7 First Time Home Buyer Programs in Virginia Worth Knowing Before You Close

Written by Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647 | Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC NMLS #376205

Duane Buziak (NMLS #1110647) is a mortgage broker serving Henrico County, VA through Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC (NMLS #376205), licensed in VA, FL, TN, GA, and DC.

Whether you’re eyeing a townhome near Deep Run Park, a starter ranch in Lakeside, or a newer build in the Twin Hickory corridor, buying your first home in Virginia comes with real financial tools most buyers never hear about. The programs exist at the state, county, and federal level. The problem is that most first-time buyers close without ever knowing they were eligible for grant money, tax credits, or down payment assistance that could have changed the math on their purchase entirely.

That’s not a small oversight. It’s thousands of dollars left on the table because no one walked them through the options before they signed.

This is exactly where working with a local mortgage broker makes a structural difference. As a broker with access to multiple wholesale shelves, Duane Buziak can pair the right loan program with the right assistance layer for your specific situation. A single-shelf direct lender can only offer what’s on their one shelf. That limitation matters when you’re trying to stack a Virginia Housing loan with a down payment grant, or when you need someone who participates in the Mortgage Credit Certificate program.

You can also explore your eligibility through a NoTouch Credit Pull process, meaning you get real answers about which programs you qualify for without a hard inquiry hitting your credit report. No pressure, no score impact, no guesswork.

Here are seven first-time home buyer programs in Virginia worth understanding before you reach the closing table.

1. Virginia Housing Loan Programs — The Statewide First-Time Buyer Foundation

The Challenge It Solves

Most first-time buyers in Henrico County don’t realize that Virginia has a dedicated state housing finance agency specifically designed to help them. Virginia Housing (formerly known as VHDA) administers loan programs with competitive rates and income-based eligibility that conventional retail lenders often don’t promote or even offer. Without knowing this foundation exists, buyers default to whatever their bank happens to offer.

The Strategy Explained

Virginia Housing supports multiple loan types under its first-time buyer umbrella: FHA, VA, conventional, and RHS (Rural Housing Service). Each comes with income limits and purchase price limits that are updated periodically, and each is designed to work within the financial realities of buyers in markets like Henrico County.

The important structural detail: Virginia Housing loans are accessed through approved participating brokers and lenders, not directly from Virginia Housing itself. That means your access to these programs depends entirely on who you work with. A broker with relationships across multiple Virginia Housing-approved wholesale shelves can match you to the right program variant. A single-shelf direct lender may only offer one product from the Virginia Housing menu, or none at all.

For buyers in Glen Allen, Wyndham, or the River Road corridor, this distinction can affect both your rate and your eligibility for layered assistance programs.

Implementation Steps

1. Confirm you meet Virginia Housing’s first-time buyer definition: generally, you must not have owned a primary residence in the past three years. There are exceptions for certain targeted areas and veteran buyers.

2. Review the current income and purchase price limits for the Richmond/Henrico MSA on the Virginia Housing website before assuming you do or don’t qualify.

3. Work with a Virginia Housing-approved participating broker to identify which loan type within the program fits your credit profile, income, and target property.

Pro Tips

Virginia Housing loan programs are the foundation layer, not the full picture. They are most powerful when combined with the down payment assistance grant or the Mortgage Credit Certificate described in the sections below. Ask your broker to run the full program combination before you commit to any single loan structure.

2. Virginia Housing Down Payment Assistance Grant — Real Money, No Repayment Required

The Challenge It Solves

Saving a down payment is the single largest barrier most first-time buyers in Henrico County face. Even a modest Lakeside starter home requires thousands of dollars upfront before you account for closing costs, inspections, or reserves. The Virginia Housing Down Payment Assistance (DPA) grant addresses this directly by providing funds toward your down payment with no repayment obligation when program conditions are met.

The Strategy Explained

Virginia Housing’s DPA grant provides a percentage of the loan amount to help cover down payment costs. Unlike a second mortgage or deferred loan, this is a grant structure, meaning eligible buyers who meet the program conditions are not required to repay it. It is layered on top of a qualifying Virginia Housing first mortgage.

Here’s a worked example using a Henrico-area home price. Suppose you’re purchasing a home in Lakeside at $325,000 with an FHA loan through Virginia Housing. Your required FHA down payment is 3.5%, or $11,375. The Virginia Housing DPA grant can offset a meaningful portion of that amount, reducing the cash you need to bring to closing. Combined with no-out-of-pocket closing options available through lender credit structures, some buyers in this price range close with significantly less cash than they anticipated.

