The purpose of the Henrico County Employee Home Purchase Assistance Program (EHPAP) is to assist eligible County employees with the purchase of their first home. Rising home prices throughout the region have made homeownership less affordable for a substantial number of employees, especially first-time homebuyers.

EHPAP provides up to $25,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance, in the form of an interest-free forgivable loan, for the purchase of a home within Henrico County. To have the full loan amount forgiven, employees must: maintain full-time employment with the County and occupy the home as their primary residence for a period of five years from the purchase date. If these conditions are not met, the employee will be obligated to repay any remaining unforgiven loan balance.

• Must be a full-time permanent employee of Henrico County Government, Henrico County Public Schools, or a Henrico County constitutional officer (Sheriff’s Office, Commonwealth Attorney, etc.)

• Must have a minimum of 12 months of consecutive full-time service

• Must have a performance appraisal rating of “acceptable” or better

• Must be a first-time homebuyer (must not currently own or have held any ownership interest in real estate within the last 5 years)

• Must have a minimum of $1,000 of personal funds to contribute to the purchase

• Must be free of outstanding judgments, liens, collections, etc., totaling more than $1,000

• Must be free of any bankruptcies within the last two years

• Must be free of any foreclosures within the last five years

• Must have total household assets that fall under the current program limit of $50,000 (updated Oct. 1, 2024)

• Must be purchasing a home located in Henrico County, VA

Henrico County is pleased to announce an important update to EHPAP. To assist more employees in realizing their goal of homeownership, we have revised the household income and asset limits for program eligibility. These adjustments are designed to enable more employees to meet program criteria and take advantage of this valuable benefit.

New Household Income Limits:

• $92,760 for 1-person households

• $140,000 for 2-person households

• $160,000 for households of 3 or more

New Asset Limit:

• $30,000 for households of all sizes

The sales price of the home may not exceed $500,000.

What to know when calculating your household income and assets:

• Household income includes the gross income of all individuals aged 18 or older residing in the home, regardless of relationship or familial status

• Sources of income include, but are not limited to, salary/wages, overtime, child support, alimony, self-employment, Social Security/Social Security Disability Income, retirement, etc.

• Household assets include but are not limited to, cash, cash held in checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, life insurance policies available before death, etc.

• For EHPAP, household assets DO NOT include the value of your Virginia Retirement System (VRS) account, retirement accounts where the holder has access to the funds (IRA, 401K, etc.), personal property (primary vehicles, jewelry, furniture, clothing, etc.), or term life insurance policies.    

Employees who are interested in applying to EHPAP should review the full program eligibility criteria and instructions for applying here https://henrico.gov/revit/henricos-home-purchase-assistance-program/

If you previously applied to the program and were determined ineligible by the program administrator due to exceeding the asset or income limits and would like to reapply to EHPAP, please email ehpap@henrico.gov