Programs

CHFA Schools to Home in Aurora: Down Payment Help for APS, Cherry Creek & Aurora School Employees

Aurora school employees can get up to 25% down payment help with CHFA Schools to Home. Check your school, see the guidelines, and meet our Aurora team with Leah Celler.

Matt Wentz · August 10, 2026

CHFA Schools to Home in Aurora: Down Payment Help for APS, Cherry Creek & Aurora School Employees

Full-time employees of Aurora Public Schools, Cherry Creek, and the other districts serving Aurora can use CHFA Schools to Home to buy with nothing down and no mortgage insurance. The state lends up to 25% of your first mortgage as a deferred second — on a $400,000 home that is $80,000, with no monthly payment on it. You repay that $80,000 plus 20% of the home's appreciation when you sell, refinance, or move out.

Aurora's schools, Aurora Public Schools (Adams-Arapahoe 28J), Cherry Creek, and the many charters across Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, employ tens of thousands of people. If you're one of them, full-time, the CHFA Schools to Home program can cover up to 25% of your loan amount toward down payment and closing costs on a home in Aurora.

It's not just for teachers, paras, drivers, custodians, front-office and food-service staff, counselors, and coaches all qualify. Only one borrower on the loan needs to be the school employee.

Is your school on the list?

Search your school, district, or county. If it shows up here, your employer qualifies you for CHFA Schools to Home. Only one borrower on the loan needs to work for the school.

1,871 Colorado public schools · source: CDE building codes 2026–27. Work for a charter, BOCES, or innovation zone and don't see it? You may still qualify, reach out.

Your Aurora team: Speak Straight Mortgage + Leah Celler

On the real estate side, Leah Celler at HomeSmart is our Aurora specialist. She knows the neighborhoods, the new-build pockets, and the resale market, start at movetoaurora.com or reach her directly at 702-506-5006 to search homes by area and school. Between Leah's local knowledge and our financing, you've got Aurora covered end to end.

A real-world example

Buying a $450,000 home with Schools to Home

Home price

$450,000

Your money down

$0*

First mortgage

$360,000

CHFA 2nd · no payment

$90,000

Your help ($90,000) equals 20% of the price, so that's the share of future appreciation you'll give back to the fund. You keep the other 80%.

If the home grows to $547,494 in ~5 years (illustrative, ~4%/yr)

Equity YOU keep from appreciation

$77,995

80% of the $97,494 gain

Shared with the fund

$19,499

20% of the gain, paid at sale/refi

*You still cover items like earnest money and prepaids; the 2nd covers down payment and eligible closing costs, up to 25% of the first mortgage. The bottom line: you build roughly $77,995 in appreciation equity with $0 down, access that would otherwise take $90,000 up front. In a flat or declining market, the shared-appreciation payment is $0. Figures illustrative; actual appreciation varies and is not guaranteed.

The part people miss

Your monthly payment is lower, too

Because the assistance gets you to 20% equity, you finance a smaller first mortgage and skip monthly mortgage insurance entirely. Same $450,000 home, same 6.875% rate:

Typical 5%-down loan

$2,986/mo

$2,808 P&I on a $427,500 loan
+ $178 mortgage insurance

With Schools to Home

$2,365/mo

$2,365 P&I on a $360,000 first mortgage
+ $0 mortgage insurance

You pay $622/mo less
$443 lower P&I + $178 no mortgage insurance, about $7,464 a year

Illustrative, 30-yr fixed at 6.875%; mortgage insurance estimated at ~0.5%/yr on the 5%-down comparison. Your rate, MI, taxes, and insurance vary. The second mortgage (the assistance) has no monthly payment.

How the down payment help works

The assistance is a second mortgage with no monthly payment, deferred until you pay off or refinance the first mortgage, sell, or the home stops being your primary residence. It carries a shared-appreciation feature, when it comes due you repay the second plus a share of the home's appreciation to the state's Public School Permanent Fund. We'll show you exactly what that looks like for your price range first.

What you'll need to qualify

Income at or below $178,920
620+ credit score
Fannie Mae conventional (30-year fixed), primary residence
Single-family, PUD, condo, or double-wide manufactured home
First-time buyer not required
CHFA homebuyer education + the "Understanding Your Financial Commitment" course

Let's see if you qualify

Schools to Home runs through CHFA participating lenders and starts with a simple conversation. We'll confirm your school is eligible, run your numbers, and walk through the assistance and shared appreciation up front. Real talk, real numbers, real results, for the people who keep Aurora's schools running.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the CHFA Schools to Home program?

