If you’re a firefighter, police officer, teacher, healthcare worker, or active military or veteran in Oregon, there’s a home buying program that puts real money back in your pocket. Not a gimmick. Not a complicated grant application. Just straightforward savings on one of the biggest transactions of your life.

Homes for Heroes is a nationwide network of real estate agents and mortgage lenders who give back to the people who serve our communities by discounting their fees. I’ve been an Oregon Homes for Heroes affiliate for over 12 years. Here’s how it works, who qualifies, and what it saves you in Oregon’s current market.

What Is Homes for Heroes?

Homes for Heroes is a program founded after 9/11 that connects qualifying heroes with a network of real estate professionals – agents, lenders, title companies – who offer reduced fees and cash back at closing. There’s no special loan product and no separate application. Choose the home you want and whatever mortgage is the right one for you. There are no restrictions on property type or location. The savings come from the fees of the affiliated professionals you work with.

The numbers: heroes save an average of $3,000 when they buy or sell a home, and $6,000 if they do both. In May 2025, the average hero saved $3,832 through the program. That’s real money that shows up as a check in your hands 5-7 days after closing.

How the savings break down:

Who Qualifies in Oregon?

Five professions qualify. If you work in one of these fields, active, retired, or in some cases part-time, you likely qualify. The program is broader than many assume.

What Does It Save You in Oregon?

The realtor reward is 0.7% of the home purchase price. Here’s what that looks like across Oregon markets, based on Realtor.com median price data from August 2025:

These figures are the realtor reward only. Lender savings are separate and applied at closing. The combined savings is what gets heroes to that $3,000-$6,000 average range.

How It Works: Step by Step

No separate loan application, no eligibility quiz, no waiting for a government program to approve you.

1. You can do this through me directly. I verify your eligibility and connect you with the program.
2. To receive the full realtor reward, your real estate agent needs to be a Homes for Heroes affiliate. I can refer you to vetted affiliated agents throughout Oregon.
3. Use any mortgage that is right for you – Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, or any other program. The Homes for Heroes savings are separate from your loan program selection.
4. Lender savings are applied at closing. The realtor reward arrives as a check 5-7 days after closing.

The only moving part that catches people off guard: you need both an affiliated realtor and an affiliated lender to get the full benefit. If your agent isn’t a Homes for Heroes affiliate, you leave the realtor reward on the table. Worth knowing before you commit to an agent.

Hero Income and Mortgage Qualification

Homes for Heroes works with any mortgage program. Hero income often comes in a variety of forms – base wages, overtime, shift differential, pension, BAH, 1099 income – and each one qualifies for mortgage purposes in its own way. Knowing how your income is calculated before you start the process puts you in a better position from day one.

Law Enforcement and First Responders

Police officers, firefighters, and other first responders typically earn base wages plus overtime, shift differential, and sometimes secondary employment income. Each component qualifies differently for mortgage purposes. Overtime can be counted if it has a documented two-year history. Shift differential is treated similarly. Secondary employment – security details, private work – requires its own documentation trail.

Oregon PERS pension contributions don’t affect your gross qualifying income; you qualify on what you earn before contributions. If you’re near retirement and transitioning to pension income, advance planning is important. For a deeper look at how law enforcement income and benefits work in a mortgage context, see the Home Buying Guide for Oregon Police Officers and Law Enforcement Professionals.

Military and Veterans

Veterans are the clearest case for combining Homes for Heroes with another program. VA loans offer zero down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, and competitive rates. Combined with Homes for Heroes savings – the realtor reward and lender fee reductions – veterans can close with very little out of pocket and walk away with a check. Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) counts as qualifying income. Military spouses qualify for the program regardless of whether they’re the veteran.

Healthcare Workers

Nurses, physicians, and hospital staff often have shift differential income, overtime, and in some cases 1099 income from locum or travel nursing work. All of these qualify for mortgage purposes with proper documentation. Travel nurses face additional documentation requirements because income may vary by contract. Planning ahead with your lender matters here more than in almost any other profession.

Educators

Teacher income is generally straightforward: documented salary, W-2, predictable. The timing consideration for educators is the academic calendar. Closing during summer or between contracts requires documentation that confirms continued employment for the fall. Worth flagging to your lender early so the documentation is ready when you need it.

Combining Homes for Heroes with Other Oregon Programs

Homes for Heroes savings can be combined with any other program you qualify for. It doesn’t compete with anything.

VA Loans for Veterans and Military

Zero down payment. No monthly mortgage insurance. Competitive rates. Veterans eligible for a VA loan should default to it unless there’s a specific reason not to. Homes for Heroes layers on top. The program doesn’t restrict or reduce VA benefits in any way.

FHA Loans

Heroes earlier in their careers, or those with credit challenges, sometimes do better with FHA than Conventional. FHA’s lower credit score thresholds and higher allowable debt ratios can be the difference between qualifying now versus waiting. Homes for Heroes applies to FHA loans without restriction.

Down Payment Assistance

Oregon has several down payment assistance programs available to qualifying buyers, including heroes. These are offered through state, county, and local agencies and vary by income, purchase price, and location. Homes for Heroes savings apply on top of DPA programs, they don’t compete. If you think you might qualify for down payment assistance, bring that up early in our conversation so we can factor it into your full picture.

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)

Oregon IDA Initiative programs allow qualifying participants to save toward a home purchase and have those savings matched. If you’re in an IDA program or think you might qualify, this can work alongside Homes for Heroes benefits. These programs have enrollment periods and lead time requirements, worth knowing about early.

Where Oregon Heroes Are Buying

Portland Metro

Portland and the surrounding metro – Beaverton, Hillsboro, Gresham, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Tualatin, Tigard – has the largest concentration of affiliated professionals and the widest range of price points. PPB officers, OHSU nurses, Portland Fire and Rescue, and Portland Public Schools teachers are the most common hero profiles I work with in this market.

Bend and Central Oregon

Bend’s median price has climbed significantly and the Homes for Heroes realtor reward at $875,000 median is among the highest in Oregon at ~$6,125. Healthcare workers at St. Charles and heroes relocating to Central Oregon are active in this market. The savings offset is meaningful at these price points.

Eugene and the Willamette Valley

University of Oregon and Lane Community College employees, PeaceHealth nurses, and Eugene Police and Fire make up most of the hero activity in this market. Eugene is one of Oregon’s more affordable larger cities, and the Homes for Heroes savings stretch further at lower price points relative to income.

Salem

State government employees, Oregon State Hospital staff, Salem Police and Fire, and Salem-Keizer School District teachers are all active in this market. Salem tends to be more affordable than Portland and Eugene, with a stable market that suits heroes on predictable public sector salaries.

Rural Oregon

The Homes for Heroes network is less dense in rural areas, but heroes in every corner of Oregon deserve the same access. If you’re looking outside the major metros, contact me. I’ll find the right affiliated professionals closest to you.

Frequently Asked Questions