The loan programs, the down payment help that attaches to them, and who counts as a first-time buyer.
Kouzr does not run, fund or process any of these programs, and nothing here is legal, benefits or financial advice. Eligibility is decided by the agency that administers the program, and the figures behind every one of them (income limits, funding, waiting lists) change at least annually, so the agency's own page is the only current source. A HUD-approved housing counselor will go through any of it with you at no charge. See also our note on grant scams.
Almost everything written about first-time buyer help gets the shape wrong, so here it is first. The assistance is not a fund you apply to. It is a feature attached to a mortgage, and you reach it through a lender the state has approved, not through the state. The mortgage comes first and everything else is bolted onto it, which is why this page lists the loan programs before the money.
The second thing worth knowing early is that "first-time buyer" is a legal term of art rather than a description. Most programs use the federal definition: somebody who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years. A person who owned a home a decade ago is a first-time buyer again. And several Nevada programs drop the requirement entirely, so being a repeat buyer does not put you outside this page.
The third is that "grant" is doing a lot of work in most headlines. Real grants exist. So do forgivable second mortgages, which become grants only if you stay long enough, and deferred loans, which are repaid when you sell. They are all marketed with the same word, and the difference only shows up when you move.
The loan programs the help attaches to
Pick the loan first. Each of these is a mortgage from an ordinary lender with a federal agency standing behind it, which is what lets the lender relax the down payment, the credit history, or both.
Federal · Loan
FHA-insured mortgage
Federal Housing Administration, part of HUD
Government insurance on an ordinary mortgage from an ordinary lender, which lets the lender accept a smaller down payment and a rougher credit history than it otherwise would.
Who it is for: Buyers whose down payment or credit history rules out a conventional loan. It is not restricted to first-time buyers, despite how often it is described that way.
In Nevada: Used heavily in Clark County, and the loan most Nevada down payment assistance is written to sit on top of.
A VA guarantee that lets a lender write a mortgage with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance, which is the strongest purchase benefit any of these programs carries.
Who it is for: Eligible veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and some surviving spouses. Eligibility is proved with a Certificate of Eligibility from the VA.
A mortgage made by the government itself rather than by a bank, with a subsidy that reduces the payment for as long as the household income stays low enough to qualify for it.
Who it is for: Low and very low income households buying in an area USDA classes as rural, which is a mapped definition and not a judgement about how rural a place feels.
In Nevada: The Las Vegas valley is outside the eligible area. Much of the rest of Nevada is inside it, so this is a program for a buyer looking beyond the metro.
A HUD loan guarantee written for Native American and Alaska Native borrowers, usable on and off tribal land, for a purchase, a rehabilitation or a refinance.
Who it is for: Members of federally recognized tribes, Alaska Native villages, and tribally designated housing entities.
One FHA mortgage that covers both the purchase price and the cost of the repairs, so a home that will not pass an ordinary appraisal can still be bought and fixed.
Who it is for: Buyers of a home needing work, and owners refinancing to pay for it. It is also the route to financing accessibility work into the purchase itself.
Then the money that sits on top. State programs come first because they are the largest source, and the local ones after, because a city program only covers addresses inside that city.
Nevada · Grant or discount
Home Is Possible
Nevada Housing Division
Nevada's own homebuyer program: a fixed rate first mortgage from a participating lender with down payment and closing cost help attached to it.
Who it is for: Buyers within the program's income and credit limits, buying a primary residence in Nevada. It has variants aimed at veterans, teachers and other groups, and not all of them require you to be a first-time buyer.
In Nevada: The state program most Clark County buyers mean when they ask about a Nevada grant. You reach it through a participating lender, never by applying to the state directly.
Down payment and closing cost assistance attached to a fixed rate first mortgage, run by Nevada's rural housing authority.
Who it is for: Buyers inside the areas the authority serves and within its income limits. It carries no first-time buyer requirement.
In Nevada: Its territory is Nevada outside the largest urban cores, so it is the counterpart to Home Is Possible rather than a competitor for the same buyer.
A certificate that converts part of the mortgage interest paid each year into a direct federal tax credit, for as long as the home is lived in and the loan is held.
Who it is for: Buyers within the program's income and purchase price limits. A certificate has to be applied for through a participating lender before closing, and cannot be added afterwards.
In Nevada: Issued by the state, claimed on a federal return. The before-closing rule is the one people find out about too late.
A large discount off the list price of a HUD-owned home in a designated revitalization area, taken as a silent second mortgage that is forgiven if you live there for the required period.
Who it is for: Full-time law enforcement officers, pre-K through 12 teachers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians who serve the area the home is in.
In Nevada: Supply is the constraint everywhere: the homes are whatever HUD happens to hold in a listed area, and listings run for a short window.
The city's own housing page, covering the assistance and rehabilitation programs it runs inside the city limits.
Who it is for: Residents of the City of Las Vegas, which is a smaller area than the Las Vegas valley: much of the metro is unincorporated Clark County or Henderson.
In Nevada: Check which jurisdiction an address is actually in before applying. The city, the county and Henderson run separate programs.
Habitat for Humanity International, through local affiliates
Homes built or rehabilitated with volunteer labour and sold to the family who helped build them, on a mortgage the affiliate holds and sizes to what the household can pay.
Who it is for: Households within the local affiliate's income band who are willing to put in the required hours. Each affiliate sets its own criteria and its own intake schedule.
In Nevada: Affiliates cover the Las Vegas area. Intake opens in windows rather than continuously, so the thing to find out is when the next one is.
HUD's own index of the homebuying help available in one state, which is the reliable way to find a state housing finance agency without going through an aggregator.
Who it is for: Anyone buying outside Nevada, or checking what a second state offers before moving.
In Nevada: The Nevada page collects the state agency, the public housing authorities and the HUD field office in one place.
There is a sequence that saves people a lot of wasted effort, and it is not the one most buyers use. Most people start by looking at homes.
Talk to a HUD-approved housing counselor before anything else. Free, no income test, and they will tell you which of the programs above your household actually fits. Several state programs also require a homebuyer education course, and the counseling agency is where you take it, so this step often turns out to have been mandatory anyway.
Find out what the assistance in your state is, and get the list of participating lenders from the agency itself. In Nevada that is Home Is Possible, or Home At Last outside the urban core.
Get pre-approved by a lender on that list, not by the first lender you find. A lender who is not on the list cannot attach the assistance, however good the rate looks.
Ask the lender to price the loan both ways: with the assistance and without it. The assistance is usually funded by a slightly higher rate, and which one wins depends on how long you stay.
Apply for the mortgage credit certificate before closing if your state offers one and you qualify. It cannot be added afterwards, and this is the step people find out about too late.
Then look at homes, knowing the number and knowing that the programs have price caps as well as income caps.
In Nevada
Nevada is better supplied than most states here. The Nevada Housing Division runs Home Is Possible, which pairs a fixed rate first mortgage with down payment and closing cost help and has variants aimed at veterans, teachers and other groups. Nevada Rural Housing runs Home At Last on the same pattern outside the largest urban areas. Both are reached through participating lenders, both work on top of FHA, VA, USDA and conventional loans, and neither takes applications from buyers directly.
Two local details that change the answer. The Las Vegas valley is outside USDA's eligible area, so the zero-down USDA route is for buyers looking at the rest of the state. And the valley is several separate jurisdictions, so before applying to a City of Las Vegas program, check that the address is actually inside the city rather than in unincorporated Clark County or Henderson.
Usually somebody who has not owned a primary residence in the past three years, which is the federal definition most programs borrow. That means a previous owner becomes a first-time buyer again after a gap, and it is why the label is a poor guide to what you qualify for. Several programs, including some of Nevada's, carry no first-time requirement at all.
Are first-time home buyer grants real money, or a loan in disguise?
Both exist under the same heading. Some assistance is a true grant that is never repaid. Some is a forgivable second mortgage that disappears only if you stay in the home for a set number of years. Some is a deferred loan repaid in full when you sell or refinance. Ask which of the three any specific offer is before you accept it, because they behave completely differently if you move early.
How do I apply for a state down payment program?
Through a participating lender, not through the state. State housing finance agencies do not take applications from buyers directly. They approve a list of lenders, and you apply for the mortgage with one of those lenders, who attaches the assistance to it. A lender who has not heard of the program is a lender who is not on the list.
Can I use down payment assistance with an FHA or VA loan?
Usually yes, and that is the normal arrangement rather than an exception. Most state and local assistance is written to sit on top of a government-backed first mortgage. The combination that is not allowed is stacking two assistance programs that each forbid the other, which the lender checks.
Do I need a perfect credit score?
No, but the score sets the price. Government-backed loans are built to accept lower scores than conventional lending does, and VA and USDA set no program minimum at all, though lenders add their own. A state assistance program usually does set a floor, because it is buying a share of the risk.
Is the mortgage credit certificate worth applying for?
It has to be applied for before closing and cannot be added afterwards, which is the only part that is urgent. It converts part of each year's mortgage interest into a direct federal tax credit for as long as you hold the loan and live there, so its value depends on your tax position. A lender on the state's list can model it against your file.
What does the assistance actually cost me?
Often a slightly higher interest rate on the first mortgage, because that is how the agency funds the assistance. Over a long tenure, a higher rate can outweigh help with the down payment; over a short one it rarely does. The comparison worth running is the assistance against the same lender's rate without it, on the years you expect to stay.