First Time Home Buyer

 Programs in New Mexico

Complete First Time Home Buyer Programs Available in New Mexico.

The state agency created by the legislature in New Mexico to offer first time home buyer programs is the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. Here is a summary of the current first time home buyer programs that are offered:

HERO (Home Equity & Required Occupation)

What does HERO provide?

MFA’s HERO program is a first and a second mortgage product that provides below market interest rates, down payment and closing cost assistance for the purchase of a home.

Who can benefit from hero?

HERO was designed to serve households in which at least one member is a police officer, nurse, teacher, firefighter, an active member of the armed forces.

Mortgage Booster

What does Mortgage Booster provide?

MFA’s Mortgage Booster program is a second mortgage product that provides down payment and closing cost assistance to borrowers who qualify for MFA’s Mortgage$aver loan.

Who can benefit from using Mortgage Booster?

Mortgage Booster is a loan designed to serve low-to-moderate income first-time homebuyers who don’t have adequate resources for a down payment and/or closing costs.

Mortgage$aver

MFA's Mortgage$aver Program offers below-market interest rates and/or closing cost assistance to first-time homebuyers. The program is also available to individ-uals who have not owned a home (including a manufactured home on a permanent foundation) in the last three years. A borrower may qualify for a Mortgage$aver, Mortgage$aver Zero or Mortgage$aver Plus funds based upon household income and family size as well as the sales price of the home.

Payment$aver

Why Payment$aver?

Owning a home is a goal for most families. But often they face obstacles, like saving up enough money to cover initial expenses, and achieving comfortable monthly payments. Payment$aver can help.

The MFA Payment$aver program is available to first-time home buyers, including individuals or families who have not owned and occupied a primary residence for the past three years.

Many loan types are available under the Payment$aver program. These loan types include FHA and VA. Including loans to buyers of homes located on Native American trust lands. The program works well with a variety of conventional loans, such as CHBP Products, GRH guaranteed or leveraged loans.

With Payment$aver, purchasers get a below-market interest rate loan to purchase a house, plus a second loan at zero-percent interest to cover up-front costs (the down payment and other costs related to the purchase). Depending on the type of loan, Payment$aver may also be used to fund temporary interest-rate reduction.

Homeownership (Down Payment Assistance)

Building Trust
MFA has these special programs for Native Americans interested in buying, building, or repairing a home on trust land.

Helping Hand
The Helping Hand program is a statewide program designed to assist first-time homebuyers with disabilities in the purchase of a home.

For complete details on these first time home buyer programs available to New Mexico residents, visit the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority website.

It is highly recommend that you also visit the First Time Home Buyer Grants page for free assistance with the down payment. This will make it possible for many people to qualify for a first time home buyer loan who wouldn't have qualified without the grant assistance.

Best Lender For First Time Home Buyer Loans

Unfortunately, some lenders do not like to work with first time home buyers (due to not having a track record), and prefer instead to only provide mortgages to people who have previously owned a home. If you do not need help with the down payment and are not in need of any state program, but simply want to apply for a mortgage, we recommend  ING DIRECT Orange Mortgage They have great rates, an easy online application, and welcome first time home buyers. Additionally they have not been as severely hurt by the subprime mortgage crisis and are still approving the majority of applications.

Other First Time Home Buyer Programs & Resources