Honestly, in competitive conditions we rarely see down-payment-assistance offers get accepted, and on recent listings we've had, none were even submitted. The reason is how the offer reads to a seller. Depending on the specific program's rules, assistance can slow down or complicate a transaction. So when a seller is choosing among multiple offers, one leaning on assistance often looks riskier than a comparable offer without it, and sellers and their agents shy away. That reflects how competitive the market is rather than anything about the buyer. In a softer, more buyer-friendly market, where sellers have fewer offers to choose from, assistance offers compete much better and get accepted more readily. So the honest answer depends on the conditions you're buying in. If you're using assistance in a competitive market, strengthen the rest of your offer: clean terms, a solid pre-approval, flexibility on timing. The goal is to keep the program from being the only thing the seller focuses on.