You hear a lot about VA or FHA loans as a great way to buy a home with little or nothing down—and with less income, too. But there’s another option you might not know about. It’s called the Community Home Buyer’s Program. Here’s how it works. The program is a mortgage offered by Fannie Mae and many other lending institutions. Instead of the five to ten percent down payment required in most conventional loans, The Community Home Buyer’s Program requires as little as three percent down. And, much of that down payment can be funded by a relative’s gift, a public agency, even a church or a non-profit organization. The program allows you to carry a bit more debt than most conventional loans. And, closing costs are lower: You only make one mortgage payment in advance, as opposed to two. With Fannie Mae’s program, the first two years’ payments are lower than they’d be with most other loans. You pay only the interest. Your payments increase two percent a year—usually for about 6 years, depending on your interest rate. 

There are some limits. The maximum sale price Fannie Mae finances this way is just over $203,000 in the continental United States. Often, Fannie Mae requires you make no more than the median income in the area you want to buy. But that limit can be waived if you’re buying in certain places—especially urban locations. If you dream of owning your own home but are tight on cash, the Community Home Buyer’s program is a super way to realize that dream. Call a Realtor, a lender or Fannie Mae for more information.