Originating & Underwriting

Knocking down barriers for first-time homebuyers

With $5,000 down payment or closing cost assistance and free homeownership education, HomeReady® First lowers barriers for creditworthy first-time homebuyers. Borrowers may also receive additional benefits such as a title insurance credit, appraisal reimbursement and one-year home warranty reimbursement.

To qualify for HomeReady First, a borrower must:

  • Be a first-time homebuyer
  • Currently reside within certain census tracts in eligible metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs)
    (Homebuyers do not have to purchase within the census tract or MSA where they currently reside)

Disclaimer: Fannie Mae is not a lender and does not make credit decisions. Participating lenders determine borrower eligibility for HomeReady First. Each lender is responsible for ensuring their activities comply with the law.

Borrower benefits

$5,000 in down payment or closing cost assistance

for qualifying first-time homebuyers in select markets.

$500 appraisal reimbursement

Fannie Mae will provide an appraisal credit.
(Not applicable to HomePath properties or where appraisal is waived)

One-year home warranty reimbursement

for borrowers who purchase a home warranty. Not all lenders offer this benefit.

Up to $1,000 title insurance credit

when purchasing a Fannie Mae REO property.
(Unless already paid for by Fannie Mae)

Disclaimer: The lender must provide the borrower $5,000 towards down payment and closing costs. The lender must credit the borrower $500 if an appraisal was completed and/or the $1,000 title insurance amount on REO properties when the borrower does not select to use a Fannie Mae preferred title vendor. Fannie Mae reimburses the lender upon delivery. The lender is also responsible for funding up to the cost of a one-year home warranty if the borrower purchases a home warranty.

In addition, HomeReady First allows for:

  • Flexible income limits
  • No location restrictions on where homebuyers purchase their home
  • Acceptance of non-traditional credit history
  • Access to HomeView®, Fannie Mae's free homeownership education course

Participating MSAs

Borrowers must reside in an eligible census tract within the MSAs listed below:

  1. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
  2. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
  3. Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
  4. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
  5. Cleveland, OH
  6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
  7. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
  8. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
  9. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
  10. Memphis, TN-MS-AR
  11. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
  12. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
  13. Oklahoma City, OK
  14. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
  15. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
  16. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
  17. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
  18. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
  19. St. Louis, MO-IL
  20. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
  21. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
  1. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
  2. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
  3. Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
  4. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
  5. Cleveland, OH
  6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
  7. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
  8. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
  9. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
  10. Memphis, TN-MS-AR
  11. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
  1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
  2. Oklahoma City, OK
  3. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
  4. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
  5. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
  6. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
  7. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
  8. St. Louis, MO-IL
  9. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
  10. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Find participating HomeReady First lenders

Disclaimer: All eligibility criteria and requirements are subject to the formal terms and conditions of the Fannie Mae Selling Guide and Desktop Underwriter® (DU®).

 

Check Eligibility of a Borrower’s Address

Use the interactive map to quickly look up a HomeReady First borrower's eligibility by address.

Enter the homebuyer's current home address and search for this result in the Special Focus Area(s) section: "HomeReady First." If it does not appear, the borrower's address is not within an eligible census tract.

Go to AMI Lookup Tool

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Disclaimer: Each lender must determine borrower and loan eligibility in accordance with the Selling Guide and its Lender Contract. DU will determine the eligibility of a borrower’s address for a HomeReady First loan. The AMI Lookup Tool provides only a quick, preliminary indication of address eligibility.

Additional resources