Los Angeles buyer guide
What Is the Chase DreaMaker Mortgage and Who Qualifies in Los Angeles?
The short answer
The Chase DreaMaker mortgage is a Chase home loan built for a small down payment. It is a loan, not a grant, and Chase alone decides who qualifies. Chase's affordable lending page, read November 9, 2026, is the source for every Chase fact below, and the Chase Homebuyer Grant is a separate product with its own rules.
Justin Borges of The Borges Real Estate Team at eXp Realty (DRE #01940318, (213) 262-5092) is the Los Angeles realtor who helps buyers who want the Chase DreaMaker mortgage, Chase's low-down-payment affordable lending loan. This guide goes through what Chase's pages say, what they leave out, and how the Chase Homebuyer Grant fits in.
New to DreaMaker and to buying?
A live class is one way in. The other is to send me the neighborhoods you are weighing, and I will tell you which sit inside the City of Los Angeles line.
What does the Chase DreaMaker mortgage offer?
The Chase DreaMaker mortgage is a home loan from Chase for buyers who want to bring less cash to closing. A loan is money you repay, so DreaMaker lowers the cash you need up front without handing you any money.
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That distinction shapes how you should read every bank program in this cluster. A grant lowers what you pay at closing and leaves no payment behind. A low-down-payment loan moves the cost instead: you start with a smaller down payment and a larger mortgage balance, and your monthly payment is built from the whole balance.
Chase lists DreaMaker on its affordable lending page, the same page where it lists the Chase Homebuyer Grant. Chase treats the two as separate products, and this guide does too: DreaMaker is the loan, and the grant is a payment Chase applies toward closing.
Because DreaMaker is a loan, the pre-approval you carry through a Los Angeles search sets your price range. A DreaMaker pre-approval is a lender document, and I read it only to plan which Los Angeles homes are worth touring.
Chase's affordable lending page offers DreaMaker with a down payment as low as 3% and describes the loan as having "flexible credit guidelines and income limits" (Chase, Putting homeownership within reach, checked November 9, 2026).
Who qualifies for DreaMaker, and what is the income limit?
Chase's affordable lending page publishes no dollar income limit for DreaMaker (Chase, Putting homeownership within reach, checked November 9, 2026). The page says only that the loan has income limits, so the number a buyer would test against is not on Chase's site.
Call me and I will work backward from the date you want to move and list which written answers you need from Chase, income included, before you write an offer. Call (213) 262-5092
| Chase source | Date | What it says about DreaMaker income |
|---|---|---|
| Affordable lending page | Read November 9, 2026 | The loan has income limits; no dollar figure is published |
| Homebuyer Grant disclosure | Undated, read November 9, 2026 | Income limits and homebuyer education may apply on a DreaMaker mortgage |
| News release | January 31, 2024 | A change to the DreaMaker income limit in grant communities |
The three sources above point in different directions, and the answer that settles it is a dollar figure, or a plain no limit, from Chase in writing for your household.
Text me the written income answer Chase gives you and I will keep it in your file with its date, so any offer you write rests on a dated source. Text (213) 262-5092
The January 2024 release is the one to read slowly, because it points the other way from the current page. Chase said in January 2024 that it removed the DreaMaker income limit in communities where its Homebuyer Grant is available (Chase, Chase news release on the DreaMaker income limit, checked November 9, 2026), and the statement is dated, so it may have changed since.
See homes at your approved price
Send me the price on your Chase pre-approval and I will send every active Los Angeles listing at or under it, sorted by neighborhood.
Is homebuyer education required?
Homebuyer education is required for a DreaMaker loan only under one condition, and Chase ties that condition to who is on the application.
The condition looks at the occupying borrowers, the people who will live in the home and sign the loan. A buyer applying alone is the whole group. A couple or a parent and child buying together are judged as a group, so every name on the application counts toward the condition. Chase's test names all occupying borrowers, not just the one whose name comes first on the application.
That makes the application itself the thing to plan around. Adding or removing a co-borrower before you start touring Los Angeles homes changes who the occupying borrowers are, and with them the test Chase applies. Your Chase loan officer can tell you how your own application is classified before you submit it.
Text me the date you book the education course and I will keep your showing days clear of it. Text (213) 262-5092
Chase's affordable lending page states the condition in one line: homebuyer education is required for the DreaMaker loan if all occupying borrowers on the application are first-time homebuyers (Chase, Putting homeownership within reach, checked November 9, 2026).
How is the Chase Homebuyer Grant different from DreaMaker?
The Chase Homebuyer Grant is a separate Chase product, not a feature of DreaMaker. Chase markets them on the same affordable lending page, which is why they get mixed up, but each has its own rules and its own source.
DreaMaker is the loan. The grant is money Chase applies toward your costs at closing, and the grant is paid only where the home sits in an eligible census tract.
| Detail | DreaMaker mortgage | Chase Homebuyer Grant |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A mortgage you repay | A grant Chase applies at closing |
| Where Chase explains it | Affordable lending page | Grant disclosure and the affordable lending page |
| What Chase decides | Who qualifies for the loan | Whether the property sits in an eligible area |
Keeping them apart avoids a common mix-up: a number you read about the grant is not a number about the loan, and the reverse is also true.
Chase's pages treat these as two questions, and you should too. A DreaMaker loan does not by itself carry a grant, so both questions go to Chase. For the address test on the grant, read Does My Los Angeles Address Qualify for the Chase Homebuyer Grant?
