Colorado Roots Down Payment Assistance Fund: how the shared-equity loan works

Fact sheet

How Colorado Roots works

Impact Development Fund, a nonprofit community development lender, runs Colorado Roots as a shared-equity second lien. You make no monthly payments. When you sell, transfer the home or pay off the first mortgage, you repay the amount borrowed plus a matching share of any appreciation: borrow 10% of the price and you owe 10% of the gain. If the home loses value, there is less to share. Underwriting caps debt-to-income at 38% for housing and 45% overall.

Who qualifies for Colorado Roots?

You must be a first-time or first-generation buyer purchasing a primary residence. Household income must fall between 50% and 120% of HUD's area median income for the county and your household size, so there is a floor as well as a ceiling. The home must be in a city or county that has filed a committed Proposition 123 plan with the Colorado Division of Housing. IDF's August 2026 list includes Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Boulder, Pueblo, Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Grand Junction and the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson, Douglas, Broomfield, Eagle, Summit, Garfield, La Plata, Delta, Montrose, Mesa and Larimer. El Paso, Weld, Elbert and Fremont counties were not listed as a whole, only some towns in them. Lawful presence verification is not required.

Using Colorado Roots with Schools To Home

Probably not. Schools To Home allows no other subordinate financing except a down payment grant from another provider, and Colorado Roots is a loan, not a grant. With metroDPA or other programs that bring their own first mortgage, ask a participating lender whether Roots can be layered.

A simple example: borrow $40,000 on a $400,000 home, which is 10% of the price. If you sell later for $460,000, the gain is $60,000 and the Roots share would be 10% of that, or $6,000, on top of the $40,000. If the home is worth what you paid, you repay only the $40,000. That structure suits buyers who need a large boost now and accept giving up part of future gains. The 50% AMI income floor also means very-low-income households may need a different program.

How to apply

Check that your city or county is on the current service-area list, confirm your income falls inside the band, then work with a lender that partners with IDF. Our DPA mistakes guide covers timing problems, the Larimer County page shows a covered area, and you can check eligibility for CHFA programs at the same time.

Questions about Colorado Roots Down Payment Assistance Fund

Similar programs

• CHFA HomeAccess / HomeAccess Plus
• CHFA SectionEight Homeownership / SectionEight Homeownership Plus
• CHFA Preferred Very Low Income (VLIP)
• Colorado HFA1 / Colorado HFA1 Plus
• Dearfield Fund Purchase Program
• CHAC Statewide Program - 5-Year Deferral

Summarized from the program's official page, November 2026. Money and rules shift; check today's terms with the administrator or a participating lender. Colorado Down Payment Assistance has no tie to this program.