DeKalb Has $10 Million for Down Payments. The Clock Starts When You Move In.

DeKalb County has a $10 million fund built to move people from renting into owning. It is called DeKalb HomeStart, and the money is designed to cover three of the costs that stop a purchase before it starts: the down payment, eligible closing costs, and an interest-rate buy-down.

The amounts move with income. Households earning up to 100 percent of Area Median Income may receive up to $20,000. Households between 101 and 120 percent may receive up to $15,000. Income-eligible DeKalb County employees may qualify for up to $25,000.

The part worth slowing down for is the structure. This assistance is a forgivable, deferred-payment second mortgage, not a check. Keep the home as your primary residence for ten years and the loan is fully forgiven. That is the whole bargain, and it is a reasonable one, but it means the money comes with a decade attached to it.

Applications are anticipated to open in fall 2026. The interest form available before then exists to notify you when that happens.

I have watched enough first-time buyers in this part of the metro get priced out by the gap between what they can carry monthly and what they can produce at closing. That gap is exactly what $20,000 closes. So my read is simple: treat the ten-year clock as the real term of the deal, and ask yourself honestly whether the home you are looking at in DeKalb is one you want to be standing in a decade from now. If the answer is yes, this is money that was put aside for us as residents, and it should go to people who will actually use it. If the answer is maybe, the forgiveness schedule is the thing to work out with your lender before you sign, not after.