Homeownership
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Learning Hub: Homeownership & Community Insights
Buying & Selling Process
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What are they?
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Housing Agencies
U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Housing Counseling
Want advice on buying a home, renting, default, foreclosure avoidance, credit issues, or reverse mortgages? HUD sponsors housing counseling agencies nationwide to provide free or low-cost advice. You can search online for a housing counseling agency near you or call HUD’s interactive voice system at (800) 569-4287.
What’s the Cost?
Consumer Fees for Housing Counseling
Foreclosure prevention counseling and homeless counseling services are available free of charge through HUD’s Housing Counseling Program. Housing Counseling agencies participating in HUD’s Housing Counseling Program are not permitted to charge consumers for these specific housing counseling services. Counseling recipients should not pay for these services. However, housing counseling agencies are permitted to charge reasonable and customary fees for other forms of housing counseling and education services, including pre-purchase, reverse mortgage, rental, and non-delinquency post-purchase counseling services, provided certain conditions are met:
Agencies must provide counseling without charge to persons who demonstrate they cannot afford the fees;
Agencies must inform clients of the fee structure in advance of providing services;
Fees must be commensurate with the level of services provided.
TSAHC The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC)
The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) provides grants, mortgage credit certificates, and home loans to first-time home buyers through the following programs:
Homes for Texas Heroes Home Loan Program: for teachers, firefighters and EMS personnel, police and correctional officers, and veterans.
Homes Sweet Texas Home Loan Program: for Texas home buyers with low and moderate incomes.
Habitat homeowners must be active participants in building a better home and future for themselves and their families. Every Habitat home is an investment. For us, it is one answer to a critical need, and we believe that stronger homes will create stronger communities.
- Prospective Habitat homeowners must demonstrate a need for safe, affordable housing. Need will vary from community to community.
- Prospective households are low to moderate income. In the U.S., we serve families whose income is at most 60% of the area median income defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homeowner eligibility and selection occur locally, varying from community to community.
- Once selected, Habitat homeowners must partner with us throughout the process. This partnership includes performing “sweat equity” or helping to build their own home or the homes of others in our homeownership program. Sweat equity can also include taking homeownership classes or volunteering in a Habitat ReStore.
- Homeowners must also be able and willing to pay an affordable mortgage. Habitat makes a reasonable effort to ensure an affordable mortgage does not exceed 30% of the homeowner’s gross monthly income. Mortgage payments are cycled back into the community to help build additional Habitat houses.
Ask Your Mortgage Lender About…
For all loans in 2023, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) discounts first-time home buyer interest rates so homes are more affordable.
To receive the first-time buyer mortgage rate discount, home buyers must:
- Be a first-time home buyer.
- Use any conventional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
- Earn an income at or below the area’s typical household income.
- Eligible buyers get automatic mortgage rate discounts of up to 1.75 percentage points off conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates, which reduces monthly mortgage payments by as much as 20 percent.
Mortgage rate discounts vary among first-time buyers based on credit score, down payment size, property type, and loan program.
HomeReady® is the branded name of Fannie Mae’s 3 percent down, low down payment mortgage loan. It’s an affordable mortgage program for first-time home buyers that’s also available to repeat buyers and existing homeowners for a refinance.
Buyers who use HomeReady to purchase a HomePath property receive a $500 closing cost credit. Buyers can also use the HomePath Ready Buyer program and receive a 3 percent cash contribution toward the mortgage closing costs.
Home Possible® is the branded name of Freddie Mac’s 3 percent down, low down payment mortgage. It’s an affordable mortgage program for first-time home buyers, repeat buyers, and refinancing households.
It offers reduced mortgage rates and costs for low- and moderate-income home buyers. It is available as a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate loan.
Home Possible requires a 660 minimum FICO score and shines as a low-down-payment mortgage for multi-generational households.
Home Possible® is the branded name of Freddie Mac’s 3 percent down, low down payment mortgage. It’s an affordable mortgage program for first-time home buyers, repeat buyers, and refinancing households.
It offers reduced mortgage rates and costs for low- and moderate-income home buyers. It is available as a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate loan.
Home Possible requires a 660 minimum FICO score and shines as a low-down-payment mortgage for multi-generational households.
Conventional 97 is the generic name for Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s three percent down, 30-year fixed rate mortgage loan for first-time home buyers.
This is the 3-percent down conventional mortgage for home buyers who earn too much income to qualify for HomeReady or Home Possible. Conventional 97 is a catch-all, low-down payment mortgage for single-family homes. It requires a 620 FICO score and is available only as a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.
The FHA mortgage is a 3.5-percent downpayment mortgage loan for residential properties. It’s backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and requires a 580 FICO score. However, the FHA makes credit score exceptions for buyers with credit scores as low as 500 and buyers with no credit history whatsoever.
The FHA mortgage program is the most inclusive low-down payment program. It’s excellent for multi-unit properties, too.
The USDA mortgage is a 100% mortgage backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for homes in non-urban communities, which covers 91 percent of the United States land mass.
USDA mortgages allow 100% financing for buyers with a minimum 580 credit score. USDA mortgage rates are often the lowest of all the low-down-payment mortgage loans.
The VA mortgage is a 100% mortgage backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It’s available to active-duty military members, veterans of the armed services, and surviving spouses.
VA loans require a minimum 620 credit score and never need mortgage insurance. Eligible buyers can use VA loans to purchase residential, 1-4 unit properties in all 50 states and U.S. territories.