a lender who offers the programs you want. Not every lender works with every program. You're free to choose any lender.
5. Get assistance approved before you sign. County, nonprofit and state programs all need time. Confirm in writing that funds are available for your file, and name the program in your contract.
6. Read the fine print. Forgivable loans, deferred loans and price covenants each behave differently when you sell, refinance or move.

Program details change often and funding can run out. Everything here comes from each program's own website and public county records as of the date below. Confirm with the program before you rely on it. Martin Kurylowski and Real Broker, LLC are not lenders or administrators of any assistance program.