FIRST STEP - Must Qualify
This tax-exempt Mortgage Revenue Bond program offers lower-than-market, fixed interest rates on 30-year FHA, VA or Rural Development mortgages to first-time and lower-income home buyers.
In conjunction , AHFA provides a percentage of the home's sales price in down payment and closing cost aid, financed over a 20-year term. To get these funds, you must use an FHA or Rural Development mortgage loan.
To fund this program, AHFA through the banking community sells tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds to investors. Proceeds are used to purchase mortgages from participating lenders, providing them with the funds to make loans to home buyers. In this way, AHFA works with the state's private lending institutions to make homeownership more affordable.
Current Rates
Sales Prices
Income Limits
Lenders
Mortgage Calculator
Frequently Asked Questions
Brochure |
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STEP UP - Must Qualify
The Step Up program is available statewide and year-round on a first-come, first-served basis. AHFA provides up to 100% financing to income-qualified buyers using FHA or Rural Development loans.
In conjunction with the down payment funds, AHFA offers a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with an interest rate just slightly higher than the current market rate. Program participants also must complete a home buyer education workbook.
Participants may earn up to $97,300 and remain eligible for the Step Up program, regardless of household size or location.
The down payment funds are blended into the home mortgage, so there's only one check to write.
Follow the links below to view a current brochure or select a participating lender.
Participating Lenders
Frequently Asked Questions
Brochure

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The
Benefits
of
Owning
Your Own
Home
The Best
Investment!
On an
average
about
60% of a
home
owners
financial
wealth
is their
home.
As a
fairly
general
rule,
homes
appreciate
about
five
percent
a year.
Some
years
will be
more,
some
less.
The
figure
will
vary
from
neighborhood
to
neighborhood,
and
region
to
region.
Five
percent
may not
seem
like
that
much at
first.
Stocks
(at
times)
appreciate
much
more,
and you
could
earn
over six
percent
with the
safest
investment
of all,
treasury
bonds.
But take
a second
look…
Presumably,
if you
bought a
$200,000
house,
you did
not pay
cash for
the
home.
You got
a
mortgage,
too.
Suppose
you put
as much
as
twenty
percent
down –
that
would be
an
investment
of
$40,000.
At an
appreciation
rate of
5%
annually,
a
$200,000
home
would
increase
in value
$10,000
during
the
first
year.
That
means
you
earned
$10,000
with an
investment
of
$40,000.
Your
annual
"return
on
investment"
would be
a
whopping
twenty-five
percent.
Of
course,
you are
making
mortgage
payments
and
paying
property
taxes,
along
with a
couple
of other
costs.
However,
since
the
interest
on your
mortgage
and your
property
taxes
are both
tax
deductible,
the
government
is
essentially
subsidizing
your
home
purchase.
Your
rate of
return
when
buying a
home is
higher
than
most any
other
investment
you
could
make.
If you
are
moving
to a
home for
the
first
time,
you are
going to
be very
pleased
with all
the new
space
you have
available.
You may
have to
even buy
more
"stuff."
Income
Tax
Savings
Because
of
income
tax
deductions,
the
government
is
basically
subsidizing
your
purchase
of a
home.
All of
the
interest
and
property
taxes
you pay
in a
given
year can
be
deducted
from
your
gross
income
to
reduce
your
taxable
income.
For
example,
assume
your
initial
loan
balance
is
$150,000
with an
interest
rate of
eight
percent.
During
the
first
year you
would
pay
$9969.27
in
interest.
If your
first
payment
is
January
1st,
your
taxable
income
would be
almost
$10,000
less –
due to
the IRS
interest
rate
deduction.
Property
taxes
are
deductible,
too.
Whatever
property
taxes
you pay
in a
given
year may
also be
deducted
from
your
gross
income,
lowering
your tax
obligation.
Stable
Monthly
Housing
Costs
When you
rent a
place to
live,
you can
certainly
expect
your
rent to
increase
each
year –
or even
more
often.
If you
get a
fixed
rate
mortgage
when you
buy a
home,
you have
the same
monthly
payment
amount
for
thirty
years.
Even if
you get
an
adjustable
rate
mortgage,
your
payment
will
stay
within a
certain
range
for the
entire
life of
the
mortgage
– and
interest
rates
aren’t
as
volatile
now as
they
were in
the late
seventies
and
early
eighties.
Imagine
how much
rent
might be
ten,
fifteen,
or even
thirty
years
from
now?
Which
makes
more
sense?
Forced
Savings
Some
people
are just
lousy at
saving
money,
and a
house is
an
automatic
savings
account.
You
accumulate
savings
in two
ways.
Every
month, a
portion
of your
payment
goes
toward
the
principal.
Admittedly,
in the
early
years of
the
mortgage,
this is
not
much.
Over
time,
however,
it
accelerates.
Second,
your
home
appreciates.
Average
appreciation
on a
home is
approximately
five
percent,
though
it will
vary
from
year to
year,
and in
some
years
may even
depreciate..
Over
time,
history
has
shown
that
owning a
home is
one of
the very
best
financial
investments.
Freedom
&
Individualism
When you
rent,
you are
normally
limited
on what
you can
do to
improve
your
home.
You have
to get
permission
to make
certain
types of
improvements.
Nor does
it make
sense to
spend
thousand
of
dollars
painting,
putting
in
carpet,
tile or
window
coverings
when the
main
person
who
benefits
is the
landlord
and not
you.
Since
your
landlord
wants to
keep his
expenses
to a
minimum,
he or
she will
probably
not be
spending
much to
improve
the
place,
either.
When you
own a
home,
however,
you can
do
pretty
much
whatever
you
want.
You get
the
benefits
of any
improvements
you
make,
plus you
get to
live in
an
environment
you have
created,
not some
faceless
landlord.
More
Space
Both
indoors
and
outdoors,
you will
probably
have
more
space if
you own
your own
home.
Even
moving
to a
condominium
from an
apartment,
you are
likely
to find
you have
much
more
room
available
– your
own
laundry
and
storage
area,
and
bigger
rooms.
Apartment
complexes
are more
interested
in
creating
the
maximum
number
of
income-producing
units
than
they are
in
creating
space
for each
of the
tenants.
If you
are
moving
to a
home for
the
first
time,
you are
going to
be very
pleased
with all
the new
space
you have
available.
You may
have to
even buy
more
"stuff."
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