And no — it isn’t just for teachers. If you’re full-time at a Colorado public school, the person teaching algebra and the person fixing the copier may both be eligible.
If you work in a Colorado public school and you’ve looked at home prices lately and thought “cool, I guess I’ll just live in the faculty lounge” — there’s something new you should know about.
In July 2026, the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority launched CHFA Schools To Home, a homebuying program built specifically for Colorado public school employees. It came out of bipartisan legislation (Senate Bill 25-167) and it’s funded by an investment from Colorado’s Public School Permanent Fund.
The headline number is big: down payment and closing cost assistance of up to 25% of your first mortgage loan amount. But there’s real structure behind it that you need to understand before you get excited. Let’s go through all of it.
Why this program exists
A Keystone Policy Center report found that in some Colorado districts, the majority of teachers spend more than 40% of their income on housing. That’s not a footnote — that’s a staffing problem. People leave districts, and sometimes leave education entirely, because they can’t afford to live near the school they work at.
CHFA’s director of home finance, Dan McMahon, put the goal plainly: the program is designed to help with the upfront cost of purchasing a home, which is often the most significant barrier to achieving homeownership.
That framing matters, because it’s the actual problem most school employees have. For a lot of folks, the monthly mortgage payment isn’t the wall. The wall is the giant pile of cash you need just to get through the front door. And unless your district recently added a large cash bonus to the benefits package, that part is genuinely hard.
Who counts as a “public school employee”
This is the part people get wrong most often, so read it carefully. CHFA’s definition is any individual employed by an eligible Colorado preK–12 employer, as long as you’re classified as full-time by that employer.
Not “any teacher.” Any individual employed. Job title is not part of the test.
Eligible employers include:
- A Colorado preK–12 public school
- A school district
- A charter school
- An institute charter school
- A board of cooperative educational services (BOCES)
- An innovation zone
So yes — teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, counselors, custodians, bus drivers, food service, office staff, IT, support staff. If your employer is on the list and your employer classifies you as full-time, you’re in the pool.
Two details worth knowing
No tenure requirement. You need to be designated full-time by your employer at the time of application and again at closing. That’s it. There’s no “must have worked here five years” clause.
Only one borrower needs to qualify. If you’re buying with a spouse or partner who doesn’t work for a school, that’s fine — at least one borrower on the loan needs to be the eligible full-time employee.
How the money actually works
Three moving pieces:
1. A fixed-rate first mortgage
Standard CHFA first mortgage at a fixed rate. These are Fannie Mae loans running through DU as HFA Preferred, and they need an Approve/Eligible result. Interest rate buydowns aren’t allowed on this program.
2. A second mortgage for the assistance — up to 25%
The assistance comes as a CHFA DPA Second Mortgage Loan of up to 25% of your first mortgage loan amount. You don’t have to take the full 25% — you can take less.
It can go toward your down payment, closing costs, prepaids, and/or principal reduction. And here’s the part that makes it useful:
- No monthly payments on the second while you live there
- No prepayment penalty if you decide to pay it off early
- Repayment is deferred until you pay off the first mortgage, sell, refinance, or the home stops being your primary residence
One nice side effect: depending on how much assistance you use, a larger down payment may reduce or eliminate your PMI. That’s real monthly savings on top of the upfront help.
3. A shared appreciation component
This is not free money. Put the confetti cannon away. The assistance has to be repaid, and you share a slice of your home’s appreciation with the Public School Permanent Fund when repayment is triggered.
That’s the trade. The fund gets a share of the upside, which is what allows the program to recycle money back into helping the next school employee buy a house. It’s a sustainable structure by design — but it does mean you walk away with less than you would on a conventional purchase with your own down payment.
The shared appreciation math, worked out
The percentage of appreciation you share is not the same as the percentage of assistance you received. CHFA calculates it as:
Your DPA second mortgage amount ÷ the original purchase price
Because the DPA is a percentage of your loan but the share is measured against the purchase price, your appreciation share always comes out lower than your DPA percentage. Here’s CHFA’s own example:
Now look at what happens across different scenarios, because this is where it gets instructive:
| DPA taken | DPA amount | Value at sale | Appreciation | Shared appr. owed | Total owed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | $87,500 | $480,000 | $42,500 | $8,500 | $96,000 |
| 15% | $52,500 | $500,000 | $62,500 | $7,500 | $60,000 |
| 20% | $70,000 | $437,500 | $0 | $0 | $70,000 |
| 25% | $87,500 | $425,000 | −$12,500 | $0 | $87,500 |
All examples assume a $437,500 purchase price and $350,000 first mortgage. From CHFA’s lender training materials. For illustration only — appreciation is not guaranteed.
Two things jump out of that table.
Taking less assistance means sharing less appreciation. Compare row one and row two. Row two took less help, the home appreciated more, and they still owed less in shared appreciation — and kept substantially more equity. If you can put more of your own money in, run both scenarios before you decide.
If your home loses value, you owe zero shared appreciation. Negative appreciation counts as 0%. You still owe the full DPA back, but CHFA is not taking a share of a loss. That last row is the honest downside picture: you’d owe $87,500 on a home now worth less than you paid.
What else you need to qualify
- Minimum mid credit score of 620
- Income at or below $178,920 — this is a statewide figure for this program, not the usual county-by-county CHFA limits
- At least $1,000 of your own money toward the purchase (it can count toward down payment or closing costs)
- A CHFA-approved homebuyer education class
- CHFA’s “Understanding Your Financial Commitment” course and its quiz — this one is specific to Schools To Home and every borrower has to take it. You get a certificate, and your lender has to include it in the file.
