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Oregon NextStep (Flex Lending)

Oregon Housing and Community Services offers NextStep (Flex Lending) to home buyers in Oregon: up to 5%, as a loan that's either forgiven or paid back.

Amount
As much as 5%
Type of help
Loan that's either forgiven or paid back
Limited to first-time buyers
No
Your credit score
A score of 620 or more

With household income at or below 80% of AMI, the area median income, this forgivable or repayable loan is forgiven once the term finishes. Above that line, monthly payments repay it across 10 to 30 years.

Keep the home and the first mortgage for the required years, and the forgivable balance is written off under the program's timeline.

A repayable loan works as a small second mortgage. You pay it off each month, usually added to the payment on your main home loan.

Who can get Oregon NextStep (Flex Lending)?

  • Your income can't go above $125,000.
  • Being a first-time buyer isn't required.
  • Your credit score needs to be at least 620.
  • You must complete a homebuyer education course ahead of buying.
  • A first mortgage through OHCS NextStep is part of the package (FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae HFA Preferred or Freddie Mac HFA Advantage).

Your county and household size set most limits. Use our HUD income limits tool to see the median income in your area and where your household falls.

Applying for Oregon NextStep (Flex Lending)

  1. This money reaches you through the approved lenders of Oregon Housing and Community Services. Apply with one of them at the same time as your home loan.
  2. Your lender reviews your income, credit and the property against the program's rules, then sets the money aside for you.
  3. At closing, the money is applied to your down payment and the closing costs.

For the complete rules and to see if applications are open, go to Oregon Housing and Community Services's page for NextStep (Flex Lending). You can also pick a lender through the agency's participating lenders list.

Talk to a lender about Oregon NextStep (Flex Lending)

Tell us where you're buying and a lender that works with Oregon's programs can tell you whether Oregon NextStep (Flex Lending) fits you, and what you could combine with it.

Call 866-602-7460

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When you send this request, you agree that one mortgage lender who works with these programs may contact you by email, phone or text, including by automated means, about this request. Agreeing is not a condition of any purchase. We are an independent guide, not a lender or a government agency; only that one lender gets your details, and it may pay us for the introduction. See our about page and privacy notice.

More Oregon programs for first-time buyers

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