vantovault/dpa-2-to-4-unit-2026

Dataset Card for Down Payment Assistance Survey (83 US Metros, 2026)

Dataset Details

Homepage / methodology: https://vantovault.com/library/down-payment-assistance-duplex/ Maintained at: Van to Vault (vantovault.com) License: CC BY 4.0 — use with attribution to Van to Vault (vantovault.com) Point of contact: Stephan D., Van to Vault

Dataset Summary

A hand-checked survey answering one narrow question across 83 U.S. metro areas: can an owner-occupant use down payment assistance (DPA) to buy a two-to-four unit property and live in one unit? Most public DPA directories only record whether a program exists for a single-family home; this dataset checks the property-eligibility rules directly. Compiled July 2026; figures updated August 2026 as agencies confirmed or corrected entries in writing, and again on 8 September 2026 when three entries (Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque) were re-sourced from a third-party directory to the programs' own documents (see the JSON meta.corrections block). Version 4.1 (24 September 2026) follows a full fact check against the agencies' own documents; see CHANGELOG.md.

For each metro: the best usable program (or the finding that none was usable), the maximum assistance advertised, a source URL for that program's own rules, an as-of date, and a status field that separates a checked-but-empty metro (none_found) from one where eligibility could not be confirmed (unconfirmed) — so a "no" is never confused with an "unchecked." 73 of 83 metros have a usable program (median $15,000; the largest is $100,000 in New York City via NYC HPD HomeFirst); 7 have none found; 3 are unconfirmed pending agency documentation. Several agencies confirmed or corrected entries in writing during compilation.

Full methodology and the why-this-happens explainer (state agencies are often the strictest, not the most flexible, on unit-count eligibility): https://vantovault.com/library/down-payment-assistance-duplex/

Supported Tasks

Reference/lookup dataset. status can be used as a 3-class classification target (program_found / none_found / unconfirmed); max_assistance_usd supports regression restricted to | | Integer dollars, or null where the program is percentage-based or publishes no dollar maximum. See program_or_finding for the stated terms. | the program_found subset.

Languages

English.

Dataset Structure

Data Instances

One row per U.S. metro (83 rows).

Data Fields

Data Splits

No splits — one flat table.

Dataset Creation

Source Data

For each metro: the state housing finance agency, then city and county programs, then federal FHLBank district programs, then statewide/multi-jurisdiction vehicles such as joint powers authorities. Each program's own published property-eligibility rules were read directly, The 3 unconfirmed metros (Louisville, Phoenix and Tucson) are marked as unknowns rather than counted as none_found.

Annotations

Single-annotator manual review (Van to Vault), July 2026, cross-checked against agency documents; several agencies corrected entries in writing during compilation.

Considerations for Using the Data

• —status = none_found means no qualifying program could be found, not that none exists — treat as "checked, came up empty," not as proof of absence.
• —Program terms, funding and eligibility change without notice. Every row carries its own check date; confirm with the program before relying on a figure.
• —Not financial, legal, or lending advice — this is a record of what public program documents said on the date they were read.

Citation

If you use this dataset, please cite:

Van to Vault. "Down Payment Assistance for a Duplex: Which Programs Allow 2-4 Units." https://vantovault.com/library/down-payment-assistance-duplex/

Dataset Card Contact

Stephan D. — Van to Vault (vantovault.com)