First Time Home Buyer Programs By State

1st Time Advantage 6000

Run by the State of Maryland

1st Time Advantage 6000

Six thousand dollars toward your down payment and closing costs. Zero interest. And you don’t pay a dime on it until you sell, refinance, or pay the house off — which could be thirty years from now.

Go straight to the source → Find an approved lender on Maryland DHCD’s official site —
or call 301-429-7852
What you get
$6,000
Deferred loan — 0%
When you repay it
When you sell or refi
No monthly payments, ever. Due when your first mortgage ends.
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 up front, and nothing monthly. But it is a loan, not a gift. The $6,000 comes due when your first mortgage ends — when you sell, refinance, or pay it off.

Some sites call this “free money.” It isn’t. It’s a genuinely great deal, and you should know what it actually is.

Who qualifies ▼

Rules just for this program:

  • You must take the MMP first mortgage — the help can’t stand alone
  • Repay when you sell, refinance, or pay off the mortgage

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 ▼
  • The help can’t stand alone. You have to take Maryland’s first mortgage to get the $6,000. You can’t take the money and shop your loan elsewhere.
  • Deferred is not forgiven. This is still a loan. It’s an excellent deal — just know what it is.
What it stacks with ▼
  • Partner Match. If an approved partner — your employer, a nonprofit, a local government — chips in toward your down payment, Maryland matches it with up to $2,500 more. Ask your lender about it by name; it’s easy to miss.
  • Does NOT stack with the Maryland HomeCredit tax certificate.
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.