First-Time Home Buyer Programs in Louisiana 2026
Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) runs the state’s first-time buyer loans under a new name, Louisiana Home Starts Here. There are four programs. HomeStart Assist pairs a 30-year fixed mortgage with 4% assistance, forgiven after 60 months. HomeStart Plus offers up to $55,000 in hurricane-declared parishes.
Loans reserved from September 9, 2026 on use the new names. MRB Assisted became HomeStart Assist, Keys for Service became HomeStart Advantage, Pathways became HomeStart Plus, and Premier became HomeStart Ready. If you reserved a loan before 09/09/2026, you stay on the old program’s guidelines. Everything below comes from LHC’s program pages and its Single Family Lenders’ Guide published 09/10/26, all read on September 24, 2026.
The four HomeStart programs at a glance
| Program | Where | First-time buyers only? | Income cap | LHC assistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HomeStart Assist | Statewide | Yes, except veterans and targeted census tracts | 115% of AMI (140% in targeted areas) on FHA, VA and RD loans; 80% of AMI on conventional loans | 4% of the original first-mortgage amount, forgivable second |
| HomeStart Advantage | Statewide | No, but you may not own another home at closing | $125,000 household income | 4% of the final first-mortgage amount, forgivable second |
| HomeStart Plus | Parishes declared for Hurricanes Laura, Delta or Ida | Yes | 80% of HUD AMI | Up to 20% of the price, capped at $55,000, plus a closing-cost grant of up to $5,000 |
| HomeStart Ready | Statewide | No | $99,000 qualifying income | None |
HomeStart Assist: the bond-financed program for first-time buyers
HomeStart Assist is financed with tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds. According to LHC’s guide, “The borrower and spouse may not have owned a principal residence during the previous three years.” The requirement is waived for eligible veterans (proved with a DD214) and for homes in designated targeted areas. Limited exceptions also exist for single parents and displaced homemakers. In a targeted tract, the income cap on government loans rises to 140% of AMI and the price cap is higher, as the limits below show.
The assistance is a 0% second mortgage equal to 4% of the original principal of the first mortgage. It can go toward the down payment, closing costs and prepaid items. The whole balance is forgiven at the end of 60 months if you have kept living in the home and no repayment event has happened. Eligible first mortgages are FHA, VA, RD, Fannie Mae HFA Preferred and Freddie Mac HFA Advantage. The conventional options are limited to qualifying income at or below 80% of AMI.
Limits are set by parish and household size. For government loans in East Baton Rouge Parish, the non-targeted limits, effective May 4, 2026, are $94,500 for 1-2 people and $108,675 for 3 or more. The conventional 80% AMI line for the same parish is $74,960 (effective June 2, 2026). The maximum purchase price is $554,850 outside targeted areas and $678,150 inside them. Because the loan is bond-financed, a sale within nine years of closing can trigger federal recapture tax. Whether it does depends on your income and your gain.
HomeStart Advantage drops the first-time test
This is the former Keys for Service program, but “no specific service-related occupation is required” any more. Its web page says: “First-time homebuyer status is not required. However, the borrower may not own another residence at the time of closing.” Household income can be up to $125,000, and the price may not exceed the FHA loan limit. The 4% forgivable second is figured on the final first-mortgage amount and forgiven after 60 months on the same terms as Assist. Duplexes are not eligible.
HomeStart Plus in the hurricane parishes
HomeStart Plus spends Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery money. It covers parishes on LHC’s list for Hurricane Laura (DR-4559), Delta (DR-4570) or Ida (DR-4611). The Ida list takes in Orleans, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson and St. Tammany, among others. The program is for first-time buyers, and household income may not exceed 80% of HUD AMI. In Orleans Parish, a four-person household tops out at $70,900.
- The second mortgage covers up to 20% of the purchase price, capped at $55,000. It carries 0% interest and is forgiven at 1/120 a month over 10 years of continued owner occupancy.
- Closing-cost help of up to $5,000 comes as a grant.
