We specialize in helping First Time Home Buyers in North Carolina who are looking for help with the process of buying their first home.

We also offer some of the Best Mortgage Interest Rates in North Carolina – so we do many mortgages for folks who are NOT buying their first home – but simply want the best mortgage interest rates available!

First Time Home Buyer Programs NC

We offer NCHFA Programs that include Down Payment Assistance, and Mortgage Tax Credits (yes there are still Mortgage Tax Credits available for First Time Home Buyers) – unfortunately, many lenders in NC are not familiar with these programs, and if you are working with a lender who doesn’t offer the MCC program – you could be wasting thousands of dollars!

Five Things First Time Home Buyers in NC should know:

The USDA Home Loan NC program offers no down payment mortgage loans for folks who are interested in living in more rural parts of North Carolina. This loan program has maximum household income requirements, that vary by county.  They also require that the property be located within the USDA Eligible Area Map footprint, and they are looking for credit scores between 620 and 640.  We can off the Mortgage Tax Credits with this program, the USDA PMI fees are much less than FHA Home Loans, and the Seller is allowed to pay for closing costs.

You do NOT need to be a First Time Home Buyer in NC to qualify for the USDA Home Loan – however, it is reserved for owner occupied properties, not for Second Homes or Rental Property.  We only offer USDA Home Loans in NC for folks who are buying “stick built” homes, although the program is open for manufactured homes that are brand new.

Veterans who qualify for their VA Home Loan benefits should DEFINITELY mention this to your loan officer, no matter what size home you are buying, or what your circumstances are.  VA Home Loans are not made by the Veteran’s Administration, however, they guarantee or “Insure” the Bank against foreclosure, so they come with the best mortgage rates, and great terms.  The Veteran must still meet credit and income standards to qualify for a VA Loan.

Veteran’s do not need to make a down payment if they are borrowing less than $417,000.  If you want to purchase a home and borrow more than $417,000 – a VA loan often offers the best rate and terms.

Veteran’s do not need to be a First Time Home Buyer to use your VA Loan benefits!  If you’ve already used your VA Loan benefits to purchase another home – you may still qualify to buy using your benefits again!

FHA Home Loans NC are available in every county.  There are maximum loan amounts, which vary by county – the minimum down payment is only 3.5%.  FHA Home Loans allow for a non-occupying co-borrower, and we often see situations where parents help their children purchase a home while they are in college.  This is also a great mortgage program for Single Parents who need some special considerations because of divorce.

FHA Home Loans carry an upfront charge for FHA PMI and a monthly FHA PMI charge too.  The minimum credit score for those who had a job loss is currently at 580 – and for all others, we can work with credit scores down to 600.

The FHA Loan is the MOST LENIENT program for folks who have had some credit issues, or who have been in college, and have simply not been borrowing money long enough to have an established credit score.

Many of the people we work with have questions about First Time Home Buyer Programs NC and credit scores.  Specifically, first time home buyers want to know the minimum credit score needed for a mortgage – which varies based upon the program you are applying for.  For the best mortgage rates and offerings, we need two credit scores over 640.  However, we do offer low credit score mortgage programs too.

We have tons of information on this site about credit scores, and how to improve your credit scores for a mortgage (over 100 pages).  Unlike many loan officers, we will work with you, and we WANT to help you raise your credit scores so you can buy a house!  We can run a Simulator on your credit file to figure out what items need to be fixed first, and we can let you know if we can do a rapid re-score for items you’ve already resolved so that you can buy sooner!

For more information about First Time Home Buyer Programs NC, please contact Steve and Eleanor Thorne, NC Mortgage Experts 919-649-5058.  You can also connect with us on Facebook , or Google Plus  to keep up to date on any changes to programs and mortgage guidelines for First Time Home Buyers NC.