Assistance repaid
$87,500
$
$
The assistance is calculated as a percentage of this figure, not of the purchase price.
25%
Up to 25 percent of the first mortgage. Taking less lowers what you repay and lowers your appreciation share.
5
1.9%
Set this to a rate you actually believe. Nobody knows the future, which is the whole reason this decision needs a range.
%
CHFA sets the first mortgage rate for this program and publishes it, so it is not priced by your lender. This field is prefilled with an approximate current figure and is used only to estimate principal paid down. Change it to whatever CHFA is publishing when you read this.
Appreciation shared
Equity you keep
$34,000
CHFA's method, step by step
- Assistance receivedfirst mortgage × assistance percent
- Your appreciation shareassistance ÷ purchase price
- Appreciation at salesale price − purchase price, never below zero
- Appreciation owedappreciation × your share
- Total owed to CHFAassistance + appreciation owed
Effective cost of the assistance
—
Stress test
The same purchase under five markets
Your inputs held constant, with only the appreciation rate changed. This is the table worth looking at hardest, because the top row is the scenario the sales pitches leave out.
| Market | Value at sale | Assistance repaid | Appreciation shared | Total owed | Equity you keep |
|---|
Reading your result honestly
The appreciation share is smaller than the assistance percentage
This is the piece almost every write-up gets wrong. CHFA calculates your appreciation share by dividing the assistance amount by the purchase price, while the assistance itself is a percentage of the first mortgage. Since the loan is smaller than the price, your share always lands below the headline number. Take 25 percent assistance on an eighty percent loan and your share is twenty percent. Change the loan size and that relationship changes with it.
A falling market cannot increase what you owe
Negative appreciation is treated as zero. If your home is worth less at sale than what you paid, the shared appreciation piece costs you nothing. That is a real protection and it is worth understanding clearly.
But the assistance itself is still owed in full
This is the part that deserves your attention. The assistance is a second mortgage, not a grant, and it comes due when you sell, refinance, pay off the first, or stop using the home as your primary residence. In a flat or falling market you can reach closing owing more than the sale produces. Run the top row of the table above and look at what happens. That outcome follows directly from CHFA's own published method.
Taking the full amount is not automatically right
Move the assistance slider down and watch two things move together. Your repayment shrinks and so does your appreciation share, but you need more cash at closing. If you have savings, a smaller assistance amount often leaves you meaningfully better off at sale. If you have no savings, the full amount may be the only thing that gets you into a home at all. Both are legitimate answers and they depend entirely on your situation.
This program stands alone
Schools To Home cannot be combined with CHFA's other down payment assistance, so choosing it means giving up the alternatives. For a buyer who needs a modest amount of help, one of those can produce a better outcome. The full program details, including eligibility for every school role and not just teachers, are in the Schools To Home guide, and the income limits that govern it are in the 2026 CHFA income limits breakdown.
Want this run against your actual numbers?
I am a CHFA Participating Lender. I will run Schools To Home against every other program you qualify for and tell you plainly which one wins. Sometimes the answer is that none of them do yet. You will get that answer too.
Or call (970) 412-9577 · Three Point MortgageFor illustrative purposes only. This calculator applies the shared appreciation method published by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority in its Schools To Home materials. It is an estimate, not a loan commitment, an approval, or a guarantee of program terms. Appreciation is not guaranteed and negative appreciation is treated as zero appreciation. Figures exclude selling costs, real estate commissions, property taxes, insurance, and closing costs, all of which affect what you actually walk away with.
Program terms, income limits, and eligibility requirements are set by CHFA and are subject to change. Schools To Home requires a CHFA first mortgage, full-time employment with an eligible Colorado public school employer, a CHFA approved homebuyer education class, and CHFA's Understanding Your Financial Commitment course. Confirm all current terms with CHFA before making a decision.