If you're moving to Washington and buying soon after you arrive, down payment assistance can look like a welcome-to-the-state bonus. Search for it and you'll find big numbers, $76,000 being the one that comes up most. The money is real, but most of those headlines add together programs that don't reach your address, don't work with your loan, or have already run out of funding. A relocating buyer also has questions a lifelong local doesn't: does owning a home in another state disqualify me, and does it matter which county I land in? Here's what you can actually use in Kitsap, Pierce and Mason counties, checked against the Washington State Housing Finance Commission's own pages in October 2026.

Where the $76,000 headline comes from

That figure traces back to an online example of a Tacoma buyer combining about $16,000 of statewide assistance with $60,000 from a City of Tacoma program. It was one buyer's scenario, not a statewide benefit, and it's not a number to build a budget around.

The Tacoma piece only ever applied to homes inside Tacoma city limits, and a Tacoma mailing address doesn't prove that. Plenty of homes with a Tacoma address sit in unincorporated Pierce County. More to the point, the City of Tacoma's down payment assistance page now says all of the program's funding has been committed and applications are no longer being accepted. Even a buyer inside the city can't count on it today.

The lesson carries to every program you'll read about. A maximum isn't a promise, a program page isn't an approval, and an example from another city isn't your budget. Three questions cut through it: who runs the program, where can it be used, and is it taking applications right now?

Owning a home somewhere else doesn't rule you out

This is the first thing relocating buyers get wrong. Home Advantage, the Commission's broadest program, doesn't require first-time buyer status at all. If you sold a house in California last year, or still own one, that alone doesn't keep you out of it.

The programs that do require first-time status use a narrower definition than most people expect. For House Key Opportunity, the Commission counts you as a first-time buyer if you haven't owned and occupied a primary residence at any time in the past three years. Someone who sold years ago and has rented since may qualify, and buyers purchasing in a designated Target Area are exempt from the requirement. Don't rule yourself in or out from memory. Check the definition for the specific program.

The statewide programs, in plain numbers

Every Commission program works the same way at its core. You get a first mortgage through the Commission, either Home Advantage or House Key Opportunity, from a participating lender, and the down payment assistance is a separate second loan paired with it. FHA is one possible first mortgage, not the program itself. The Commission's assistance can also sit behind conventional, VA, USDA and HUD 184 loans.

Home Advantage down payment assistance is 3%, 4% or 5% of the first mortgage amount, at 0% interest, for households earning up to $215,000. That's one statewide income limit, not a different one per county. Because it's calculated on the loan rather than the purchase price, a $500,000 first mortgage would carry $15,000, $20,000 or $25,000 of assistance depending on the option. That's my arithmetic on the published percentages, for illustration only. A Needs-Based version offers up to $10,000 at 1% simple interest with lower income limits.

House Key Opportunity assistance is up to $15,000 at 1% simple interest, with tighter, county-based income limits. In Kitsap and Pierce counties the limit is $83,000 for a household of one or two and $103,700 for three or more. Mason County falls under the Commission's all-other-counties limits of $67,450 and $84,300.

Ask your lender to show you each option side by side. A bigger assistance percentage can come with a different first-mortgage rate, so the largest number isn't automatically the cheapest loan.

The fine print: repayment, and a tax credit that's gone

The Commission describes its assistance as payment-deferred loans. You make no monthly payment on the assistance, only on your mortgage. The balance comes due when you sell, refinance or transfer the home, stop living in it as your primary residence, or pay off the home, at 30 years or sooner.

That lowers the cash you need at closing now and lowers your equity when you sell or refinance later. It's often a good trade, especially for someone who just paid to move across the country. Just know that you're making it.

Older articles still suggest a Mortgage Credit Certificate, a federal tax credit Washington buyers used to get through the Commission. The Commission's homebuyer FAQ answers the question of whether MCCs are available for home purchase with a single word: no. Owners who already hold one may have options when refinancing, but a new buyer shouldn't put an MCC anywhere in a purchase budget.

Covenant Homeownership: large, specific and timed

Washington's Covenant Homeownership Program is the largest single source of help, and the one with the strictest rules. It was created to address the lasting effects of racially restrictive covenants and other discriminatory housing practices in Washington. The Commission lists assistance of up to 20% of the home's cost, capped at $150,000, plus closing costs, as a loan behind the first mortgage, and the Washington Homeownership Resource Center describes it as a 0% loan repaid on sale or refinance. A 2025 change allows forgiveness for some participants, but not every participant receives it.

Eligibility is specific. Household income must be at or below 120% of area median income for the county where you buy: $155,500 in Kitsap, $152,750 in Pierce and $129,100 in Mason, effective June 8, 2026. Both borrower and spouse must be first-time buyers as the Covenant Act defines it, and there's a family-history requirement tied to Washington residency before April 1968. Read the official criteria rather than guessing yourself in or out.

The timing rule matters most for someone relocating. Demand is outpacing the monthly funds, so a trained lender submits your eligibility documents and pre-approval first, you go onto a pre-reservation list, and the Commission must authorize you in writing before you go under contract. Its page says there are no exceptions. If Covenant might be part of your purchase, start that process before you plan a house-hunting trip, not after you find the house.

Local programs stop at the city line

Local help can add to the statewide programs, but each one has its own boundary, income limits and funding cycle, and none of them is a guaranteed extra layer. In Kitsap, Community Frameworks is the place to ask about purchase assistance, and if you're buying inside Bremerton, ask specifically about the city's homeownership program. Don't confuse purchase help with repair help. Some local homeownership programs, Housing Kitsap's among them, focus on repair and weatherization loans for people who already own.

In Pierce, don't assume a county address qualifies for every county program, and check any city program separately. With Tacoma's fund committed, confirm what's open before you count on anything. In Mason, start with the statewide programs. Seller concessions can also be part of the conversation anywhere, but they're a negotiation, not a county benefit.

For every local program, ask the same four things: are you accepting purchase applications now, does this specific property qualify, what are the current income limits, and does it work with the first mortgage my lender is proposing?

A relocation timeline that keeps the money on the table

Take the homebuyer education class first. The Commission requires it for all of its loans, the classes are free and offered virtually as well as in person, every borrower on the note needs their own certificate, and certificates are valid for two years. The lender should have it in the file before reserving funds, so finish it before you move, not during closing week.

Next, choose a lender who is actually trained on Commission programs and has used the specific assistance you want. Ask them to run your scenario two ways, with assistance and without, and to show the rate, monthly payment, cash to close, assistance amount and repayment terms for each.

Then check the property, not just yourself. Your eligibility and the home's eligibility are separate questions. Confirm city or county boundaries for any local program, and with a condo, have your lender review the project for the exact loan you plan to use. Sort all of this before you write an offer, because discovering a problem after mutual acceptance is the expensive way to learn it.

Who this fits, and what to do next

If your household income is under $215,000, Home Advantage is worth a look even if you've owned before. If you haven't owned and occupied a home in three years and your income is under the county limits, House Key Opportunity belongs in the comparison. If the Covenant criteria might fit, start its pre-reservation before anything else.

While a lender runs your numbers, use the budget planner on this site to see what the payment leaves room for, the cost-of-living page for everything beyond the mortgage, and the moving checklist to put the education class and lender conversation on the calendar before the moving truck. When you're ready to see what's for sale in the towns that fit, the current listings page is the next stop.