FHLB Dallas HELP Grant: How Texas First-Time Buyers Get Up to $25,000 in 2026

I'm Bond Peter Njoku (NMLS #2670329), a mortgage loan officer based in Garland serving buyers across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro. One of the most powerful and most overlooked down payment programs available to Texas first-time buyers right now is the FHLB Dallas Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) grant. It provides up to $25,000 for down payment and closing costs — and unlike some programs, it can stack cleanly on top of FHA, USDA, and conventional loans. The catch: the 2026 allocation expires December 31, 2026, and $17 million does not last forever. If you're in a home search right now, this post explains exactly how HELP works, what you need to qualify, and how I use it to get buyers to the closing table with minimal cash out of pocket.

What is the FHLB Dallas HELP Grant and who runs it?

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) is a congressionally chartered wholesale bank that provides liquidity and community investment funding to member financial institutions — mortgage companies, banks, and credit unions — across Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexico. The Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) program is one of its community investment products. Unlike TSAHC or TDHCA, which are Texas state agencies, HELP is a federal program administered through FHLB Dallas. The bank allocates funds each year, distributes them to participating member lenders, and those lenders pass the grants to qualifying buyers at closing.

The HELP grant is not a loan. It is a forgivable grant — forgiven monthly over a 5-year retention period. As long as you remain in the home as your primary residence for 5 years after closing, you never repay a dollar. If you sell or refinance before 5 years, the unforgiving portion is prorated and must be repaid. After 5 years, it's yours free and clear.

How much can Texas first-time buyers get from the FHLB Dallas HELP grant?

For properties located in Texas (and New Mexico), the maximum HELP grant is $25,000 per household. For properties in other FHLB Dallas district states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi) or outside the district, the maximum is $20,000. The total 2026 HELP allocation is $17 million, distributed in five offerings throughout the year. Each FHLB Dallas member institution is capped at $150,000 per offering round, so demand at the lender level matters. Funds are first-come, first-served — when an offering round is exhausted, the next round opens on the schedule below.

The 2026 offering dates were: January 2, April 6, May 4, June 15, and September 8. As of October 2026, the September offering is active. Once that round depletes or December 31 arrives — whichever comes first — HELP funds for 2026 are gone. New allocations open in January 2027.

What are the income limits for the FHLB Dallas HELP grant in DFW?

To qualify, your household income must be at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI) as defined by HUD for your county. The AMI figures vary by county, which matters in DFW because Collin and Denton counties have higher AMIs than Dallas and Tarrant.

Note: These figures are based on 2026 HUD AMI data. FHLB Dallas uses the HUD-published limits directly — verify your exact limit at FHLB Dallas when applying, as HUD occasionally revises mid-year. For households of 1, 2, or 3 people, the limits are lower; for households of 5–8, they're higher. If your household is close to the threshold, I can walk you through exactly how your income is counted — call or text me at 469-545-7180.

What else do I need to qualify for the HELP grant?

Beyond the income limit, HELP has four additional requirements every buyer must meet:

• First-time homebuyer — You must not have owned a principal residence in the past 3 years. Veterans are often exempt from FTHB requirements on related state programs, but HELP itself requires the 3-year non-ownership test.
• Minimum $500 buyer contribution — You must contribute at least $500 of your own funds toward down payment or closing costs. This cannot come from gift funds.
• Homebuyer counseling — You must complete a HUD-approved homebuyer education course before or shortly after application.
• Primary residence — The property must be your primary home. Investment properties are ineligible.

There is no minimum credit score requirement set by HELP itself — but the underlying loan (FHA, USDA, conventional) sets its own minimum. In practice, most buyers using HELP pair it with an FHA loan (580+ FICO minimum).

How does the FHLB Dallas HELP grant stack with other DPA programs?

This is where the strategy comes in. HELP can stack on top of most loan programs and other state DPA sources. Here is how the major programs compare and where HELP fits:

Whether you can stack HELP on top of TSAHC or TDHCA in a single transaction depends on the specific lender setup and program compatibility — some combinations work, others don't, because lenders have to be set up to access both funds. In my practice, I've successfully stacked FHLB HELP with TSAHC to cover both down payment and closing costs, leaving buyers with only their required $500 contribution. See all DPA programs I work with here.

A real scenario: how $25,000 changes the math on a $280,000 Garland home

Last fall I helped a family in Garland — two incomes totaling $91,000 (under Dallas County's 80% AMI limit), first-time buyers, FHA loan at $280,000 purchase price. On paper they needed about $9,800 down (3.5%) plus $6,000–$8,000 in closing costs — roughly $16,000 total cash to close. With FHLB Dallas HELP ($25,000 grant) stacked on a TSAHC grant (4% of loan = $11,200), we covered the down payment and closing costs entirely. Their out-of-pocket was $500 (required buyer contribution). Monthly principal and interest on $269,800 at 7.0% came to $1,796 per month — plus estimated property taxes and insurance of about $525 and $150 per month, bringing their total PITI to approximately $2,471. That compared favorably to the $1,850/month they'd been paying in rent for a smaller unit.

How do I actually apply for the FHLB Dallas HELP grant?

You cannot apply directly to FHLB Dallas — the bank doesn't work with individual consumers. HELP funds flow exclusively through participating FHLB Dallas member institutions. Here is how the process works in practice:

1. Choose a lender who is an FHLB Dallas member — not all lenders are. I am set up to originate HELP-eligible loans through my company. Call me at 469-545-7180 to confirm.
2. Get pre-approved — standard mortgage pre-approval process (income, assets, credit). Your lender submits the HELP reservation through the GrantConnect portal simultaneously.
3. Complete homebuyer counseling — free HUD-approved online course, typically 4–6 hours. I'll send you the link.
4. Find your home and go under contract — once under contract, your lender finalizes the HELP grant reservation.
5. Close on your home — HELP funds are applied at closing toward your down payment and closing costs.
6. Stay 5 years — the grant is forgiven monthly. After 60 months, it's yours completely.

The key bottleneck is the fund availability. FHLB Dallas member institutions are capped at $150,000 per offering round, so if your lender has already deployed their allocation for the September offering, you'd need to wait for the next round — or find another FHLB member. Acting before November gives you the most cushion to close before the December 31 deadline.