Frequently Asked Questions

Homebuyer Wallet finds the homebuyer assistance programs people qualify for. We track more than 2,000 verified programs across all 50 states, from down payment assistance and closing cost grants to tax credits and special loan programs, and keep them in one searchable database.

Homebuyers use our free Wallet Wizard to see which programs fit their situation and to get connected with professionals who know how to use them. Real estate agents, loan officers and brokerages use the Professional Dashboard to find funding for their clients.

CHIP stands for Community Home Investment Program. It’s our name for any program that helps people buy a home with less money up front.

CHIPs are run by states, counties, cities, housing finance agencies, nonprofits and private organizations. We call them community investments because that’s what they are: communities fund them because more homeowners means more stable neighborhoods.

• Down payment assistance, as a grant or as a forgivable or deferred loan
• Closing cost help
• Tax credits that lower what you owe each year you have the mortgage
• Special loan programs with lower rates or more flexible requirements
• Programs for specific professions and groups, such as teachers, healthcare workers, veterans and first responders
• Home repair help for buyers taking on a home that needs work

Terms differ from program to program. Some assistance is a gift. Some must be repaid if you sell or refinance within a set number of years. Your loan officer will walk you through the terms before you commit.

More than 2,000 verified programs in all 50 states, at the national, state, county and city level. We started in the Washington, DC area, where our founders taught homebuyer seminars, and have built out nationwide since.

Our team researches each program from its official sources, verifies the details and updates the database as programs open, close or change their rules.

Many programs have a limited pool of money each year and can pause when it runs out. Your loan officer will confirm a program is currently accepting applications before you count on it.

Homebuyer Wallet was founded in 2020 in Washington, DC by Kameron Kang and Andres Diz. After hosting hundreds of homebuyer seminars, they kept meeting people who were closer to owning a home than they realized. The help existed, but nobody had told them about it. Read our story.

Two ways:

• Real estate professionals pay a monthly or annual subscription for the Professional Dashboard.
• When a homebuyer asks us to connect them with a real estate agent, we earn a referral fee from that agent.

Homebuyers never pay us anything.

No. The Wallet Wizard is free for homebuyers, with no fees and no obligation.

No. We don’t run a credit check, so seeing which programs you qualify for has no effect on your credit score.

1. Tell us about yourself. Answer a few quick questions about yourself, where you want to buy and your goals. It takes less than three minutes.
2. See your matches. The Wizard shows the programs that fit your situation.
3. Connect with a professional. If you’d like, we’ll introduce you to a local real estate agent and loan officer who know how to use your programs.

Find my programs

Not always. Many programs count you as a first-time buyer if you haven’t owned a home in the last three years, even if you owned one before that. Others are open to repeat buyers. The Wallet Wizard checks both.

More people than you’d expect. There are programs for:

• First-time buyers
• Teachers and educators
• Nurses, doctors, EMTs and other healthcare workers
• Veterans and active military
• Single parents and families
• Self-employed buyers and gig workers
• Recent college graduates
• Move-up buyers who already own a home

Most programs also have income and purchase-price limits that vary by county. Your loan officer will confirm the limits for your area.

No. Whether you plan to buy next month or next year, knowing what you qualify for helps you set a budget and a timeline. Some programs require a homebuyer education course or other steps before closing, so it pays to find out early.

Often, yes. Many buyers combine programs, for example a down payment grant with a closing cost program or a tax credit. Each program has its own rules about combining, and your loan officer will confirm what can be combined on your loan.

Most programs are used through your mortgage. A participating lender applies the program as part of your loan, and the money is usually delivered at closing rather than paid to you directly. That’s why working with a loan officer who knows these programs matters, and why we connect you with one.

No. Introductions are optional. If you already have an agent or a loan officer you like, keep working with them and share your program matches with them.

We use your answers to match you with programs. We share your contact details with a real estate agent or loan officer only when you ask us to connect you, and we don’t sell your personal data. The Privacy Policy has the details.

It’s our subscription tool for real estate professionals, at professional.homebuyerwallet.com. With it you can:

• Search the full national CHIP database by location and buyer details
• See which programs can be combined
• Create client-ready reports, including Home Advantage Funding Reports and Keys and Dreams reports
• Get early alerts when new programs launch or existing ones change

Real estate agents, loan officers, lenders and brokerages. It’s also useful for title and escrow teams, financial planners and anyone else who needs to understand assistance programs when they come up in a deal.

• Solo: $90 a month, or $85 a month billed annually
• Team: $140 a month, or $129 a month billed annually, plus $12 a month for each additional seat
• Enterprise: custom pricing for brokerages, networks and lenders

Compare plans

Yes. The Solo plan starts with 33 days free.

No. The Professional Dashboard is a research and client tool: your subscription pays for the program data and reports, not for leads. Your clients stay your clients. We help you serve the buyers and sellers you already work with.

• Bring a buyer’s funding options to the first consultation, so “I can’t afford it” becomes a plan.
• Share a branded report showing the programs a client may qualify for.
• Add the programs a buyer could use to your listing marketing, to draw more qualified offers.

Yes. The Team plan covers small brokerages and loan officer branches, and you can add seats as you grow. For larger brokerages, MLSs and lenders, our Enterprise plan is set up around your organization. See Enterprise Solutions.

Log in, open Settings, go to Billing and choose a plan. Upgrades take effect right away. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, and we can invoice larger accounts.

Yes. We offer Enterprise solutions that give your members access to the CHIP database and program knowledge, including bringing the database into your MLS. See Enterprise Solutions.

Yes, and it’s free. We’ll work with your team to make sure the details are accurate and written in plain language, so the right buyers find your program and understand how to use it. Contact us to get started.

No. Public agencies, housing authorities and community organizations get free access.

Yes. Our team has hands-on experience with housing programs, financial education and community building. We help communities and organizations plan homeownership strategies, design programs that serve their residents and line them up with available funding. Learn about program consulting.

When buyers know about the assistance available to them, more of them can afford your asking price and make stronger offers. That means more qualified buyers for your home, without you lowering your price. It’s free for sellers. Learn more.

Yes. Agents who use the Professional Dashboard can add the programs a buyer could use on your home to the listing’s marketing, which helps draw more interest, especially for starter and mid-range homes. Ask your agent about it.