Are you thinking of buying your first home in New Mexico? Would you like a free gift of money to help you purchase that first home? Unfortunately, the state of New Mexico does not directly provide free grant money for its residents who are first time home buyers and need help with the down payment and closing costs as some other states do. However, there is still Federal Grant money available as well as grants from private foundations. This is free money that shouldn’t be passed up! The grant awards can be in the thousands of dollars. It will be well worth your time to educate yourself about the grant programs that are available to New Mexico residents.
Often, the biggest obstacle to owning a home is coming up with the down payment. MFA programs can help you get into a home with very little down. See which ones you qualify for. For complete program details, please visit this page.
Helping Hand
Helping Hand offers an $8,000 loan at 0 percent interest that can be used for down payment and other costs related to the purchase, including pre-paids. Depending on the type of mortgage loan, the program may also help reduce the monthly mortgage payments through an interest rate buy down.
The loan is a soft second that does not need to be paid back until the property is sold, refinanced, or transferred.
Mortgage Booster
MFA’s Mortgage Booster program is a second mortgage product that provides down payment and closing cost assistance to borrowers who qualify for MFA’s Mortgage$aver loan. Mortgage Booster can be used with Mortgage$aver Xtra (1+1) Mortgage$aver (1+1) or Mortgage$aver Zero (0+0) first mortgage product.
Payment Saver
Payment$aver is designed to work as a 0 percent, second mortgage loan in combination with a below-market interest rate first mortgage loan to cover up-front costs, excluding pre-paids. Depending on the type of mortgage loan, Payment$aver may also help reduce monthly mortgage payments through an interest rate buy-down.
Here is the information to contact Housing New Mexico:
The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority
344 4th Street SW
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 843-6880
Toll-free: (800) 444-6880 (Toll free in New Mexico)
Fax: (505) 243-3289
TTY/Voice: 711
Federal Grants
Besides the state programs, there are federal funds and grants available to the home buyers in New Mexico through the Homes and Communities program of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. On their website you’ll find complete grant information, application forms, description of available funds, as well as many other helpful tools.
Every potential home buyer should investigate what they have to offer. You can visit the website by going here: US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Also, there is a website that has a complete list of all grant programs available through the United States Federal Government: Grants.gov. First time home buyers should plan to spend the required time investigating to determine how many individual grants they may qualify for. You can visit the website by going to Grants.gov and searching for relevant information.
Other Grants in New Mexico
In addition to the grant programs described above, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides home buyer assistance and grants in every state. There are multiple grant programs designed specifically for people that meet certain requirements, such as grants for people with disabilities so they can continue to live independently at home. It is worth visiting HUD’s website to see what assistance is currently available. For your convenience, simply go to this website.
Here is the contact information for the HUD office in New Mexico:
Albuquerque Field Office
500 Gold Avenue SW
7th Floor, Suite 7301
P.O. Box 906
Albuquerque, NM 87103-0906
Phone: (505) 346-6463
Fax: (505) 346-6927
There are also these local programs:
Albuquerque Family Housing Development Program Soft Second Loan (SSL) (505) 768-2836
Albuquerque United South Broadway Corporation Down Payment/Closing Cost Grant Program (505) 764-8867
Las Cruces Home Choice II Program (HCP) (505) 528-1231
Southern New Mexico- Tierra Del Sol Housing Corporation – Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Affordable Housing Program (AHP) (800) 362-2944