This is a single-layer assistance structure. Program rules do not permit double-stacking multiple grant sources on top of each other.

Below is a comparison of the six primary programs covered in this article to help you see how they interact:

Implementation Steps

1. Confirm you are obtaining a qualifying Virginia Housing first mortgage — the DPA grant is layered on top of it, not standalone.

2. Ask your broker to calculate the exact grant amount based on your loan size and current program percentages, then model what your actual cash-to-close figure looks like after the grant is applied.

3. Verify that no other grant or forgivable second mortgage is being simultaneously applied to the same transaction — program rules prohibit double-stacking.

Pro Tips

The DPA grant is one of the most underutilized tools available to Henrico County first-time buyers. Many buyers assume they won’t qualify without checking the income limits, which are often more generous than expected for the Richmond MSA. Run the numbers before you assume you’re out of range.

3. Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) — A Tax Advantage That Lasts the Life of Your Loan

The Challenge It Solves

Most first-time buyers focus entirely on the upfront costs of buying a home and overlook what happens in the years after closing. The Mortgage Credit Certificate addresses the ongoing cost of homeownership by converting a portion of your annual mortgage interest into a direct federal tax credit, not a deduction. Buyers in higher price ranges, including those shopping in Wyndham and Short Pump, often skip this step because their direct lender doesn’t participate in the MCC program at all.

The Strategy Explained

An MCC is issued by Virginia Housing to eligible first-time buyers at the time of loan closing. It allows you to claim a percentage of the mortgage interest you pay each year as a direct credit against your federal income tax liability. A tax credit reduces your tax bill dollar-for-dollar, which is meaningfully more valuable than a deduction that only reduces taxable income.

The MCC must be obtained before closing. It cannot be added retroactively. This is a detail that catches buyers off guard when they’re working with a lender who doesn’t offer the program.

There’s also an underwriting benefit. Because the MCC reduces your effective monthly tax liability, some lenders can factor the annual credit into your debt-to-income ratio calculation, which can increase your qualifying buying power. For buyers in Twin Hickory or the Glen Allen corridor who are stretching toward a higher purchase price, this can be a meaningful edge.

According to the IRS Publication 530, buyers who receive an MCC must reduce their mortgage interest deduction by the amount of the credit claimed, so working with a tax professional alongside your broker is advisable.

Implementation Steps

1. Confirm your broker participates in the Virginia Housing MCC program — not all lenders do, and a single-shelf direct lender may not have access.

2. Apply for the MCC simultaneously with your Virginia Housing first mortgage application, since it must be issued at or before closing.

3. Provide your MCC documentation to your tax preparer each year you claim the credit to ensure proper filing.

Pro Tips

The MCC is particularly valuable if you plan to stay in your home for several years. The longer you hold the loan, the more cumulative tax credit you accumulate over its life. For buyers who expect to be in their Henrico County home long-term, this is one of the highest-value programs available and one of the least discussed.

4. FHA Loans in Virginia — Lower Down Payment, More Credit Flexibility

The Challenge It Solves

Not every first-time buyer in Henrico County arrives at the process with a 700+ credit score and two years of clean financial history. Life happens. FHA loans exist specifically to provide a viable path to homeownership for buyers who have the income and stability to carry a mortgage but whose credit profile doesn’t meet conventional loan thresholds. For buyers in Lakeside, Tuckahoe, and along the River Road corridor, FHA is often the most practical starting point.

The Strategy Explained

Per standard HUD guidelines, FHA loans require 3.5% down at a 580 or higher credit score, and 10% down for scores between 500 and 579. These thresholds make FHA accessible to buyers who are rebuilding credit or who have limited savings history.

For the Richmond/Henrico MSA, the 2026 FHA loan limits determine the maximum purchase price eligible for FHA financing. Buyers should verify current limits directly with their broker, as these figures are updated annually by HUD and affect what’s possible in different Henrico neighborhoods.

FHA loans can be paired with Virginia Housing’s DPA grant for eligible buyers, which addresses the down payment requirement directly. The important cost reality to budget for: FHA loans carry Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) charges, both upfront and annual. The upfront MIP is typically 1.75% of the loan amount, and the annual MIP is paid monthly as part of your mortgage payment. This cost doesn’t disappear automatically when you reach 20% equity the way conventional PMI can, so buyers should understand the long-term cost structure before choosing FHA over a conventional alternative.

