- July 24, 2025
- Greg Hettrick
Getting Over the Down Payment Hurdle with HELP from FHLB Dallas
Achieving Homeownership with the Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership Grant
We allocated a record $17 million to the program for 2025—up from $15.5 million last year—but because demand has been so high we added another $5 million to the program in June.
The funds are being awarded in four rounds. We'll release $4.25 million in HELP funds on August 1, 2025, and another $2.5 million in funds on October 1. We expect demand for these final allocations of the year to be high.
If you are a potential homebuyer, we encourage you to contact one of our participating HELP members. FHLB Dallas does not provide grants directly to the public, so all of our funds are awarded through our member banks, credit unions and other financial service providers.
If you are an FHLB Dallas member and you haven’t used our HELP grant before, we encourage you to fill out a one-time application and subsidy agreement to begin assisting homebuyers in your communities today. Call our Community Investment department at 800.362.2944 for a simple-to-fill-out AdobeSign application or see our website for more information.
But don’t just listen to me. Here’s what some of our homebuyers and members have to say about HELP:
“The HELP grant made it possible to buy a good home in a market where everything was either too expensive or too old to be a good long-term investment.” — Guadalupe Hernandez, El Paso, Texas, who received her grant through FHLB Dallas member First National Bank Texas.
“Santa Fe (New Mexico) is a challenging market for residents who have modest incomes. We’re thankful FHLB Dallas supports housing affordability through its down payment program.” — Chris Quintana, chief lending officer with Homewise, an FHLB Dallas member.
“It’s different when you are in your own home and you know it is yours. It feels more like a home.” — Elizabeth Conway, who with her husband, Keegan, bought a home in Sherwood Arkansas, with a HELP grant through Eagle Bank.
I urge both would-be homebuyers who are concerned about getting over the down payment hurdle and our members who aren’t yet participating in HELP to consider it today. You can find our more information about this program at fhlb.com.
Greg Hettrick is senior vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas.
