Every Ohio loan program Mike runs
One branch manager, the full Ohio menu. OHFA down payment help, Grants for Grads, Ohio Heroes, the Mortgage Tax Credit, plus FHA, conventional, VA, USDA, jumbo, self-employed, and investor financing. Find the situation that matches yours, then send your scenario. Mike maps the numbers to your county and your credit profile.
The Ohio menu at a glance
Mike does not sell one loan. He fits the first mortgage to your file, then layers OHFA assistance or a tax credit where it helps. Here is the shortlist so you can find your situation fast.
| Program | Who it fits | Down payment | Key Ohio detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHFA Your Choice DPA | Buyers who need cash help | Assistance covers it | 2.5% or 5% of price, forgiven at year 7, needs an OHFA first mortgage, 640/650 FICO |
| Grants for Grads | Recent grads staying in Ohio | Assistance covers part | 3% conventional / 3.5% government, forgiven over 5 yrs, degree within 18 months |
| Ohio Heroes | Public servants | Varies | A mortgage interest-rate discount, not cash |
| OHFA Mortgage Tax Credit | Buyers who want a tax credit | n/a | 40% of mortgage interest with an OHFA loan, capped $2,000/yr |
| FHA | Lower credit, slim savings | 3.5% | 2026 Ohio floor $541,287 |
| Conventional 97 / OHFA conventional | Mid-600s and up | 3% | MI cancels at 20% equity |
| VA | Eligible veterans | $0 | No monthly mortgage insurance |
| USDA | Rural and small-town Ohio | $0 | Income capped near $119,850, address-specific |
| Jumbo | Above the county limit | Varies | Ohio all-baseline; every county $832,750 |
| Bank-statement / 1099 | Self-employed | Varies | Qualify on deposits, not net tax income |
| DSCR | Investors | Varies | Qualify on the property's rent |
OHFA Your Choice down payment assistance
Ohio runs its down payment help through OHFA, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. The Your Choice program lets you pick 2.5% or 5% of the purchase price, applied to your down payment and closing costs. On a $250,000 Columbus home, the 5% option is $12,500. Watch the repayment rule closely. It forgives at a single seven-year cliff, so a sale, refinance, or move inside seven years means you repay all of it, not a prorated share. Credit minimums are 640 for conventional, USDA, and VA and 650 for FHA. Your Choice is not standalone; it rides on an OHFA 30-year fixed first mortgage. The down payment assistance page works the numbers program by program.
Grants for Grads for recent Ohio graduates
Grants for Grads rewards buyers who finished school recently and want to stay in Ohio. It pairs a discounted interest rate with down payment assistance worth 3% on a conventional loan or 3.5% on a government loan, forgiven over five years as long as you keep the home as your Ohio residence. Leave the state early and you repay some or all of it. To qualify, you must have earned an associate, bachelor's, master's, or doctorate within 18 months of your loan reservation. It is a strong fit for a new Ohio State or Case Western graduate buying a first place in Columbus or Cleveland.
Ohio Heroes rate discount for public servants
Ohio Heroes is often misread as a cash grant. It is not. It is a discount on your mortgage interest rate for people who serve the public: veterans, active and reserve military and their surviving spouses, police, firefighters including volunteers, EMTs and paramedics, physicians, nurse practitioners, registered and licensed practical nurses, STNAs, and pre-K through 12 teachers, administrators, and counselors. Because Reg Z limits how a rate is advertised, the specific discount is quoted on your own file, not on a web page. Mike confirms your eligible occupation and whether pairing it with Your Choice assistance makes sense.
OHFA Mortgage Tax Credit
The Mortgage Tax Credit, sometimes called a Mortgage Credit Certificate, turns part of your mortgage interest into a non-refundable federal tax credit you can claim every year you hold the loan. Paired with an OHFA first-time loan it is worth 40% of your mortgage interest, capped at $2,000 a year. Taken standalone with your own lender, it is 20% in non-target areas, with higher tiers in target areas and for bank or government-owned homes. When it rides with an OHFA loan you can still add the 2.5% Your Choice assistance. Verify the exact percentage and cap for your situation at OHFA.
FHA loans in Ohio
FHA is the common landing spot when credit sits lower or savings are thin. It allows 3.5% down and forgives past credit bumps more readily than conventional financing does. The 2026 FHA floor in Ohio is $541,287 on a single-family home, which covers most of the market in Toledo, Akron, and Dayton. Ten Columbus-area counties carry a higher FHA limit, so spot-confirm your county at HUD. Your Choice assistance can ride on top of an FHA first mortgage, so the help and the low down payment stack.
Conventional 97 and OHFA conventional
Once your score clears the mid-600s, conventional financing often beats FHA because the private mortgage insurance cancels at 20% equity instead of running the life of the loan. Conventional 97 allows 3% down. OHFA offers its own conventional first mortgage, which is the loan Your Choice assistance and the Mortgage Tax Credit attach to. It follows OHFA's county income and purchase-price limits, which differ between Franklin, Cuyahoga, and Hamilton counties and update over time, so Mike checks your county before you lock a plan.
