Down payment assistance in New Orleans and Orleans Parish
Program and regulatory figures verified October 5, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
New Orleans has access to the largest assistance programme in the country and the single condition most likely to disqualify a New Orleans property. Both facts matter equally.
Orleans Parish qualifies for the big one
HomeStart Plus is disaster-recovery money, and the Hurricane Ida declaration (DR-4611) includes Orleans. So a first-time buyer in New Orleans with household income at or under 80% of HUD area median income is looking at:
- Up to 20% of the purchase price, capped at $55,000, as a zero-interest forgivable second.
- Up to $5,000 toward closing costs, as a grant.
- Forgiveness at 1/120 a month over ten years of continued owner occupancy.
Against the 4% the statewide programmes pay, this is a different order of magnitude. On a typical New Orleans purchase it is roughly the difference between $10,000 and $52,000. The full parish list.
The cap is sized for this market
Twenty percent of $275,000 is $55,000, so that is where the cap takes over. New Orleans's typical value of $261,002 sits just below it — meaning most New Orleans buyers are in the band where the full 20% still applies rather than being cut back to the flat cap.
| Purchase price | 20% | You receive |
|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 |
| $250,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| $275,000 | $55,000 | $55,000 — the crossover |
| $350,000 | $70,000 | $55,000 |
LHC notes that actual assistance depends on eligibility, purchase price and programme requirements, so treat 20% as a ceiling.
★ And the condition that is hardest here
HomeStart Plus will not lend on a property in a Special Flood Hazard Area — Zones A, AE or V. In New Orleans that is not a marginal exclusion.
The result is a genuine tension a New Orleans buyer should understand before they start looking: the programme exists because of Hurricane Ida, and it will not finance the properties most exposed to the next one. That is deliberate federal policy about where disaster-recovery money may be placed. The full rule and what it rules out.
The practical advice is simple and worth following strictly: establish the flood zone before you make an offer. It is a yes/no eligibility question worth up to $55,000, and it is answerable in a day.
If the answer is no, you have not lost assistance — you have lost this assistance. HomeStart Assist and HomeStart Advantage follow ordinary Agency and GSE flood guidelines and still pay 4%.
The other Plus conditions, in a New Orleans context
- Front-end ratio between 28% and 33%. Insurance is part of PITI, and Louisiana insurance costs are not small — which in this market pushes the ratio up rather than down, so the floor is rarely the binding end here. The window explained.
- Flood and homeowners insurance for the life of the second — ten years.
- LHC environmental review, up to two weeks, before closing.
- All three credit scores required, because Plus is CDBG funded.
- Liquid assets after closing capped at six months of the housing payment.
If you are not a first-time buyer
HomeStart Plus is first-time only, with limited displaced-homemaker and single-parent exceptions. A repeat buyer in New Orleans should look at HomeStart Advantage — 4% forgivable at 60 months, no first-time requirement, no occupation requirement, income up to $125,000, and no flood-zone exclusion.
That programme was renamed from Keys for Service five weeks ago and widened at the same time, so it is both the right answer and the one least likely to be offered to you unprompted. The rename.
Across the parish line
Jefferson Parish is also on the Ida list and additionally has its own authority, the Jefferson Parish Finance Authority, whose Comfort of Home programme pays up to 4% forgiven after ten years. St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Tammany and Plaquemines are all on the Ida list as well.
So across the New Orleans metro, HomeStart Plus is available in every direction — and the flood-zone question is the variable that actually decides it, property by property.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get down payment assistance in New Orleans?
Yes. Orleans Parish is on the Hurricane Ida eligible parish list for HomeStart Plus, which pays up to 20% of the purchase price capped at $55,000 plus a $5,000 closing cost grant for first-time buyers at or under 80% of HUD area median income. LHC's statewide programmes are also available.Does the flood zone rule affect New Orleans buyers?
Significantly. HomeStart Plus does not lend on properties in a Special Flood Hazard Area, naming Flood Zones A, AE and V, which excludes a meaningful share of New Orleans property. HomeStart Assist and HomeStart Advantage follow ordinary Agency and GSE flood guidelines instead.How much assistance can a New Orleans buyer get?
Up to $55,000 through HomeStart Plus, which caps at 20% of the purchase price. Because 20% of $275,000 is $55,000 and the typical New Orleans home value is $261,002, most New Orleans purchases fall in the band where the full 20% applies.What if I have owned a home before and live in New Orleans?
HomeStart Plus is first-time only, so the better route is usually HomeStart Advantage, which pays 4% forgivable at 60 months with no first-time buyer requirement, no occupation requirement, income up to $125,000, and no flood zone exclusion.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. Louisiana Housing Corporation programme terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by LHC and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against LHC's published documents. LHC assistance is a zero-interest forgivable second mortgage, forgiven only if occupancy and programme requirements are maintained. Federal recapture tax may apply on HomeStart Assist bond loans; consult a tax advisor. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.