Buying a Home
Whether this is your first house or your next one, a City First loan officer can explain the steps before you fill out an application.
How a Purchase Usually Moves
1. Picture a Payment
Use the calculators with your own price, cash, and term. The result is a sketch, not a quote.
2. Match a Program to the File
Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo, local down-payment help, and a purchase reverse mortgage solve different problems. A loan officer says which ones you can actually use.
3. Get a Pre-Approval, Then Shop
A pre-approval looks at income, savings, and credit before you have a contract. It is not a promise the loan will close. The home, the appraisal, and the final documents still have to pass review.
Programs People Compare
Start with the situation that sounds like yours. Each page explains the idea. It does not approve a loan.
Conventional
A common loan for buying a home when you can document income, credit, and a down payment.
FHA
A government-insured loan that some buyers use when a conventional loan is not the best fit.
First-Time Buyers
A plain-English path for people buying a home for the first time, or for the first time in a long while.
VA & Military
A home loan benefit for some veterans, service members, and surviving spouses.
USDA & Rural
A loan for some homes outside city centers, when the address and the household fit the program.
Jumbo
A loan for a higher-priced home that is above the usual conforming loan size in that county.
Down Payment Assistance
Local and state programs that may help with the cash you need to buy, when you and the home qualify.
Reverse Mortgage
A loan for people who are 62 or older, and in some cases 55 or older. It can turn equity into payments or a line of credit, or help buy a different home.
A Real Conversation
Ready When You Are.
Talk with a loan officer who is licensed where the home is. Walk through buying, refinancing, or a loan that does not fit a standard file. Start with the directory, or answer a few questions first.