CHFA Schools to Home is a Colorado down payment assistance program created for full-time public-school employees. It pairs a fixed-rate first mortgage with a deferred second mortgage of up to 25% of your first loan amount to help cover your down payment and closing costs. The assistance has no monthly payment.

Who qualifies as a Colorado public-school employee?

Any full-time employee of a Colorado public preK-12 school, school district, charter or institute charter school, BOCES, or innovation zone qualifies — not just teachers. Custodians, paraprofessionals, bus drivers, administrative and office staff, counselors, coaches, food-service and IT staff all count. Only one borrower on the loan needs to be the full-time school employee.

Do you have to be a first-time home buyer to use Schools to Home?

No. There is no first-time-buyer requirement. You can use CHFA Schools to Home even if you have owned a home before, as long as the home you are buying will be your primary residence.

How much down payment help can a Colorado teacher get?

The assistance can be up to 25% of your first mortgage amount. On a $400,000 loan that is up to $100,000 toward your down payment, closing costs, prepaids, or reducing principal. Many buyers use it to put more down and eliminate mortgage insurance.

Do I have to pay the down payment assistance back?

There is no monthly payment. The second mortgage is deferred until you sell the home, refinance or pay off your first mortgage, the home stops being your primary residence, or the loan term ends. When it comes due you repay the assistance plus a share of the home's appreciation, which goes back to Colorado's Public School Permanent Fund. We show you exactly what that looks like for your price range before you commit.

What are the income and credit requirements for Schools to Home?

Household income must be at or below $178,920, and the minimum credit score is 620. The program uses a Fannie Mae conventional 30-year fixed first mortgage on a primary residence. Eligible properties include single-family homes, PUDs, condos, and double-wide manufactured homes. Borrowers complete a CHFA-approved homebuyer education class plus the program's financial-commitment course.

Is CHFA Schools to Home only for teachers?

No — this is the biggest misconception. Any full-time Colorado public-school employee is eligible, including support and operations staff. If you work full-time for an eligible Colorado school employer, you very likely qualify.

Can I use CHFA Schools to Home in Aurora?

Yes. Employees of Aurora Public Schools (APS), Cherry Creek School District, and Adams-Arapahoe 28J, along with area charter schools and BOCES, can use Schools to Home to buy a home in Aurora and the surrounding metro. We work with local Realtor Leah Celler of HomeSmart (movetoaurora.com) to match you with eligible homes and school districts.

What the assistance actually costs you

Schools to Home is not a grant. The state second mortgage is repaid in full when you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage, or stop living in the home — and on top of that you repay a fixed share of the appreciation. That share is the original second divided by the original purchase price, and it is locked at closing.

On a $400,000 purchase the first mortgage is $320,000 and the state second is $80,000, so the share is 20%. Sell seven years later at $491,950 and the gain is $91,950 — you repay the $80,000 plus $18,390 of appreciation. Against a conventional 3% down loan, which costs you $12,000 at closing and carries mortgage insurance until year 12, Schools to Home still leaves you roughly $31,652 ahead in that scenario — $12,000 you never put down, $55,014 of lower payments over seven years, less the $35,361 of equity the appreciation share costs you. A home that loses value owes no appreciation share, but the second is still repaid in full.

The balance shifts with how fast the home gains and how long you stay. At 3% a year the assistance stays ahead for the full thirty years; at 6% a year it stops winning between years 10 and 15. Put your own price, rate and timeline in below.

Speak Straight Mortgage Schools to Home estimator: how far ahead the assistance leaves a Colorado school employee at 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 30 years, against home gains from -2% to 6% a year — Our estimator, run across every combination of appreciation and holding period. At 3% a year Schools to Home stays ahead for the full thirty years; at 6% a year it stops winning around year 15, when the appreciation share has cost more than the help was worth.

CHFA Schools to Home

What the down payment help really costs you

Colorado pays your down payment and you skip mortgage insurance entirely — in exchange for a fixed slice of every dollar your home gains. Here is the trade, in your numbers.

Your situation

Change anything — everything below updates as you type.

Purchase price

Assistance taken

Schools to Home rate

3% down rate

3% down PMI / yr

Property tax / yr

Insurance / yr

HOA / mo

Years in the home

Home gains / yr

After giving back the assistance and its share of the gain, Schools to Home still leaves you ahead by

$31,652

Selling in year 7 at 3.0% a year. That counts the $12,000 you keep at closing, $55,014 of lower payments and no mortgage insurance, against $18,390 of appreciation owed on top of the $80,000 you borrowed.

