North Carolina first-time home buyer programs: down payment help

The main North Carolina first time home buyer program is the NC Home Advantage Mortgage from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA), the state's housing agency. A participating lender makes the mortgage and can add a down payment loan of up to 3% of it, or $15,000 for first-time buyers and veterans. Keep the home 15 years and you never repay that loan.

How does the NC Home Advantage Mortgage work?

NCHFA doesn't lend to you itself. You apply through a participating lender for one of four kinds of mortgage, and NCHFA's rules come on top of that loan's own rules:

• an FHA loan, insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which needs at least 3.5% down;
• a USDA loan, backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for homes in rural areas, which needs no down payment;
• a VA loan, backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans and service members;
• a conventional loan, the regular kind that no government agency insures.

With an FHA loan, NCHFA's 3% down payment loan pays most of that 3.5%, and you pay the rest. The $15,000 option pays all of it on a home costing up to about $428,000, since 3.5% of $428,000 is about $15,000. NCHFA's program guide, dated July 2026, sets these rules:

• Your home. You buy a home in North Carolina and move in within 60 days of closing, as your main home.
• Income. The income limit, the most you can earn and still qualify, is $158,000 a year anywhere in the state. Only the income of the people on the loan counts. NCHFA sets no price limit of its own beyond the loan type's rules.
• Credit. A credit score of 640 or higher, or 660 for a manufactured home.
• Debts. All your monthly debts, including the new mortgage payment, can be at most 45% of your monthly income.
• Residency. You must be a U.S. citizen or lawfully present in the United States, and meet your lender's rules for your loan type.
• A homebuyer class. If every borrower is a first-time buyer, one of you takes a class before buying. The certificate is good for one year.

You can buy a single-family house, a townhouse, a condominium or a modular home. A duplex works only with an FHA loan, and a manufactured home only with an FHA, VA or USDA loan, on a permanent foundation. Both first-time buyers and people who have owned a home before can get the 3% down payment loan. Ask your lender whether the 3% loan is offered now: NCHFA's rate sheet shows "n/a" when it isn't.

What down payment help does NCHFA offer?

The first two are a second loan on your home, a smaller loan on top of your mortgage, with no interest, and you make no monthly payments on them. NCHFA forgives 20% of the loan at the end of each year from year 11 to year 15, so it is fully forgiven at the end of year 15. You repay only the part not yet forgiven, and only if you sell, refinance or transfer the home before then, or break the loan's terms.

To refinance means to replace your mortgage with a new one, and to transfer means to sell or give the home to someone else. Some refinances let you keep the down payment loan, so ask your lender before you refinance.

A worked example. Say your mortgage is $300,000, so the 3% down payment loan is $9,000. Nothing is forgiven in the first 10 years. If you sell in year 13, after the end of year 12, 40% has been forgiven and you repay $5,400. If you stay past the end of year 15 and keep to the loan's terms, you repay nothing.

Who can get the $15,000 option?

The $15,000 option is for first-time buyers, meaning people who haven't owned the home they lived in during the past three years. Veterans can get it too, and so can anyone buying in a targeted census tract.

A targeted census tract is one of two kinds of area. One is a neighborhood where at least 70% of families earn 80% or less of the state's median family income. The other is an area of long-term economic hardship that the state names and the federal government approves. In both, federal tax rules give buyers easier terms on state agency loans like this one. You don't have to be a first-time buyer, and the rules allow higher income and price limits. Look up the address on NCHFA's county census tract page, and ask your lender which limits apply.

The $15,000 option also has income limits that depend on your county and household size. Here, income counts everyone who will own the home, plus a spouse. For mortgages whose interest rate the lender locked in on or after June 15, 2026, NCHFA's limits file shows:

Across all counties, the limits run from $101,000 to $137,000 for one or two people and from $116,000 to $158,000 for three or more. The same file sets a $525,000 limit on the home's price in every county. Ask a participating lender to confirm the price limit for your loan.

What are the community loan programs?

NCHFA's Community Home Buying Programs are for buyers whose household earns under 80% of the county's area median income. That is the middle income in the county: half of households earn more and half earn less.

The Community Partners Loan Pool lends up to 25% of the price, or $50,000 if that is less, with no interest. It must be paired with an NC Home Advantage Mortgage or a USDA direct loan, and you apply through a local organization that is a member of the pool.

The Self-Help Loan Pool works with local Habitat for Humanity groups to lend with no interest on a Habitat home. You help build or repair the home you buy.

Both require six hours of homebuyer classes plus two hours of one-on-one, in-person counseling from a counselor approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's counselor search finds approved counselors near you.

How do you avoid grant scams?

The Federal Trade Commission says government agencies don't contact you out of the blue about grants, and never ask you to pay to get one. Start from NCHFA's own website, and get advice from an approved housing counselor rather than from someone who calls or messages you first.

How do you apply, step by step?

1. Find a participating lender on NCHFA's lender list. Ask which mortgage and which down payment loan fit you.
2. Take the homebuyer class if every borrower is a first-time buyer, and keep the certificate.
3. Check your county's limits for the $15,000 option in NCHFA's limits file, and look up the address on the census tract page.
4. Ask about the community loans through a member organization if your household earns under 80% of the county median income.
5. Look for homes you may qualify for. The qualify check shows which open homes fit your household's income. Our North Carolina page and listings show homes for sale you can apply for now.

To compare the loan types, read our guides to USDA home loan requirements and FHA loan requirements. Our guide to first-time home buyer programs covers help available in every state.