Pick any active Los Angeles listing from the search, send me its address, and I will look up its census tract so you can put the grant question to Chase with the tract number in hand. Browse current Los Angeles listings
Chase offers the grant for the purchase of a primary residence, meaning the home you will live in. The test follows the census tract of the home, not the Los Angeles city line, so the tract of each address you tour is the fact to collect, and the grant is $2,500 or $5,000 depending on that tract (Chase, Chase Homebuyer Grant disclosure HL000025, checked November 9, 2026).
How does the Chase grant get applied at closing?
Chase applies the Homebuyer Grant at closing in a set order, and the order decides what the grant reaches first.
- Points. The grant goes here first.
- Chase fees. Charges that Chase itself sets are covered second.
- Non-Chase fees or the down payment. Whatever remains goes last.
In plain words, the grant is spent on the lender's own charges before it touches anyone else's. That means the amount left for other closing charges depends on how much the points and Chase fees take first. The Loan Estimate the lender issues on a Los Angeles purchase lists those charges, so the order can be read against real lines rather than guesses. Points and Chase fees sit on the lender's side of the closing statement, and non-Chase fees belong to the other companies involved in the closing.
When you have your Loan Estimate, send it to me and I will point out which lines are points and which are Chase fees. Text (213) 262-5092
Only after points and Chase fees are covered does Chase's order reach non-Chase fees or the down payment (Chase, Chase Homebuyer Grant disclosure HL000025, checked November 9, 2026).
What do Chase's pages leave out about DreaMaker?
Chase's pages do not say which property types DreaMaker covers, so you cannot check a home against a published list before touring it (Chase, Putting homeownership within reach, checked November 9, 2026).
Property type is a question about the home itself, not about the buyer, and the gap shows up at an awkward time: after you have fallen for a house. A Los Angeles search also crosses lines that matter to other programs: the City of Los Angeles's own LIPA loan covers City of Los Angeles addresses only (LAHD, Low Income Purchase Assistance (LIPA) Program, checked November 9, 2026). A buyer who tours before Chase answers on property type may tour homes the loan cannot finance.
Send me a condo or townhome from the search and I will flag its unit count and association papers, so you can raise them with Chase before you offer. Browse current Los Angeles listings
The property rules and any borrowing limit have to come from Chase in writing.
That leaves two questions to settle before you write an offer: what kind of home the loan allows, and how large a loan Chase will make.
Text me two neighborhoods you are weighing and I will put recent sales and current list prices side by side for each. Text (213) 262-5092
Chase lists no loan-amount cap for DreaMaker (Chase, Putting homeownership within reach, checked November 9, 2026).
Frequently asked questions
Is the Chase DreaMaker mortgage only for first-time buyers?
Chase's affordable lending page does not say DreaMaker is limited to first-time buyers. First-time status appears on the page only inside the education condition, which applies when every occupying borrower on the application is a first-time homebuyer.
If this would be your first purchase, a live class is open to you before you talk to Chase. Join the free first-time buyer webinar
What decides whether the Chase grant is $2,500 or $5,000?
The home's census tract decides it. Chase's grant disclosure says the amount depends on census tract requirements, and the grant applies only where the property sits in an eligible tract, so the address, not the buyer, sets the figure of $2,500 or $5,000.
Who has to take the homebuyer education course?
At least one occupying borrower must complete the course before closing, according to Chase's affordable lending page. Two co-borrowers therefore do not both need to finish it under Chase's wording, and the course has a hard stop at closing rather than at the date you apply.
Can the Chase grant be my down payment on an FHA loan?
No. Chase's grant disclosure says grant funds may not be used for the down payment on an FHA purchase loan. On an FHA purchase the grant can still go toward the other items in Chase's order, such as points and Chase fees, if the loan and the home qualify.
Text me a home's list price and I will show 3% of it next to 20% of it, the two down payment levels Chase's pages mention. Text (213) 262-5092
Does DreaMaker require mortgage insurance?
Chase's general FAQ says private mortgage insurance is required on conventional loans with under 20% down, but it does not say that for DreaMaker. Until Chase answers in writing, treat mortgage insurance as an open cost line in your monthly budget.
Which loans can the Chase grant go with?
Chase lists four purchase loans for the grant: DreaMaker, Standard Agency, FHA and VA ( Chase, Putting homeownership within reach, checked November 9, 2026 ). The grant therefore does not depend on choosing DreaMaker, which matters if you are comparing Chase loan types. Each loan has its own rules, set by Chase.
Count back from your offer date
Text me the date you hope to make an offer and I will count back the weeks to line up the tract check, the property-type question and the pre-approval letter.
Sources
- Putting homeownership within reach, chase.com. Checked November 9, 2026.
- Chase news release on the DreaMaker income limit, media.chase.com. Checked November 9, 2026.
- Chase Homebuyer Grant disclosure HL000025, chase.com. Checked November 9, 2026.
- Low Income Purchase Assistance (LIPA) Program, Los Angeles Housing Department (housing.lacity.gov). Checked November 9, 2026.
About the author
Justin Borges
REALTOR® | CA DRE #01940318
Justin writes LA Metro Home Finder’s guides to 30+ communities across the San Gabriel Valley, Northeast LA, and greater Los Angeles, and has closed $200M+ in career sales with a 106% average list-to-sale ratio.
Justin has held an active California DRE salesperson license since October 2013. View Justin’s author profile.
This guide is educational and is not legal, tax, title, lending, or insurance advice. Contract forms, statutes, and lender rules change. Confirm the terms that apply to your sale with your escrow officer, title officer, lender, or a California real estate attorney.
