Up front. With almost every down payment assistance program, you get approved before you seriously house hunt, through a lender approved to offer that specific program. You do not borrow the assistance directly from the agency. You go through an approved lender, and some programs work only with direct lenders while others also allow mortgage brokers. The loan terms are set by the administering agency rather than the individual lender. In California, for example, the terms come from the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), so they are identical no matter which approved lender you use. What varies is how experienced a given lender is with the program, and that matters more than most buyers realize. Availability differs a lot by state, county, and city (Texas, for instance, offers far more programs than California), and some lenders simply do not know the options or wave them off without ever comparing them side by side against standard financing. Work with someone who runs these programs regularly and will honestly weigh the assistance against a conventional or FHA loan. Getting that comparison, and your actual pre-approval, is what a free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes) is for.