THDA Great Choice + Down-Payment Assistance in Tennessee (2026)

THDA is the Tennessee Housing Development Agency — a public state agency, not a private lender. Its flagship program, the Great Choice Home Loan, is a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage that is insured or guaranteed by one of the federal programs underneath it (FHA, VA, or USDA-RD). THDA doesn't hand you the loan directly; you get it through an approved lender, and the agency sets the program rules on top.

The reason it matters for a first-time buyer is the pairing: Great Choice can be combined with Great Choice Plus down-payment assistance, which helps with the down payment and closing costs that stop most people from buying in the first place. The loan and the assistance are designed to work together.

Great Choice Plus is the down-payment-assistance layer. It provides a set amount of help — expressed as a percentage of the purchase price — toward your down payment and closing costs, delivered as a second loan behind your Great Choice first mortgage. THDA has offered the assistance in more than one structure over the years (a deferred form and an amortizing form), so the exact terms depend on the option you qualify for at the time you apply.

The practical effect is the same: it shrinks the cash you need on the day you close. For a lot of TN buyers, the wall to homeownership isn't the monthly payment — it's the lump sum up front, and this is the program built to lower that wall.

THDA programs are rule-based. The core eligibility gates are:

• Income limit. Your household income has to fall under THDA's limit, which is set by county and household size — a pure income-math test, not a demographic one.
• Purchase-price limit. The home's price has to fall under THDA's acquisition-cost limit, also set by county.
• Credit and underwriting. You still have to qualify for the underlying FHA/VA/USDA loan on credit, debt-to-income, and the usual underwriting.
• Primary residence. The home has to be the one you live in, not an investment property.

“First-time buyer” is often required, but not always — THDA waives the first-time rule for buyers in certain targeted areas and for qualifying veterans. The income and price limits change periodically, so the only way to know your real number is to check the current county figure against your situation.

THDA requires homebuyer education before you close. It's a course — available online or in person through THDA-approved providers — that walks through budgeting, the loan process, and what owning a home actually costs once you have the keys. It is not a hoop for its own sake: buyers who go in understanding escrow, taxes, and maintenance run into far fewer surprises in year one.

Plan for it early so the certificate is in hand before your closing date, not scrambled for at the end.

Great Choice is one of the most useful programs in the state, and most people who qualify never find out they do. Because the income and price limits are county-specific and updated periodically, the honest answer to “do I qualify?” only comes from running your real numbers — your income, the county you're buying in, and the price range you're looking at — against the current limits. A soft-credit pre-qualification does exactly that and won't affect your score. THDA programs are subject to eligibility requirements, credit approval, and underwriting; they are not guaranteed approvals or rate offers.