- Qualify under standard underwriting guidelines with a CHFA Participating Lender
- Live in the home as your primary residence
Things this program does not require
You do not have to be a first-time homebuyer. This trips people up constantly. Most down payment assistance is first-timer-only. This one isn’t.
There’s no purchase price limit, and it can be used anywhere in Colorado — Front Range, Western Slope, mountain towns, plains.
CHFA Schools To Home cannot be combined with any other program. If you were planning to stack it with another CHFA product or a local DPA grant, you can’t. It’s this or that, so it’s worth comparing before you commit.
About that required education course, by the way — it’s genuinely worth your time. It walks through exactly what you’re signing up for with the shared appreciation piece. Which is probably a better use of an evening than another video explaining how to buy six rental properties with $17.
What happens when you sell or refinance
Repayment gets triggered when you pay off the first mortgage, sell, refinance, or the home stops being your primary residence. The process itself is straightforward:
- You contact CHFA for payoff guidance
- CHFA calculates the total: your DPA second mortgage balance plus the calculated shared appreciation
- You send the total repayment to CHFA
- CHFA reinvests it into the Public School Permanent Fund for the next borrower
Note that for a refinance or payoff — as opposed to a sale — CHFA uses the appraised or fair market value to figure the appreciation number.
Practical advice: plan for this repayment from day one. Don’t let it be a surprise five years out when you’re trying to move. Build it into how you think about the house.
Is this program right for you?
Honestly, it depends. Here’s how I’d frame it.
It’s a strong fit if you have stable school employment, solid income, and the thing standing between you and a house is cash for the down payment. Especially if you’re currently renting in the district you serve and watching prices climb faster than you can save.
Think harder if you already have meaningful savings, you expect to sell in a few years, or you’re in a market you think will appreciate sharply. In those cases, giving up a share of the upside may cost more than the help is worth. Run the numbers with a lender both ways.
The questions CHFA tells lenders to ask their borrowers are good ones to ask yourself:
- Does this program actually help me buy a home I otherwise couldn’t?
- Do I understand what the second mortgage obligates me to?
- Am I comfortable sharing this home’s appreciation later?
- Does this fit my long-term plans?
How to get started
- Confirm your employer qualifies. You can check school and district status through the Colorado Department of Education’s SchoolView tool.
- Talk to a CHFA Participating Lender. They’re the only ones who can determine your actual eligibility, run your numbers, and lock the loan.
- Take the two required courses — CHFA’s “Understanding Your Financial Commitment” course and a CHFA-approved homebuyer education class. Do this early, not the week before closing.
- Then go look at houses. In that order.
That last point is the one I’d underline. Don’t wait until you fall in love with a house to figure out whether you can buy it. That’s like writing the final exam before you’ve read the textbook.
Not sure if you qualify?
I’ll help you figure out whether CHFA Schools To Home could work for your situation, and connect you with a CHFA Participating Lender who can determine your actual eligibility. No pressure, no obligation.
Get in touch →Frequently asked questions
Do I have to be a teacher?
No. CHFA Schools To Home is for any individual employed full-time by an eligible Colorado preK–12 public school, school district, charter school, institute charter school, BOCES, or innovation zone. Job title isn’t part of the eligibility test — custodians, office staff, paraprofessionals, counselors, bus drivers, food service and IT staff can all qualify if their employer classifies them as full-time.
Do I have to be a first-time homebuyer?
No. Unlike most down payment assistance programs, CHFA Schools To Home is not restricted to first-time homebuyers.
How much assistance can I get?
Up to 25% of your CHFA first mortgage loan amount, delivered as a deferred second mortgage. You don’t have to take the maximum — you can take less, and taking less means sharing less appreciation later.
Do I make monthly payments on the assistance?
No. The CHFA DPA Second Mortgage Loan requires no monthly payments while you live in the home. Repayment is deferred until you pay off the first mortgage, sell, refinance, or the home is no longer your primary residence. There’s also no prepayment penalty if you want to pay it off early.
Is it free money?
No. The assistance must be repaid in full, and you also owe a shared appreciation payment to the Public School Permanent Fund. The appreciation share is calculated as your DPA second mortgage amount divided by the original purchase price, applied to the increase in your home’s value.
What if my home loses value?
Negative appreciation is treated as 0% appreciation, so you would owe no shared appreciation payment. You would still owe the full DPA second mortgage balance.
What’s the income limit?
Income at or below $178,920, per CHFA’s lender training materials for this program. Confirm your specific situation with a CHFA Participating Lender, as program figures can be updated.
Is there a purchase price limit or a geographic restriction?
No purchase price limit, and the program can be used anywhere in Colorado.
Can I combine this with other down payment assistance?
No. CHFA Schools To Home cannot be combined with any other program.
What credit score do I need?
A minimum mid credit score of 620, plus qualifying under standard underwriting guidelines as determined by a CHFA Participating Lender.
Sources: CHFA Schools To Home program page · CHFA lender program page · CHFA Schools To Home lender webinar slides (PDF) · CHFA launch announcement, July 21, 2026 · Colorado Senate Bill 25-167
This article is for general information only and is not lending, legal, or tax advice. I am a licensed real estate agent, not a mortgage lender. Program terms, income limits, and requirements are set by CHFA and can change — verify all details with a CHFA Participating Lender before making decisions. Equal Housing Opportunity.