What makes up that number

Cash you keep at closing: +$12,000
Lower payments over 7 years, incl. no PMI: +$55,014
Equity given up at sale: -$35,361
Schools to Home ahead by: +$31,652

Your payment starts about $662 a month lower, and you bring $12,000 less to the closing table. Set against that, you hand back $18,390 of appreciation on top of the $80,000 you borrowed, which is why the equity line runs the other way.

Priced at 6.625% on Schools to Home and 6.875% on the 3% down loan — a 97% loan-to-value loan prices above an 80% one — with PMI at 0.50% a year. These are illustrative, not quotes. Change any of them above and every figure on this page moves with it.

Schools to Home Ahead

80% first mortgage, no mortgage insurance, state second covers the rest.

Cash at closing: $0
Monthly payment: $2,399
Mortgage insurance: none
Your appreciation share: 20.0% of the gain
Equity when you sell: $103,629

Conventional 3% down Behind

You fund the down payment and carry PMI until you reach 80%.

Cash at closing: $12,000
Monthly payment: $3,061
PMI, drops off: $162/mo, gone year 12
Your appreciation share: none — you keep it all
Equity when you sell: $138,990

Where it flips

How far ahead Schools to Home leaves you, by how fast the home gains and how long you stay. Green means it wins.

Read across a row and the pattern holds: the assistance is worth most when the home gains slowly, and least when it climbs fast. At 3% a year it stays ahead for the whole thirty. At 6% a year it stops winning around year 15, and by year 30 the share has cost more than the help was worth.

Schools to Home ahead 3% down ahead Everything else held at your inputs above.

The 0% and −2% rows match on purpose. A home that has not gained owes no share either way, so below zero the advantage stops moving — the assistance costs you nothing but the repayment.

How the share is figured

CHFA sets your share once, at closing, and it never changes.

You buy at $400,000. The first mortgage is 80% of that, $320,000 — the reason there is no mortgage insurance.
The state second is $80,000. That is 25.0% of the first mortgage, and 20.0% of the purchase price.
Your share is that second divided by the price: 20.0%. It is locked at closing and never moves.
Sell in year 7 for $491,950 and the gain is $91,950.
You owe the $80,000 back, plus 20.0% of that gain — $18,390. Total $98,390.
Nothing is due until you sell, refinance, pay off the first, or stop living there.

What this assumes

The first mortgage is 80% of the purchase price, which is what keeps mortgage insurance off the loan. The state second covers up to 25% of that first mortgage — 20% of the price. Take less and you bring the difference in cash.
Your appreciation share is the original second divided by the original purchase price, applied to the gain between your purchase price and your sale price. A home that loses value owes no share, but the second is still repaid in full.
Both loans are 30-year fixed and amortized properly, so the payoff figures sit slightly below CHFA's own illustration, which uses the opening balance.
PMI on the 3%-down loan is removed once the balance amortizes down to 80% of the purchase price. That is the automatic rule. If the home climbs quickly you could cancel earlier by paying for an appraisal, which would narrow the gap — so this assumption leans slightly in Schools to Home’s favor.
Taxes, insurance and HOA are identical in both columns, so they change the payment but never the comparison.
Rates and mortgage insurance are assumptions, not quotes: 6.625% on the Schools to Home first mortgage, 6.875% on the conventional 3% down loan, and PMI at 0.50% of the loan balance per year. A 97% loan-to-value loan carries pricing adjustments an 80% loan does not, which is why the two rates differ. Your own quote depends on credit score, loan amount, property and the day you lock.
Cash you keep at closing and each month of payment difference are counted at face value — no investment return, no tax effects.
Selling costs are left out. They are the same either way.

Estimate only, not a commitment to lend or a quote. Rates, mortgage insurance and program terms change. CHFA sets Schools to Home terms — including income limits, a 620 minimum credit score, full-time employment at an eligible Colorado public school employer, and two required education courses — and verifies eligibility at application. Speak Straight Mortgage · Company NMLS 2426226 · Equal Housing Opportunity.

Prefer it on its own page? Open the Schools to Home estimator.

Keep reading

See if your school qualifies

Answer a few quick questions about your situation — no hard credit pull, no pressure. We'll confirm your eligibility for CHFA Schools to Home and map out your options.

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