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.
$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
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
- Brownsville-Harlingen, TX
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- Cleveland-Elyria, OH
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
- Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX
- McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
- Memphis, TN-MS-AR
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
- St. Louis, MO-IL
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
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.
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
HomePath
Place where homebuyers, real estate professionals, and community-service organizations can search and make offers on the current inventory of Fannie Mae owned homes for sale.
HomeView
Comprehensive homebuyer course available in English and Spanish that provides the information consumers need to take the next steps toward homeownership.
Make Rent Count
Making on-time, consistent rent payments can help lenders to qualify a larger pool of home buyers for home loans.
