HELPER Act Offers 100% Mortgage Financing to Teachers and First Responders, Swaps Monthly Premiums for Upfront Fee

The new HELPER Act of 2025 is designed to give essential workers a major leg up in the housing market. Simply put, this legislation creates a special FHA mortgage insurance program that allows eligible first responders and teachers to buy a home with zero down payment—covering 100% of the home’s appraised value. This is a massive change, as most FHA loans still require a small down payment. The program is specifically targeted at full-time law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, and K-12 teachers (both public and private), provided they are also first-time homebuyers.

Who Gets the Keys?

If you’re one of the professions listed, this bill is a direct benefit, but there are some strict hoops to jump through. To qualify for the 100% financing, you must be a first-time homebuyer and complete a housing counseling program approved by the Secretary of HUD. You also need to prove you’ve worked as a first responder for at least four out of the last five years, or are currently employed full-time, and you must promise to stay in that job for at least one year after you close on the house. Essentially, the bill is asking for a commitment to public service in exchange for help with the biggest hurdle in buying a house: saving up for the down payment.

The Cost of Zero Down

Here’s where the fine print gets interesting—and potentially costly. While you skip the down payment, the bill changes how you pay for the FHA mortgage insurance that protects the lender. Normally, you pay a small fee every month with your mortgage payment. Under the HELPER Act, that monthly premium disappears, but it’s replaced by a single, upfront premium paid at closing. The Secretary of HUD gets to set this upfront fee, and the bill explicitly states that it can be more than 3% of the loan amount. For a $400,000 house, 3% is $12,000. If the Secretary sets it higher, say 5%, that’s $20,000.

What this means for the borrower is that instead of paying $12,000 out of pocket as a down payment, that $12,000 (or more) is rolled directly into your loan principal. You’re still getting 100% financing, but you’re borrowing more money and paying interest on that insurance fee for the life of the loan. While the immediate cash savings are huge, the long-term cost of the loan might be higher than a traditional FHA loan with a small down payment and a monthly premium. The Secretary’s decision on this percentage is critical; set it too high, and it eats into the benefit; set it too low, and the risk to the FHA insurance fund—which ultimately taxpayers backstop—increases because these are 100% financed loans.

Limited Shelf Life and Funding

This program isn't a permanent fixture. The authority to issue these mortgages will automatically end five years after the Secretary first starts offering the insurance. Plus, the funding authorized to administer the program is tight: $660,000 for 2026, and then just $160,000 annually through 2032. Given the scale of the housing market and the number of eligible workers, this suggests the program will be highly competitive and likely only serve a limited number of people each year. If you’re a first responder hoping to use this, you’ll need to be ready to move fast once it launches, as the window of opportunity is narrow.