First Time Home Buyer Programs By State

Run by the State of Maryland

1st Time Advantage Direct

The best interest rate Maryland offers — but no down payment help attached. This is the one to ask about if your down payment is already covered, or you’re bringing help from somewhere else.

Go straight to the source → Find an approved lender on Maryland DHCD’s official site —
or call 301-429-7852
What you get
The lowest rate
Rate discount
When you repay it
Nothing to repay
No second loan here — just your mortgage.
Credit score
Your lender decides
Maryland doesn’t publish one. We asked — answer coming.
Income limit
Varies by county
See Maryland’s limits →
First-time buyer?
3+ years, no home
Veterans using their exemption may be exempt.
Last checked
July 11, 2026
Next check August 10, 2026. We do this every month.
What it actually costs you ▼
Nothing extra. This is a plain mortgage at a good rate. The trade-off is what you give up: taking Direct means no state down payment help, and you can’t use Maryland’s HomeCredit tax certificate either.
Who qualifies ▼

Rules just for this program:

  • No state down payment assistance — that’s the whole point of this one
  • You can bring outside down payment help (employer, nonprofit, local government)

Maryland’s standard rules apply to this program — the 3-year rule, primary residence, an approved homebuyer class, county income limits, and the cash-on-hand cap.

See all of Maryland’s standard rules →

Watch out for ▼
  • You’re trading help for rate. If you don’t already have your down payment, one of the other three programs is almost certainly worth more to you than the rate savings here.
  • Ask your lender to run both. Direct vs. HomeCredit is a real math question, and the answer changes with your income and how long you’ll stay.
What it stacks with ▼
  • Stacks with: outside down payment help from an employer, nonprofit, or local government.
  • Does NOT stack with the Maryland HomeCredit tax certificate. You have to pick one.
How to apply ▼
You don’t apply to the state directly. You go through a Maryland-approved lender, and they handle it. Maryland keeps a searchable directory of every approved lender.

Take your homebuyer education class early — it’s required, and it can hold up your closing if you leave it to the end.

Find an approved lender → Call Maryland: 301-429-7852
Where this came from ▼
Every fact on this page was read off the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development‘s own page on July 11, 2026 by a human. Not scraped, not copied from another site.

Official page: mmp.maryland.gov
Phone: 301-429-7852
Checked again: August 10, 2026, and every month after that.

← Back to all Maryland programs

Want us to do the legwork for you?

Programs change and funding runs out. We watch this one every month.

The honest fine print

Everything on this page came from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s own pages at mmp.maryland.gov, read by a human on July 11, 2026. Every program links back to its source so you can check us. We’re not a government agency, we’re not a lender, and we’re not affiliated with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.

Programs change and funding runs out. If one ever expires or pauses, we’ll say so right here rather than quietly deleting it.

This is information, not advice. Talk to a state-approved lender before making decisions about a mortgage.

Found something out of date? Tell us — genuinely. We’d rather hear it from you than leave it wrong.