June 27 2025
Texas

Smiles All Around: How a Down Payment Assistance Grant Paved the Way for a Dental Assistant’s Homeownership Dream

Moving from the small border town of Presidio, Texas, to the bustle of El Paso, Texas, Guadalupe Hernandez had one big goal in mind—to buy a home of her own. With prices high and options limited, the dream felt out of reach until she found a banker who truly listened, and a well-timed grant, that turned that dream into a set of keys, a front porch and a fresh start.

Ms. Hernandez, a dental assistant, received a $25,000 Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) via member bank First National Bank Texas (FNBT).

“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,” said Ms. Hernandez.

She also credits her bank, FNBT, with making a key difference in the homebuying process. FNBT, an FHLB Dallas member institution, provided Ms. Hernandez with her mortgage and facilitated the HELP grant toward her down payment and closing costs.

HELP assists income-qualified, first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance and closing costs. Up to $25,000 per homebuyer is available in Texas and New Mexico and up to $20,000 per homebuyer is available in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. FHLB Dallas allocated $17 million for HELP in 2025, up from $15.5 million in 2024.

“We’re proud to play a part in supporting individuals like Ms. Hernandez on their homeownership journey,” said Greg Hettrick, senior vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. “Through this down payment assistance grant, we hope to ease the financial burden and make homeownership more affordable for individuals and families across our communities.”

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