VA loans for Ohio veterans
Eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and surviving spouses can buy with zero down and no monthly mortgage insurance. Ohio holds a large veteran population, from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton to the communities around Cleveland and Cincinnati. A VA borrower can also qualify as an Ohio Hero, since veterans are on the eligible list, so the rate discount and the VA benefit may stack. Mike handles Certificate of Eligibility questions and entitlement restoration when you use the benefit a second time.
USDA loans in rural Ohio
Step outside the Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati metro cores and a large share of the state qualifies for a zero-down USDA loan. That includes the Appalachian southeast, Athens, Meigs, Gallia, and Vinton among them, plus the farm counties and small towns across northwest and central Ohio. USDA caps household income near $119,850 for one to four people as of 2026, and the figure is address-specific. Confirm your address at USDA's eligibility tool before you count on it.
Jumbo loans in Ohio
A loan above the conforming limit is a jumbo. The 2026 baseline is $832,750, up from $806,500 the year before, and it is the same number in all 88 Ohio counties. Ohio is an all-baseline state with no high-cost conforming county, so a buyer stepping above that line in Cincinnati's east side or a Cleveland suburb lands in jumbo territory. Jumbo underwriting wants stronger reserves and cleaner documentation. Mike runs full-doc, alt-doc, and self-employed jumbo paths.
Self-employed and bank-statement loans
Tax returns understate what many business owners really earn, because legal deductions shrink the net figure underwriters read. Bank-statement loans fix that by qualifying you on 12 or 24 months of deposits with an expense-factor adjustment. There are also 1099 loans for contractors and agents, and asset-qualifier loans that build income from liquid accounts. These are Non-QM programs, so they sit outside standard agency rules and price on their own terms. A Columbus consultant and a Cincinnati restaurateur rarely fit the same box, and Mike picks the method that reads your income honestly.
Investor and DSCR loans
DSCR loans qualify on the rental income a property produces, not your personal tax return. That keeps investors moving without stacking personal debt-to-income limits. Mike runs standard rental and short-term-rental DSCR options, cash-out refinances for pulling equity into the next deal, and portfolio structures for buyers scaling past a few doors. Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo draw steady rental demand from investors chasing cash flow that pricier coastal markets no longer offer.
Bridge financing to buy before you sell
Move-up buyers in tight Ohio markets often need to buy the next house before the current one sells. A bridge structure lets you write a clean, non-contingent offer, which reads far stronger to a seller than one hinging on your sale closing first. Mike underwrites the bridge against your existing equity plus the new purchase, then coordinates the two closings so you are not carrying two mortgages any longer than you must. In a fast Columbus suburb, that clean offer is often the difference between winning the house and losing it.
Ohio loan program FAQ
What down payment assistance does OHFA offer in Ohio?
OHFA's Your Choice program lets you pick either 2.5% or 5% of the purchase price toward your down payment and closing costs. It is a forgivable second with a seven-year cliff, so if you sell, refinance, or move within seven years you repay the full amount, not a prorated slice. Credit score minimums are 640 for conventional, USDA, and VA loans and 650 for FHA. Your Choice is not standalone; it requires an OHFA 30-year fixed first mortgage.
What is the 2026 conforming loan limit in Ohio?
$832,750 on a one-unit home in 2026, up from $806,500 the year before, and it is the same figure in all 88 Ohio counties. Ohio has no high-cost conforming county, so the common line that a metro like Columbus or Cleveland gets a higher conforming limit is wrong. A loan above $832,750 is a jumbo, which carries stricter reserve and documentation rules. Confirm the current figure at the FHFA loan-limit page.
Is Grants for Grads still available in Ohio, and how is it different from Ohio Heroes?
Both are active OHFA programs as of 2026, and they work differently. Grants for Grads gives a discounted interest rate plus down payment assistance of 3% on conventional or 3.5% on government loans, forgiven over five years if you stay in Ohio; you must have earned an associate, bachelor's, master's, or doctorate within 18 months of your loan reservation. Ohio Heroes is a mortgage interest-rate discount, not cash, for public servants such as veterans, active and reserve military, police, firefighters, EMTs, physicians, nurses, and pre-K through 12 teachers.
Can self-employed buyers qualify in Ohio without tax returns?
Yes. Bank-statement loans qualify you on 12 or 24 months of deposits with an expense-factor adjustment, not the net figure left after deductions. There are also 1099 loans for contractors and asset-qualifier loans that build income from liquid accounts. These are Non-QM programs, so they sit outside standard agency rules and price on their own terms. Mike matches the method to how a Dayton contractor or a Cincinnati business owner actually shows income.
Which Ohio areas qualify for a zero-down USDA loan?
Rural Ohio and small towns, the Appalachian southeast including Athens, Meigs, Gallia, and Vinton counties, and the farm counties across the state. The Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati metro cores and their inner suburbs are excluded. USDA asks for no down payment and caps household income near $119,850 for one to four people as of 2026. Eligibility is address-specific, so confirm the exact address at USDA's eligibility tool before you count on it.