Every Illinois loan program Mike runs
One branch manager, the full Illinois menu. Four IHDA down payment programs, 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, from Chicago to Champaign.
The Illinois menu at a glance
Mike does not sell one loan. He fits the first mortgage to your file, then layers IHDA assistance where it helps. Here is the shortlist so you can find your situation fast.
| Program | Who it fits | Down payment | Key Illinois detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| IHDAccess Forgivable | Want help that never gets repaid | Assistance covers it | 4% of price, max $6,000, forgiven monthly over 10 yrs, 640 FICO |
| IHDAccess Deferred | Want a no-payment second | Assistance covers it | 5%, max $7,500, 0%, repaid at sale/refi/payoff |
| IHDAccess Repayable | Fine with a small second payment | Assistance covers it | 10%, max $10,000, 0% over 10 yrs |
| IHDAccess Home (new 2026) | First-time buyers wanting the most | Assistance covers it | 6%, max $15,000, first-time required |
| FHA | Lower credit, slim savings | 3.5% | 2026 IL floor $541,287 |
| Conventional 97 | Mid-600s and up | 3% | MI cancels at 20% equity |
| VA | Eligible veterans | $0 | No monthly mortgage insurance |
| USDA | Downstate and small-town IL | $0 | Income near $122,800; Cook and collar mostly excluded |
| Jumbo | Above the county limit | Varies | $832,750 in all 102 counties, no high-cost |
| Bank-statement / 1099 | Self-employed | Varies | Qualify on deposits, not net tax income |
| DSCR | Investors | Varies | Qualify on the property's rent |
IHDA down payment assistance: four Illinois programs
Illinois runs its down payment help through IHDA, the Illinois Housing Development Authority. There are four programs, and they differ mostly in how much they give and how the second loan gets settled. IHDAccess Forgivable gives 4% of the purchase price up to $6,000, and it forgives a little each month across ten years rather than in one lump at the end. IHDAccess Deferred gives 5% up to $7,500 as a zero-interest second you repay only when you sell, refinance, or pay off the first loan. IHDAccess Repayable gives 10% up to $10,000 at zero interest, paid back in installments over ten years.
The newest option is IHDAccess Home, added in 2026. It gives 6% of the price up to $15,000, the biggest of the four, as a deferred second with no monthly payment. It carries one extra condition: you have to be a first-time buyer, though veterans and buyers in targeted areas are exempt. Every IHDA program wants a 640 middle score, and every borrower puts in at least 1% of the price or $1,000, whichever is greater. Income and purchase-price limits are set by county, not statewide, so confirm your county's figures at ihdamortgage.org/limits. The down payment assistance page compares all four side by side.
FHA loans in Illinois
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 Illinois is $541,287 on a single-family home, and every county sits at that floor. There is no higher Chicago-area FHA limit, which surprises buyers who assume the metro gets special treatment. An IHDA second can ride on top of an FHA first mortgage, so the assistance and the low down payment stack.
Conventional 97 and low-down-payment 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 just 3% down. Paired with an IHDA second, a Naperville or Aurora buyer can get into a conventional loan with very little of their own cash at closing. Conventional pricing rewards a stronger credit profile, so Mike will run both an FHA and a conventional scenario when your score sits near the line and show you the real difference.
VA loans for Illinois veterans
Eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and surviving spouses can buy with zero down and no monthly mortgage insurance. Illinois holds a large veteran population, from Naval Station Great Lakes north of Chicago to Scott Air Force Base in the Metro East near St. Louis. A VA buyer using IHDAccess Home also keeps that program's first-time requirement waived under the veteran exemption. Mike handles Certificate of Eligibility questions and entitlement restoration when you use the benefit a second time.
USDA loans in downstate Illinois
Leave the Chicago metro and a large share of Illinois qualifies for a zero-down USDA loan, including the farm counties across central, downstate, and southern Illinois. The catch is geography. Cook County is almost entirely ineligible, and the built-up collar suburbs are excluded, so USDA rarely helps a buyer near the city. USDA caps household income near $122,800 for one to four people as of 2026, a figure that rose mid-year. Both the map and the income cap are address-specific, so confirm your address at USDA's eligibility tool before you count on it.
Jumbo loans in Illinois
A loan above your county's conforming limit is a jumbo. The 2026 baseline is $832,750, and here is the part worth knowing: it applies in all 102 Illinois counties. The state has no high-cost county, so Cook, DuPage, and Lake sit at the same number as Peoria or Champaign. A higher-priced purchase in Chicago's North Shore or a Naperville move-up can still cross into 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 write-offs 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, plus 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. For a Chicago restaurateur or a downstate farmer with a strong deposit history, this is often the cleaner path.
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. Rockford's affordable price points and Chicago's dense rental neighborhoods both draw steady investor demand, and the two markets call for very different underwriting.
Bridge financing to buy before you sell
Move-up buyers in tight Illinois 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 Naperville or North Shore market, that timing edge wins homes.
Illinois loan program FAQ
What down payment assistance does IHDA offer in Illinois?
The Illinois Housing Development Authority runs four assistance programs. IHDAccess Forgivable gives 4% of the purchase price up to $6,000, forgiven a little each month across ten years. IHDAccess Deferred gives 5% up to $7,500 as a no-interest second repaid only at sale, refinance, or payoff. IHDAccess Repayable gives 10% up to $10,000 at zero interest over ten years. IHDAccess Home, new for 2026, gives 6% up to $15,000 and is the largest. All four ask for a 640 credit score.
What is the 2026 conforming loan limit in Illinois?
The 2026 one-unit conforming baseline is $832,750, and it applies in all 102 Illinois counties, including Cook, DuPage, and Lake. Illinois has no high-cost county, so there is no higher number for the Chicago area. A loan above $832,750 is a jumbo, which carries stricter reserve and documentation requirements. Confirm the current figure at the FHFA county file.
Can self-employed buyers qualify in Illinois without tax returns?
Yes. Bank-statement loans qualify you on 12 or 24 months of business or personal deposits with an expense-factor adjustment, not the net figure left after write-offs. 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 your income actually lands.
Do I have to be a first-time buyer to use an IHDA program?
It depends on the program. IHDAccess Forgivable, Deferred, and Repayable are open to first-time and repeat buyers alike. IHDAccess Home, the new 6% option, requires a first-time buyer, with exemptions for veterans and for purchases in targeted areas. A first-time buyer means no ownership of a principal residence in the last three years. County income and price limits apply to all four.
Which Illinois areas qualify for a zero-down USDA loan?
Much of central, downstate, and southern Illinois farm country is USDA-eligible, while Cook County is almost entirely ineligible and the built-up collar suburbs are excluded. USDA asks for no down payment and caps household income near $122,800 for one to four people as of 2026. Eligibility is address-specific, so confirm the exact address and the current income cap at USDA's eligibility tool before you count on it.