Implementation Steps

1. Pull your credit scores through a soft-pull process before applying, so you know which FHA tier you fall into and what down payment percentage applies to your situation.

2. Ask your broker to model both the FHA path and a conventional path side by side, including the MIP cost over time, so you can make an informed decision rather than defaulting to FHA without comparison.

3. If pairing with Virginia Housing DPA, confirm that the combined program structure is properly underwritten — your broker should run this scenario before you’re under contract on a property.

Pro Tips

FHA is a tool, not a permanent label. Some buyers use FHA to get into a Henrico home when they couldn’t qualify for conventional, then refinance into a conventional loan once their equity and credit profile improve. Ask your broker to model the timeline for that transition so you understand the full picture from day one.

5. VA Loans for Virginia’s Military Buyers — No Down Payment, No PMI

The Challenge It Solves

Veterans, active-duty service members, and eligible surviving spouses often don’t realize how powerful their VA loan benefit is until they’re already in contract on a home and scrambling to figure out financing. Henrico County has a meaningful veteran buyer population, particularly given the presence of Defense Supply Center Richmond. Leaving VA loan benefits unused in favor of a conventional or FHA loan is one of the most common and costly oversights in this buyer segment.

The Strategy Explained

VA loans offer no down payment requirement, no private mortgage insurance, and access to competitive wholesale rates. For an eligible buyer purchasing in Wyndham or Short Pump, the absence of PMI alone can represent hundreds of dollars per month in savings compared to a low-down-payment conventional loan.

To use a VA loan, buyers must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), which documents their entitlement. The COE can be requested through the VA’s official application process or through your broker, who can often pull it directly through the automated system during the loan application.

The VA funding fee applies to most VA loans and varies based on down payment amount, loan type, and whether it’s a first or subsequent use of the benefit. Certain veterans with service-connected disabilities are exempt from the funding fee entirely.

Under current 2026 entitlement rules, there is no cap on the VA loan amount for buyers with full entitlement, meaning eligible buyers are not limited by a county loan ceiling in the way FHA borrowers are. On VA cash-out refinances, borrowers can access up to 100% LTV.

Implementation Steps

1. Obtain your Certificate of Eligibility before you begin shopping for a home, so your financing is confirmed and you can make competitive offers without delays.

2. Ask your broker to confirm your funding fee exemption status if you have a service-connected disability rating — this is a detail that can save you thousands and is sometimes missed.

3. Compare VA wholesale rates across multiple lenders through your broker rather than accepting the first rate offered by a single-shelf direct lender.

Pro Tips

VA loans are one of the strongest financing tools available in the Henrico market. If you’re eligible, the conversation about which program to use should start here, not end here. A broker who works with multiple VA-approved wholesale lenders can find rate and cost combinations that a single-shelf lender structurally cannot access.

6. USDA Rural Development Loans — A Henrico-Adjacent Option Worth Checking

The Challenge It Solves

Some first-time buyers are flexible about location and willing to consider properties just outside Henrico County’s core neighborhoods. For those buyers, USDA Guaranteed Loans offer a no-down-payment path to homeownership that is frequently overlooked because buyers assume they need to be in a farming community to qualify. The eligibility map tells a different story, and it’s worth checking before you rule it out.

The Strategy Explained

USDA Guaranteed Loans are administered through the USDA Rural Development program and offer 100% financing for income-eligible buyers in designated rural and suburban areas. There is no down payment requirement, and the program carries a guarantee fee structure rather than traditional PMI.

Henrico County proper, including Short Pump and Glen Allen, is largely ineligible for USDA designation due to population density. This is an honest limitation worth stating plainly: if you’re committed to Twin Hickory, Innsbrook, or the River Road corridor, USDA is not your path forward.

However, buyers who are open to adjacent counties, including parts of Hanover, Goochland, or Chesterfield, may find eligible properties within a reasonable distance of Henrico. The USDA eligibility map is the authoritative source and should be checked for any specific property address you’re considering.

Income limits also apply and are based on household size and the area’s median income. A broker can run this check quickly and without a hard credit pull, so there’s no cost to confirming whether USDA is a viable option before you invest time in a property search in a potentially eligible area.

