Forgivable loan

Some down-payment or employer programs start as a loan and later cancel part or all of the balance if the borrower keeps the home and follows the program rules. A grant does not start as debt. A deferred second loan may still have to be repaid later even if no payment is due now.

Fannie Mae Community Seconds and employer-assistance headings treat debt forgiveness over time as a distinct subordinate-loan structure and are PRIMARY.

Assistance menus mix grants, deferred seconds, and forgivable seconds. Readers need forgiveness kept distinct from postponed repayment.

• Down-payment assistance
• Second mortgage

• Deferred second loan

Forgiveness terms, occupancy conditions, and recapture rules vary by program. A forgivable loan is not a grant and is not the same as a deferred second loan that remains repayable.