First-time home buyer programs and who counts as first-time
Answer "first-time buyer?" yes or no in the calculator: programs reserved to first-time buyers drop out or stay, with the reason.
Help you may get in Fulton County
$10,000
Georgia Dream Homeownership Program: deferred loan, repaid when you sell or refinance. 0 programs likely fit, 1 to check.
| Your income vs. area median for 2 people | 87% |
| HUD 80% income limit, 2 people | $75,400 |
| Down payment at 3.5% | $11,200 |
| Cash still needed with the help | $1,200 |
| Monthly payment, no help | $2,138 |
| Monthly payment, with the help | $2,138 |
| FHA limit · conforming limit | $718,750 · $832,750 |
Programs read on the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Georgia Dream pages; HUD FY 2026 limits; payment = principal and interest over 30 years at 7.4% (Freddie Mac, October 15, 2026). The approved lender confirms eligibility.
| Program | Fit | Amount | Form | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Dream Homeownership Program | Check with the agency | $10,000 | Deferred loan, repaid when you sell or refinance | county income limit not transcribed: see the agency table; price limit by county: see the agency table |
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · updated: HUD 2026 limits effective May 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac rate of October 15, 2026 · programs read on October 21, 2026
For almost every state housing finance agency, a first-time home buyer is someone who has not owned their principal residence during the last three years, the definition of the federal mortgage revenue bond rules. Owning a rental property, land or a home you never lived in usually does not count against you, and veterans and buyers in federally targeted areas are generally exempt. Of the 39 state programs we read, 18 are reserved to first-time buyers, 10 are open to repeat buyers and 11 follow the rule of the first mortgage they are paired with. In Fulton County, Georgia, a couple earning $82,000 and buying at $320,000 can draw $10,000 from Georgia Dream Homeownership Program as first-time buyers; answer "no" to the first-time question and the calculator finds nothing, because Georgia Dream requires first-time status outside targeted areas.
The three-year rule in practice
The clock looks back from the day you close. If you sold your last home in March 2023, you become a first-time buyer again in March 2026. What counts is an ownership interest in the home you lived in: your name on the deed, alone or with others. A co-signer who never lived in the home is not affected for that home, but lenders look at every borrower on the new loan, so a spouse who owned a home last year can disqualify a couple for a first-time-only program even when the other spouse never owned one.
Agencies verify with three years of federal tax returns: a mortgage interest deduction or a property tax deduction on Schedule A is the usual trigger for questions. If you have not filed, a signed affidavit replaces the returns in most programs.
| State | Program | Who can apply | Agency note (English) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Home Plus Down Payment Assistance | repeat buyers too | |
| Illinois | IHDA Access Forgivable | repeat buyers too | |
| Illinois | IHDA Access Deferred | repeat buyers too | |
| Illinois | IHDA Access Repayable | repeat buyers too | |
| North Carolina | NC Home Advantage Mortgage with 3% DPA | repeat buyers too | first-time or move-up buyers |
| Pennsylvania | PHFA Keystone Advantage Assistance Loan | repeat buyers too | |
| Texas | My Choice Texas Home | repeat buyers too | |
| Virginia | Virginia Housing Plus Second Mortgage | repeat buyers too | |
| Washington | Home Advantage Downpayment Assistance | repeat buyers too | |
| Washington | Home Advantage Needs-Based DPA | repeat buyers too | |
| Colorado | CHFA Down Payment Assistance Grant | follows the first mortgage | depends on the CHFA first mortgage it is paired with |
| Colorado | CHFA Down Payment Assistance Second Mortgage Loan | follows the first mortgage | |
| Florida | Florida Assist (FL Assist) | follows the first mortgage | |
| Florida | HFA Preferred PLUS / HFA Advantage PLUS second mortgage | follows the first mortgage | |
| Michigan | MSHDA MI 10K DPA Loan | follows the first mortgage | paired with the MI Home Loan; first-time buyer rules follow the first mortgage (targeted areas differ) |
| Ohio | Grants for Grads | follows the first mortgage | recent graduates (degree in the last 48 months) |
| Pennsylvania | PHFA K-FIT (Keystone Forgivable in Ten Years) | follows the first mortgage | first-time buyer rules follow the PHFA first mortgage it is paired with (the Keystone Home Loan requires no ownership of a principal residence in the previous three years) |
