Buying a house is an extraordinary combination of excitement, frustration, fear and hope. If you are a first time home buyer in New Mexico, you are facing a large task. Don’t let the enormity of the decision daunt you though, as there is a lot of help available to you. Online resources can help you browse listings, analyze markets, and put you in touch with housing experts to map a holistic plan for purchasing your first house. To get you started, this detailed breakdown will show you the specific help available to new purchasers in the state of New Mexico.
A first time home buyer in New Mexico has access to four different programs. These programs consist of the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA), New Mexico Affiliates of Habitat for Humanity, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Housing, and Native American Program. Each program is run independently and caters to different needs, so we will break them down separately. Keep in mind that making use of one program does not automatically exclude you from accessing the benefits of the others.
Mortgage Finance Authority
The MFA is largest and most accessible of the available programs. Its services are fairly vast and diverse, so we’ll go over them one-by-one. The first service they offer helps you review your finances and come up with a general plan. The website will walk you through a few calculators to analyze your income and opportunities to help paint a picture of what mortgages you can expect to have offered to you. Most mortgage totals and rates are based heavily on your credit rating, so the MFA’s tools may include a quick check.
If after going through the initial screening you are ready to take the next step, the MFA process will take you through the assistive programs. The three primary plans are the First Home Program, First Down Program, and Next Home Program. As a first time home buyer in New Mexico, you won’t be looking at the Next Home Program.
The First Home Program is designed to offer extremely competitive mortgage rates to qualifying individuals. The criteria range by income, family size, location, and purchasing limits, but in general you can expect the cutoffs to be less than $100,000 a year for any region and the houses cannot exceed $365,000 in total price. Keep in mind that these are absolute upper limits and your conditions may lead to much smaller numbers. Regardless, the MFA will help you determine your qualifications and help you apply for a loan through the program. All mortgages are fixed rate, 30 year loans, and they exclude additional buyer fees like discount charges and origination costs. Partnering with the MFA will help you select a total mortgage package that is best for you.
Help is not limited to mortgage rates though. The First Down Program offers additional assistance aimed at minimizing your down payment. In order to use this program, you must first qualify for the First Home Program, and additional income limitations may apply to this additional plan. Essentially this works as an additional loan that assists you with the down payment and closing costs. You can borrow up to $8,000 with this program, and it is treated as a 30-year loan with a fixed interest of 6.00%. It also does not apply any penalties for early payment.
Aside from these programs, the MFA offers even more help through financial advising and management. Banks approved by the MFA will always offer fixed interest plans with rates you can review before making a commitment. Additional tools can help you calculate costs and plan a detailed budget to make sure you stay within your expectations, living without any fear of defaulted payments.
Habitat for Humanity
The requirements for Habitat for Humanity are much more stringent than the MFA. If you think you might qualify, get in touch with them to see what is available. They work across New Mexico, with current projects in Alamogordo, Albuquerque, Artesia, Carlsbad, Deming, Espanola, Los Alamos, Farmington, Gallup, Hobbs, Las Cruces, Mesilla, Las Vegas, Roswell, Santa Fe, and Taos. Some additional projects may extend farther, so even if you are looking for a new home in an area that isn’t listed, have a chat with a local representative.
Rural Development
New Mexico has more per capita farmland than any other state in the country, so rural housing is still very prevalent. As such, the federal Department of Agriculture offers exclusive aid to individuals looking to move to rural areas. Once again, a group of criteria will be applied to see if you qualify, but if this is an appropriate path for you, then you can look forward to financial assistance on top of competitive loan rates and down payments. The extent of help available varies much more widely with this program, so a simple overview of their offers might feel misleading. Feel free to take a tour of their program for yourself.
Native American Program
The last of the fairly exclusive programs applies specifically to Native Americans. This is a special loan management service that works very similarly to the MFA. Partnering financial groups and institutions offer extremely competitive mortgages that have 100% guarantees, backed by the federal government. Availability will vary by location, but anyone who qualifies will rarely be better served through another offer.
While these primary assistance opportunities are some of the strongest help available to a first time home buyer in New Mexico, there are a few other resources for those who don’t qualify. Financial advising is available to any United States resident through the Department of Housing. You can avoid predatory lending and receive free housing cancelling, helping you to avoid the major pitfalls that become many new homeowners. Be sure you make the most of these official resources and the many other online opportunities. As scary as buying a house can feel, you can tackle the challenge with confidence, backed by the experience of long-time professionals who want to see you settled into your dream home.
2 Point Highlight
Making use of one program does not automatically exclude you from accessing the benefits of the others.
Help is not limited to mortgage rates
