One of the most challenging obstacles to buying your first home is saving enough money for the down payment and closing costs. If you do not own a home and therefore must currently be renting, how can you pay rent and save for a down payment at the same time? For many people, it is virtually impossible.
Consider that people who already have their own home have likely experienced a period of substantial appreciation in property values in the past 3 to 4 years. If they need to sell their current home and purchase another, this appreciation can be used for the down payment on their next home. First time home buyers do not have any home value appreciation to benefit from. The federal and state governments recognise these facts and have developed an array of helpful programs.
Many states offer outright cash grants for the down payment and closing costs to first time home buyers who meet certain income qualifications. We’ve organized all this state grant information in an easy to use format. Check out the Grants for all the details.
Besides cash grants, nearly every state has additional programs. These are primarily one variation or another of low-interest mortgage loans, as well as educational seminars. These programs make it possible for the home buyers to afford a mortgage when they would not be able to do so the conventional way. In most cases, the savings in interest costs is in the tens of thousands of dollars. Listed below is complete information on these programs.
Directory of State First Time Home Buyer Programs
Alabama: The state of Alabama offers several programs. For information on what is available, please visit here.
Alaska: The state of Alaska offers several first time home buyer programs. For information on what is available, please visit this page.
Arizona: The state of Arizona offers several home buyer programs. For information on what is available, please go to this page.
Arkansas: The state of Arkansas offers several programs. For information on what is available, please visit here.
California: The state of California offers multiple state as well as local home buyer programs. For information on the program details, please go to this page.
Colorado: The state of Colorado offers only one program, but there are plenty of local programs within the state. For information on its details, please go to Colorado Programs.
Connecticut: The state of Connecticut offers one program, and there are multiple programs offered by various cities in CT. For information on the program details, please visit here.
Delaware: The state of Delaware offers a single buyer program. For information on the program details, please visit this page.
Florida: The state of Florida offers several programs. For information on these programs, please check out Florida Home Buyer Programs.
Georgia: The state of Georgia offers several programs. For details on these programs, please go t0 here.
Hawaii: The state of Hawaii offers one home buyer program, and multiple local programs. For information on the program details, please visit this page.
Idaho: The state of Idaho offers two programs. For details on these programs, please visit Idaho Programs.
Illinois: The state of Illinois offers one program. For information on the program, please go to this page.
Indiana: The state of Indiana offers several programs. For information on these programs, please visit this page.
Iowa: The state of Iowa offers many programs. For information on what is available , please visit here.
Kansas: The state of Kansas offers only one program, but there are other programs available locally. For details of these programs, please go to this link.
Kentucky: The state of Kentucky offers several programs. For information on these programs, please go to this page.
Louisiana: The state of Louisiana offers several programs. For details of these programs, please visit this page.
Maine: The state of Maine offers two programs through the Maine State Housing Authority. For details on these programs, please visit here.
Maryland: The state of Maryland offers several home buyer programs. For details on these programs, please go to this link.
Massachusetts: The state of Massachusetts offers a variety of buyer programs. For information on these programs, please click here.
Michigan: The state of Michigan offers only one first time home buyer program. For details of the program, please click here.
Minnesota: The state of Minnesota offers several programs. For information on these programs, please go to Minnesota Programs’ page.
Mississippi: The state of Mississippi offers a variety of programs. For information on these programs, please visit this page.
Missouri: The state of Missouri offers two programs through the Missouri Housing Development Commission. For details on these programs, please visit this link.
Montana: The state of Montana offers several home buyer programs. For details on these programs, please go to this page.
Nebraska: The state of Nebraska offers several programs through the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority. For information on these programs, please click here.
Nevada: The state of Nevada offers three programs through the Nevada Housing Division. For details, please go to Nevada Programs.
New Hampshire: The state of New Hampshire offers several home buyer programs through New Hampshire Housing. For information on these programs, please go to this link.
New Jersey: The state of New Jersey offers several programs through New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. For information on these programs, please visit the New Jersey Home Buyer Programs webpage.
New Mexico: The state of New Mexico offers several programs. For information on these programs, please visit here.
New York: The state of New York offers a variety of programs through the New York State Housing Finance Agency. For details on these programs, please go to the New York Programs webpage.
North Carolina: The state of North Carolina offers several home buyer programs through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. For information on these programs, please visit the this webpage.
North Dakota: The state of North Dakota offers a multitude of programs through the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency. For details on these programs, please go to this webpage.
Ohio: The state of Ohio offers several programs through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. For information on these programs, please visit this link.
Oklahoma: The state of Oklahoma offers a variety of programs through the Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency. For details on these programs, please click here.
Oregon: The state of Oregon offers several programs through Oregon Housing and Community Service. For information on these programs, please visit the this webpage.
Pennsylvania: The state of Pennsylvania offers several programs through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency. For more details on these programs, please go to this link.
Rhode Island: The state of Rhode Island offers several programs. For information on these programs, please visit the page for details.
South Carolina: The state of South Carolina offers a variety of home buyer programs through the South Carolina Housing Finance and Development Authority. For information on these programs, please visit the webpage.
South Dakota: The state of South Dakota offers two programs through the South Dakota Housing Development Authority. For details on these programs, please visit this page.
Tennessee: The state of Tennessee offers three programs through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. For details on these programs, please go to this webpage.
Texas: The state of Texas offers three programs through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. For details on these programs, please visit Texas Programs.
Utah: The state of Utah offers two home buyer programs through the Utah Housing Corporation. For details on these two first time home buyer programs, please go to the this webpage.
Vermont: The state of Vermont offers twoprograms through the Vermont Housing Finance Agency. For details, please visit here.
Virginia: The state of Virginia offers a variety of programs through the Virginia Housing Development Authority. For information on these programs, please visit the webpage.
Washington: The state of Washington offers several programs through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. For more details on these programs, please go to this page.
West Virginia: The state of West Virginia offers several first time home buyer programs. For more information on these programs, please click here.
Wisconsin: The state of Wisconsin offers several programs through the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. For more information available, please visit the this webpage.
Wyoming: The state of Wyoming offers several programs through the Wyoming Community Development Authority. For more information on these programs, please go to here.