| Tennessee | THDA Great Choice Plus, deferred option | follows the first mortgage | Great Choice Home Loan: first-time buyers, repeat buyers in some counties, veterans |
| Tennessee | THDA Great Choice Plus, amortizing option | follows the first mortgage | |
| Washington | Covenant Homeownership Program | follows the first mortgage | people (and descendants) who lived in Washington before April 1968 and belonged to groups affected by housing discrimination |
| Washington | Veterans Downpayment Assistance Program | follows the first mortgage | |
| California | MyHome Assistance Program | first-time only | |
| California | California Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan | first-time only | first-generation homebuyers |
| Florida | Hometown Heroes Program | first-time only | full-time workers of a Florida-based employer in listed occupations (health care, school staff, first responders, public safety, court, child care…) |
| Georgia | Georgia Dream Homeownership Program | first-time only | Peach Plus variant has higher limits; Peach Select for veterans |
| Illinois | IHDA Access Home | first-time only | homebuyers and their spouses must be first-time buyers or exempt (eligible veteran, or a home in a targeted area) |
| Maryland | MMP 1st Time Advantage 3%, 4% or 5% | first-time only | or one of the exceptions (qualified veterans, targeted areas) |
| Maryland | MMP 1st Time Advantage 6000 | first-time only | |
| Massachusetts | MassHousing Down Payment Assistance, Option 1 (deferred) | first-time only | income-eligible first-time homebuyer; the approved lender determines the option and amount |
| Massachusetts | MassHousing Down Payment Assistance, Option 2 (2%, 15 years) | first-time only | |
| Massachusetts | MassHousing Down Payment Assistance, Option 3 (3%, 15 years) | first-time only | |
| New Jersey | NJHMFA Down Payment Assistance (with the First-Time Homebuyer Mortgage) | first-time only | no ownership interest in a primary residence during the previous three years; Urban Target Areas and qualified veterans exempt |
| New Jersey | NJHMFA First Generation Down Payment Assistance | first-time only | first-time buyers who are also first-generation buyers (parents or legal guardians own no residential property) |
| New York | SONYMA Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL) | first-time only | used with SONYMA first-mortgage programs (Achieving the Dream, Low Interest Rate, Homes for Veterans…); veterans and targeted areas exempt |
| North Carolina | NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment | first-time only | first-time buyers, qualifying veterans or buyers in Qualified Census Tracts |
| Ohio | OHFA Down Payment Assistance | first-time only | Next Home program for repeat buyers |
| Texas | My First Texas Home | first-time only | also open to qualified veterans and to buyers in targeted areas |
| Virginia | Virginia Housing Down Payment Assistance Grant | first-time only | repeat buyers only in Areas of Economic Opportunity |
| Washington | House Key Opportunity DPA | first-time only |
Exemptions worth checking before you give up
Veterans with an honorable discharge are exempt in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland and most other bond programs. Buying in a targeted area waives the rule in every state that uses bond financing. Several programs never had the rule: North Carolina's Home Advantage, Illinois' Access Forgivable and Access Deferred, Washington's Home Advantage, Arizona's Home Plus, Texas' My Choice Texas Home. If you are a repeat buyer, these are the programs the calculator keeps.
Your minimum down payment
Minimum down payment
$11,200
| FHA: 3.5% | $11,200 |
| Conventional: 3% | $9,600 |
| VA: 0% | $0 |
| USDA: 0% | $0 |
First-time buyer loans are not the same as first-time buyer assistance
FHA loans, Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's 3% down loans and VA loans have no first-time requirement of their own, although some low down payment conventional loans ask that at least one borrower be a first-time buyer. The first-time rule comes from the assistance and from the bond-financed first mortgage that usually goes with it. A buyer who does not qualify for the assistance can still use a 3.5% FHA loan or a 3% conventional loan with their own savings, a gift from family or help from an employer.
Education is part of being a first-time buyer
Almost every program requires a homebuyer education course before closing, usually a few hours online or in a class run by a HUD-approved counseling agency. Some agencies require one-on-one counseling below a credit score: Pennsylvania asks it of borrowers under 680. Book it early: the certificate is often needed before the lender can reserve funds.