The county has published the income limits, purchase-price cap and ten-year commitment. What prospective buyers still cannot do is apply but here's why you should keep reading.
A $10 million home-buying fund sits on DeKalb’s books with award tiers, income limits and a purchase-price cap. The only active form collects your contact information so someone can notify you when applications open.
That is the gap a buyer needs to understand before writing an offer this fall.
The program is DeKalb HomeStart, administered by the Decide DeKalb Development Authority. It will provide up to $20,000 per household for a down payment, eligible closing costs or an interest-rate buy-down.
Households earning up to 100 percent of Area Median Income ($82,500 for a single adult) may qualify for $20,000. Households between 101 and 120 percent AMI (up to $99,000 for a single adult) may qualify for $15,000. Eligible DeKalb County employees can receive another $5,000, and a separate employee tier extends eligibility to 140 percent AMI ($115,500 for a single adult).
That means HomeStart reaches beyond the lowest-income buyers. A large portion of DeKalb’s workforce could fall within its published limits.
What buyers can do right now
They can prepare. They cannot apply.
As of Oct. 8, the official program page still says applications are “anticipated to open in Fall 2026.” No application portal is live. The available form signs prospective buyers up for updates.
A separate HomeStart overview provides more of the eventual process. Buyers should first obtain lender preapproval, complete a homebuyer education course, identify an eligible property and then apply through Decide DeKalb with a lender and property already selected.
Applicants will not be required to use a preferred lender, real estate agent or broker.
Eligible properties can include new or existing single-family houses, townhomes and condominiums anywhere within DeKalb County, including its incorporated cities. The maximum purchase price is $550,000.
The program also uses an unusually broad definition of first-time homebuyer. Decide DeKalb describes an eligible buyer as someone who has not owned a home during the previous six months and does not currently own another residential property.
Those details make the program easier to plan around. They do not make the money available today.
In an August background briefing connected to our This Is Atlanta: South DeKalb reporting, Decide DeKalb told ATL Vibes & Views that its down-payment and rehabilitation programs might not be ready until January. Decide DeKalb is a production partner on that episode.
That creates two timelines: the public page says fall, while the background briefing pointed toward January.
If you are negotiating a purchase now, plan to close without HomeStart unless Decide DeKalb opens the portal and approves your application before your financing deadline.
Forgivable does not mean unrestricted
HomeStart is a zero-interest, deferred-payment loan with no monthly payments. It operates as a silent second mortgage behind the buyer’s primary mortgage.
At closing, a promissory note and land-use restriction agreement will be recorded against the property.
Remain in the home as your primary residence for the entire ten-year compliance period and the loan is fully forgiven. Sell or move before the ten years expire and Decide DeKalb says the borrower must repay the total assistance amount from the sale proceeds.
It is not described as prorated.
That changes the calculation for someone buying a starter home. A buyer expecting to move after five years could receive $20,000 at closing and owe the full $20,000 when the house is sold.
For a buyer planning to remain for at least a decade, the same assistance could eventually become fully forgiven.
The award amount gets attention. The ten-year commitment should determine whether the program fits.
Where the money comes from
HomeStart is one component of DeKalb County’s $155 million Housing Investment Bond Program.
The county approved the larger housing strategy in July. In August, commissioners finalized an initial $25 million taxable bond issuance to begin funding the program portfolio.
That portfolio also includes owner-occupied repairs, financing for affordable and mixed-income developments, neighborhood revitalization and homelessness programs. HomeStart is the portion aimed directly at people buying homes.
Decide DeKalb says the initial $10 million HomeStart fund could serve more than 500 buyers, assuming average assistance of approximately $18,000 per household.
That is the program’s projected reach. It is not a count of buyers approved or served, because applications have not opened.
HomeStart could meaningfully reduce the amount of cash a buyer needs at closing. Its $550,000 purchase-price cap and income limits also make it relevant to more households than the phrase “down-payment assistance” might suggest. But an anticipated launch date is not an application, and a buyer should not write a contract around money they cannot request yet.
Watch for the interest form to be replaced by an application portal, a complete document checklist to be published and Decide DeKalb to reconcile the fall timeline with the January estimate provided during our briefing. When the portal opens, read the ten-year compliance rule before focusing on the award. The most important HomeStart number may not be $20,000. It may be ten years.If you are shopping for a home in DeKalb, would the ten-year commitment change whether you apply?
