1/7/2016  Wesley - thanks for the post and  creating some good thinking ..... if you are desiring to  purchase a  primary home ....its  likely to not  get any less expensive in the  future ....so if you are waiting for  prices to come down - this might be a long wait .....if  you buy a condo  and  want to use a FHA loan  to minimize the  down payment - be aware that  the condo complex will need to be FHA approved  ( not many are any longer ) ...that being said there are  some conventional loan programs  that allow as little as 3% down . 

By the way, there are programs I think you're aware of where the bank does a 100% loan to the buyer.  

From Marketplace last month:http://www.marketplace.org/2015/12/01/wealth-poverty/long-wait-section-8I am interested to hear if anyone has experience with municipalities that offer better assistance to landlords and rehabbers who intend to rent to tenants in the Section 8 program? 

There are ways to eliminate surfaces that a child could bite such as capping the baseboards with a piece of half round.Since you are in Massachusetts if the home has National Grid or Eversource there are incentives to insulate the home through the Mass Save program.

I have a program for the DFW area, but have nothing for Indy.Mark

As to the original question, TSP is a great program with lots to offer.

@Andrew Wong As far as I know, the bank will require it if they find you are in the flood zone during their underwriting process.Otherwise you can check http://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program-flood-hazard-mappingThe government's mapping shows if your parcel lands in a floodplain.

Are there any lenders who have a credit assistance program or 0% down payment (non military) program we can use.

Fannie Mae has a small multifamily mortgage program that goes to 75% LTV.

I'm also still in school and have ~$10,000 in deferred subsidized student loans, though my new job offers a program that will now begin to pay for my education costs moving forward.