Hoosier Homes: 25 counties, not statewide
Program and regulatory figures verified October 5, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Indiana has a second down payment assistance operator, which is unusual and useful. It is also the most commonly mis-described programme in the state.
Who actually runs Hoosier Homes?
The Fort Wayne Housing Authority, a local public housing authority, not the state agency. That distinction matters because people assume any Indiana down payment assistance programme is IHCDA's, and then apply IHCDA's rules to it — or worse, apply Hoosier Homes' rules to an IHCDA file.
Despite the name and the operator, it is not a Fort Wayne-only programme. It reaches a broad slice of the state. It simply does not reach all of it.
★ Which counties does it cover?
Twenty-five, named individually by the authority:
Adams, Allen, Clay, DeKalb, Fulton, Huntington, Jay, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Marion, Montgomery, Noble, Parke, Porter, Pulaski, Putnam, Randolph, Steuben, Sullivan, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Wells, Whitley.
Indiana has 92 counties, so this is roughly a quarter of them. Plenty of pages describe Hoosier Homes as an Indiana-wide programme; it is not, and a buyer in Hamilton, Hendricks, Johnson, Monroe, St. Joseph, Vanderburgh or Tippecanoe County is outside it.
What saves it is which counties made the list. Marion contains Indianapolis, Lake and Porter cover northwest Indiana, and Allen covers Fort Wayne — so the programme reaches a large share of the state's population even though it covers a minority of its counties.
What does it offer?
| Hoosier Homes | IHCDA First Step | |
|---|---|---|
| Assistance | Up to 5% | 5% |
| Minimum credit score | 640 | 660 (680 above 45% DTI) |
| Coverage | 25 counties | All 92 |
| Operator | Fort Wayne Housing Authority | IHCDA |
| Homebuyer education | Required for first-time buyers | Conventional yes, FHA no |
★ The 640 figure, and where the confusion comes from
This is almost certainly the origin of the widely repeated claim that Indiana down payment assistance has a 640 minimum. It is a real figure attached to a real Indiana programme — just not IHCDA's. IHCDA's published matrix sets 660, rising to 680 above a 45% debt-to-income ratio.
The practical consequence is worth spelling out. A buyer with a score between 640 and 660 is below IHCDA's published floor but potentially inside Hoosier Homes — if, and only if, they are buying in one of the 25 counties. For that specific borrower the distinction between the two programmes is the difference between buying and not. The credit requirements compared.
Which should I use?
Mike's read: if you are in one of the 25 counties and your score sits in the 640s, Hoosier Homes is the conversation to have. If your score clears 660 and you are anywhere in Indiana, IHCDA's First Step gives the same 5% with statewide reach and a programme structure we can speak to in detail.
And if you have owned a home in the last three years, remember that IHCDA's Next Home carries no first-time requirement at all, which is a separate route that neither of the 5% programmes offers. First Step compared with Next Home.
Terms here were read from the Fort Wayne Housing Authority's own pages on 2026-10-05. Local authority programmes change on their own schedule, so confirm current terms before you rely on them.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hoosier Homes available across Indiana?
No. Hoosier Homes covers 25 named Indiana counties, not all 92. The list includes Marion, which contains Indianapolis, Lake and Porter in northwest Indiana, and Allen, which contains Fort Wayne, so it reaches much of the state's population while covering about a quarter of its counties.What credit score does Hoosier Homes require?
640, per the Fort Wayne Housing Authority. That is lower than IHCDA's published minimum of 660, rising to 680 above a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and is probably the source of the widely repeated claim that Indiana down payment assistance requires a 640 score.Who runs the Hoosier Homes program?
The Fort Wayne Housing Authority, a local public housing authority, rather than the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. It is a separate program with its own rules, coverage area and credit standards.How much does Hoosier Homes provide?
Up to 5% in down payment assistance. First-time buyers must complete homebuyer education. Terms were read from the Fort Wayne Housing Authority's own pages on 2026-10-05; local authority programs change on their own schedule, so confirm before relying on them.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. IHCDA program terms, income limits and acquisition limits are set by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against IHCDA's published documents. IHCDA down payment assistance is a non-forgivable second mortgage repayable in full, not a grant. Federal recapture tax may apply on bond-funded loans; consult a tax advisor. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.