Implementation Steps

1. Use the USDA’s property eligibility map to check any specific address you’re considering in adjacent counties before assuming eligibility or ineligibility.

2. Confirm your household income falls within the program’s limits for the county where the property is located, since limits vary by area and household size.

3. If USDA doesn’t apply to your target area, ask your broker to pivot immediately to the FHA or Virginia Housing program combination that fits your profile, without requiring a new hard credit pull.

Pro Tips

Don’t spend significant time searching for properties in a USDA-eligible area unless you’ve confirmed the address-level eligibility first. The map has nuances, and some areas that appear rural on a standard map are not USDA-designated. A quick broker check saves you from building a search strategy around a program that won’t work for your target property.

7. The NoTouch Pre-Qualification Advantage — Explore Your Options Without Hurting Your Credit

The Challenge It Solves

First-time buyers in Twin Hickory, Dorey Park, and surrounding Henrico neighborhoods often delay starting the mortgage process because they’re worried about what a credit inquiry will do to their score. That hesitation is understandable, but it costs them time and sometimes the opportunity to lock in a rate or make a competitive offer. The NoTouch Credit Pull process removes that barrier entirely.

The Strategy Explained

There are two types of credit inquiries: soft pulls and hard pulls. A soft pull allows a broker to review your credit profile, assess your eligibility for specific programs, and provide a pre-qualification without any impact to your credit score. A hard pull, by contrast, is recorded on your credit report and can temporarily reduce your score. Most single-shelf direct lenders require a hard pull upfront before they’ll tell you anything meaningful about your options.

Duane Buziak’s NoTouch Credit Pull process uses a soft inquiry to give you a real picture of your program eligibility, estimated rate range, and down payment requirements before any hard pull is initiated. You only authorize the hard pull when you’re ready to move forward with a specific loan application.

The CFPB notes that multiple mortgage-related hard inquiries within a short window are typically treated as a single inquiry for scoring purposes, which protects buyers who are rate-shopping. But the NoTouch process goes further by eliminating the hard pull from the exploration phase entirely.

For buyers juggling program eligibility across Virginia Housing, FHA, VA, and USDA options, this means you can have a real conversation about which combination fits your situation before you’re committed to any one path.

Implementation Steps

1. Call Duane Buziak at 804-212-8663 or visit henricomortgage.com/contact-us/ to initiate the NoTouch pre-qualification process.

2. Provide basic income, employment, and asset information so the soft-pull analysis can be run against current program eligibility criteria for Henrico County and adjacent areas.

3. Review your program options, estimated payment ranges, and down payment scenarios before authorizing any hard credit inquiry or committing to a specific loan structure.

Pro Tips

The NoTouch pre-qualification is not a watered-down version of a real pre-qualification. It’s a structurally different workflow that protects your credit while delivering the same quality of program analysis. Use it before you start attending open houses in Lakeside or Tuckahoe, so you walk in knowing exactly what you can afford and which programs apply to your situation.

Your Implementation Roadmap

Here’s how to think through the decision tree before you reach the closing table in Henrico County.

If you are VA-eligible, that conversation starts with the VA loan. No down payment, no PMI, and access to competitive wholesale rates through a broker with multiple VA-approved lender relationships. Confirm your Certificate of Eligibility and check your funding fee exemption status before anything else.

If you don’t have VA eligibility, the next layer is Virginia Housing. An FHA or conventional loan through Virginia Housing, paired with the DPA grant, is the most common combination for first-time buyers in Lakeside, Tuckahoe, and the River Road corridor. Add the Mortgage Credit Certificate before closing and you’ve built a three-layer program structure that reduces your upfront cost and your annual tax liability simultaneously.

If you’re open to properties in Hanover, Goochland, or Chesterfield, run a USDA eligibility check on any specific address before you build your search around it. A broker can confirm this quickly without a hard pull.

All of this analysis happens before a hard credit inquiry through the NoTouch pre-qualification process. That’s the starting point regardless of which program path applies to you.

A Henrico-based broker with access to multiple wholesale shelves can match the right program combination to your specific profile in a way a single-shelf direct lender structurally cannot. The programs exist. The question is whether you have someone in your corner who can access all of them.

Get pre-qualified today and take the first step toward your Henrico County home without impacting your credit. Call Duane Buziak directly at 804-212-8663 or visit henricomortgage.com/contact-us/ to start the conversation.