Arkansas down payment assistance · Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #173855 Call Mike Certo · (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com
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Down Payment Assistance in Little Rock

Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.

By Mike Certo, Cornerstone First Mortgage · NMLS #260555 ·

Central Arkansas is where the targeted-county map matters most, because the designation stops at the county line and the metro spills across several.

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★ The county line is the rule here

Arkansas designates targeted areas by county, not census tract. Around Little Rock that produces a sharp edge: Perry and Prairie counties are on ADFA's targeted list, and their neighbours are not.

For a repeat buyer, that is the difference between qualifying for StartSmart's bond pricing and not. Same buyer, same income — the county decides. The 30 counties.

Because the designation follows county boundaries rather than tracts, you can answer this from a map before you start looking, which is not true in most states.

Which programme fits a central Arkansas file

Work through it in this order:

  1. Is the county targeted? If yes, StartSmart is open regardless of whether you have owned before.
  2. Have you or your spouse served? If yes, StartSmart is open anywhere in Arkansas.
  3. Are you under the county income limit? Check it.
  4. Otherwise, Move-Up — no first-time rule, $142,000 statewide cap, and the assistance still pairs with it.

The price cap is rarely the constraint

StartSmart caps the purchase price at $500,000. Against central Arkansas prices that ceiling sits a long way above where most assistance files are written, so the binding gates here are income and buyer status rather than price.

What the assistance costs you monthly

Whatever amount you receive between $1,000 and $15,000, it comes as a second mortgage at the same rate as your first, amortising over 10 years. That is a second payment in your budget from the month you close.

In a metro where buyers are often choosing between a larger deposit and a shorter commute, that trade deserves to be on the table explicitly. What it costs · How it works.

Frequently asked questions

Is Little Rock in an ADFA targeted county?

Arkansas designates targeted areas by county rather than census tract, so the answer depends on the specific county. Perry and Prairie, both in central Arkansas, are on ADFA's list of thirty targeted counties where the first-time buyer requirement does not apply.

What assistance is available for a Little Rock purchase?

ADFA's down payment assistance of $1,000 to $15,000, paired with either the StartSmart or Move-Up first mortgage. It comes as a second mortgage matching the first mortgage's rate over a ten-year term, so it carries a monthly payment.

What if my income is above the StartSmart limit in central Arkansas?

Move-Up uses a single statewide qualifying income cap of $142,000, well above every county StartSmart figure, and the assistance pairs with it. Being over the StartSmart county limit does not rule you out of ADFA assistance.

Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not tax or legal guidance. ADFA program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Arkansas Development Finance Authority and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against ADFA's published documents. ADFA down payment assistance is a second mortgage matching the first mortgage over a 10-year term, which means it carries a monthly payment; it is not a grant. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.