We would push back hard on that reasoning. The appreciation share is the cost you can see, and the FHA-only path carries bigger costs that are easy to overlook. Skipping the assistance means two things. You qualify for a larger loan on your own, which takes noticeably more income to carry. And you pay FHA's annual mortgage insurance for the life of most FHA loans. You would accept both, every month, specifically to avoid sharing appreciation on a home you likely could not have bought without the program in the first place. Run the numbers out and the shared-appreciation structure rarely costs more than the alternative unless you hold the home a very long time and it appreciates dramatically. Even then, you are sharing gains you would never have captured without buying at all. California Dream For All is among the strongest down-payment-assistance structures we have seen. The real catch is getting funded: availability is limited and the rules change from cycle to cycle, so confirm the current terms and eligibility before you count on it. The decision is yours either way, but do not talk yourself out of it on the appreciation-share math alone. We can model the FHA-only path against the assistance path with your numbers on a free Roadmap conversation.