- You must put in at least the greater of 1% of the price or $1,500 of your own money. Your total investment is capped at the greater of 10% of the price or $10,000.
- After closing, you may keep liquid assets worth no more than six months of the proposed monthly housing payment. Any excess reduces the closing-cost grant. Retirement accounts are not counted.
- Homes in flood zones A, AE and V are excluded. Flood insurance has to be carried and escrowed for the life of the second mortgage.
- LHC staff run an environmental review that can take up to two weeks, and the loan cannot close before clearance.
- The housing payment must be at least 28% and no more than 33% of income, and total debt no more than 48%.
HomeStart Ready: a rate-only first mortgage
LHC says Ready “does not currently provide separate LHC down payment or closing-cost assistance.” What it offers is a 30-year fixed first mortgage to first-time and repeat buyers with qualifying income up to $99,000, on one- or two-unit homes, townhomes and eligible condos. Manufactured homes and three- and four-unit properties are excluded. The guide sets the debt-to-income limit at the “Lesser of 50% or the maximum approved by DU/LPA,” and the price may not exceed the conforming loan limit.
Credit scores, homebuyer class and co-signers under LHC rules
All four programs need a credit score of at least 640, and a manufactured home needs 660. On Assist and Advantage, the maximum debt-to-income ratio is 50%, or 45% for a manufactured home. For Assist, Advantage and Plus, at least one occupying borrower must finish an approved homebuyer education course. For Ready, only first-time buyers need one. LHC’s homebuyer page lists Finally Home ($70 max), Frameworks ($75) and eHome America (cost varies), and any HUD-approved counseling agency also counts.
On Assist and Advantage, a co-signer who will not live in the home is allowed only with FHA financing, and that person cannot be on the title or the mortgage. None of the programs allows the loan to be assumed. LHC does not charge you to record its second mortgage: the guide says “No recording fee may be charged to the borrower for recording the LHC second mortgage.” That exemption does not cover the deed or the first mortgage.
How an LHC loan gets reserved
You do not apply to LHC directly. eHousingPlus administers the programs, and a participating lender reserves your loan in its eHPortal system. The lender can do that only once you have a signed purchase agreement for a specific address. The lender advances the down payment and closing-cost assistance at closing. Lakeview/Bayview then buys and services both the first and the second mortgage. The loan has to be purchased within 60 calendar days of reservation. Switching lenders does not buy a better rate: on an active reservation, or one cancelled within the last 60 days, you get the higher of the old locked rate and the current rate.
How the HomeStart seconds compare with other down payment help is covered on our Louisiana down payment assistance page. That page still uses the pre-September program names.
Louisiana first-time buyer questions
I sold a house in 2024. Can I use HomeStart Assist?
Not unless an exception applies, if that house was your principal residence. Assist looks back three years from the new purchase, for you and your spouse. The exceptions are eligible veterans, homes in targeted census tracts, and limited single-parent and displaced-homemaker cases. HomeStart Advantage and HomeStart Ready do not require first-time status.
Is the 4% a grant?
No. It is a 0% second mortgage that is forgiven after 60 months if you still live in the home and no repayment event has occurred. The only grant in the lineup is HomeStart Plus’s closing-cost help of up to $5,000.
Does HomeStart Plus work in New Orleans?
Yes. Orleans Parish is on the Hurricane Ida list. The property cannot be in flood zone A, AE or V, and household income has to fit the parish’s 80% AMI table.
Can my spouse stay off the loan?
Yes, but on Assist a non-purchasing spouse must still meet the three-year ownership test, and their income is entered at reservation for Assist, Advantage and Plus. A non-purchasing spouse also cannot be on the title.
Where are today’s rates?
LHC posts them daily on its rates page, and you lock through the participating lender.
Program pages: HomeStart Assist, HomeStart Advantage, HomeStart Plus, HomeStart Ready. On askdoss: closing costs in Louisiana, the Louisiana hub, FHA loan requirements, the VA loan guide, FHA or conventional, getting pre-approved, what you can afford, the mortgage calculator and the down payment estimator. Nearby states: Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas.