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First-Time Buyer Program Comparison

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Three assistance programs lined up side by side, with each one's income, purchase-price, and credit-score limits checked against your own numbers — plus a stacking column for which can be combined and a source row for where every limit came from.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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Read-only preview of the First-Time Buyer worksheet



First-Time Buyer Program Comparison
Most first-time-buyer tools check one program at a time. This one lines up three side by side. Enter your own numbers once in Part 1, then fill in each program's published limits from its official state housing agency page — the Qualify? row compares them for you. Program limits change, sometimes mo…

	Program 1	Program 2	Program 3	Notes
Part 1 — Your numbers (enter once)
Household income (annual)	95000			Gross, before tax — most programs use gross household income including a co-borrower.
Household size	3			Several programs set a higher income limit for 3+ person households.
Target purchase price	320000
Credit score (middle of three)	720			Lenders pull all three bureaus and use the middle score, not the average and not the best.
County you're buying in	Travis			Limits are frequently county-specific. A statewide figure is often the lowest tier, not the one that applies to you.

Part 2 — Each program's published limits
Program name	My First Home Program	County Down Payment Assistance
Income limit	97000	105000	0	For your household size and county.
Purchase price limit	380000	400000	0	Also called the acquisition-cost limit.
Minimum credit score	620	640	0	Enter 0 if the program publishes none and defers to the lender.
Assistance amount	8000	5000	0	Grant or second-mortgage amount, if any.
Assistance type	Forgivable 2nd	Deferred 2nd		Grant / forgivable / deferred 2nd / amortizing 2nd — this determines whether you ever pay it back.
Repayment terms	5 years	Sale or refinance		When it comes due: sale, refinance, end of occupancy, or never.

Part 3 — Do you qualify?
Income within limit?	ƒx	ƒx	ƒx
Purchase price within limit?	ƒx	ƒx	ƒx
Credit score meets minimum?	ƒx	ƒx	ƒx
Likely eligible?	ƒx	ƒx	ƒx	"Likely" is the strongest word this worksheet can honestly use. Programs also apply rules this grid does not capture — occupation, first-time-buyer definitions, homebuyer-education requirements, and lender overlays.

Part 4 — Can they be combined?
Can stack with (program #)				Many state agencies pair one first mortgage with one down-payment-assistance second. Two first mortgages never stack. Ask the agency directly rather than assuming.

Part 5 — Where each figure came from
Source URL				Use the state housing finance agency's own page, not a lender's or a blog's summary of it.
Date checked				Limits are revised periodically. A figure more than a few months old is worth re-checking before you rely on it.
Notes / conditions

This grid checks income, purchase price, and credit score, because those are the three limits programs publish as hard numbers. It cannot check the rules that are written in prose — whether your occupation qualifies, how that program defines "first-time buyer" (often "no ownership interest in the la…

Notes

This template is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice.