If you’re a first-time homebuyer in Mississippi, you could be eligible for assistance through the Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC). The state housing finance authority can connect you with mortgage programs and down payment assistance that can help with the upfront costs of buying a home, and also has special programs for certain types of borrowers. Here’s a look at what the agency has to offer.

Mississippi first-time homebuyer loan programs

MHC Smart6

Mississippi Home Corporation’s (MHC) Smart6 program offers 30-year mortgages at competitive rates and with lower mortgage insurance premiums. The loan options include Freddie Mac (up to 97 percent financing), FHA, VA and USDA mortgages, which can be combined with down payment assistance funds.

Smart Solution is for first-time and repeat homebuyers buying a home in the state, either a single-family home, condominium, townhome or duplex. Manufactured homes are also allowed with an FHA loan. Other eligibility requirements include a household income of no more than $110,000.

MHC Mortgage Revenue Bond 7

MHC’s Mortgage Revenue Bond 7 (MRB7) program also comes with a competitive interest rate and down payment assistance, but is geared toward first-time homebuyers, veterans or those who are planning on purchasing a home in a specially-designated target area. You’ll need to meet certain criteria, including credit guidelines, which are based on the loan you choose: Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, FHA, VA or USDA.

Like the Smart Solution program, you’ll need to be within income limits, but these differ based on the county. There are also purchase price limits: If the home is in a target area, the limit is $309,000; in a non-target area, it’s $258,000.

Mississippi down payment assistance

Like most first-time homebuyer programs, MHC’s mortgages and down payment assistance are combined together. As long as you meet the qualifying requirements for the first mortgage, you’ll be eligible for the assistance.

MHC Smart Solution Second

If you’re borrowing a mortgage through MHC’s Smart Solution program, you can take advantage of the Smart Solution Second down payment assistance, which offers help up to $6,000 as a second mortgage at zero percent interest.

MHC MRB7 down payment assistance

Through MHC’s MRB7 program, borrowers can receive up to $7,000 in a deferred, zero-interest loan to help cover closing costs and the down payment. This loan is forgivable after 10 years.

MHC Housing Assistance for Teachers

MHC’s Housing Assistance for Teachers (HAT) program offers a grant to eligible teachers, up to $6,000, for the down payment and closing costs. The grant is available to teachers educating in what the state has identified as “critical shortage areas”: Special Education, Mathematics, Foreign Language and Science. The grant will be forgiven so long as the teacher meets the program’s requirements, which include:

• Teaching for at least three years in critical shortage school district
• Buying a home in the county where the district is located

In addition, teachers will need to contribute at least 1 percent of their own funds towards the down payment, and have at least one month’s reserves.