Programs to know about
- FHA — 3.5% down with more flexible credit guidelines, at the cost of mortgage insurance for the life of the loan on most terms.
- Conventional 97 — 3% down for qualified buyers, with removable PMI once you reach 80% loan-to-value.
- State housing-authority bond programs — their own pricing, their own income limits, and their own eligible-property rules.
- Down payment assistance — grants and forgivable second mortgages that cover some or all of the down payment. Terms vary; some are forgiven on a schedule and some are repayable on sale.
- Employer-assisted housing programs, where an employer contributes toward down payment or closing costs.
What counts as a first-time buyer
Most programs define a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence in the past three years. Previous owners who sold more than three years ago frequently still qualify — a point that costs people assistance money because they assume they are disqualified and never ask.
The order to do things in
- Get pre-qualified before you look, so the price range you are shopping is the one you can actually finance.
- Pull your own credit and fix errors early. Score-band changes move pricing more than negotiation does.
- Check assistance programs before you write an offer — several have to be in place at application and cannot be added later.
- Compare total cost, not the rate alone: rate, points, mortgage insurance, and lender fees together over your expected holding period.
The trade-off nobody explains
Assistance money is rarely free. A forgivable second is forgiven on a schedule, so selling early can trigger repayment. A bond loan may carry a recapture tax if you sell inside nine years with a large gain. None of that makes the programs bad — it makes them conditional, and the conditions have to match your actual plans.
Run the numbers before you talk to anyone
Nothing on this page is a quote. The calculators carry the same assumptions block a Loan Estimate does, so what you see there is comparable to what a lender will hand you.
First purchase in Barrington?
Send your target price, down payment, credit range, and household income. You get the programs you qualify for, what each one costs, and what each one obligates you to.
First-Time Buyers in other markets
All 33 markets we publish, not a selected eight.
- Arlington Heights, IL
- Aurora, IL
- Austin, TX
- Bolingbrook, IL
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
- Detroit, MI
- Downers Grove, IL
- Elgin, IL
- Evanston, IL
- Fort Wayne, IN
- Glenview, IL
- Grand Rapids, MI
- Hinsdale, IL
- Houston, TX
- Indianapolis, IN
- Jersey City, NJ
- Joliet, IL
- Wichita, KS
- Naperville, IL
- Newark, NJ
- Northbrook, IL
- Oak Brook, IL
- Overland Park, KS
- Palatine, IL
- Park Ridge, IL
- San Antonio, TX
- Schaumburg, IL
- Skokie, IL
- Kansas City, KS
- Wheaton, IL
- Wilmette, IL
The same city, a different product
Program parameters on this page (down payment minimums, credit thresholds, debt-to-income ceilings) are agency guidelines and change. Nothing here is a rate quote, an offer, or a commitment to lend.