First-Time Home Buyer Programs in Maine 2026
Maine’s first-time buyer programs come from MaineHousing (the Maine State Housing Authority). Its First Home Loan is a fixed-rate mortgage for buyers who have not owned their principal home in the past three years. Advantage adds $5,000 toward closing with no second mortgage. The First Generation Program gives $10,000.
MaineHousing does not take applications itself. You apply at one of its participating banks, credit unions or mortgage companies. The lender underwrites and closes the loan “on MaineHousing’s behalf,” and MaineHousing buys it afterwards and keeps it: “MaineHousing does not sell its loans; your mortgage stays with us.” Everything on this page was read on September 24, 2026, on MaineHousing’s site, or, for the transfer tax, in the Maine statutes and Maine Revenue Services’ bulletin.
What “first-time” means at MaineHousing, and who is exempt
MaineHousing’s test is about the last three years, not your whole life: “If you have not held an ownership interest in your principal home within the past 3 years, you qualify as a first-time homebuyer.” So a buyer who sold a house in 2021 can be eligible again. According to MaineHousing’s FAQ, a co-owner who has not lived in the co-owned home for three years can also qualify.
- Veterans and military. Salute Home Again waives the requirement for veterans and active-duty or retired military. You must have been honorably discharged or still be serving, you cannot have had a bond-financed mortgage before, and you must sell any home you own by the MaineHousing closing.
- Mobile home owners. A mobile home on leased land or in a park that was never anchored to the site may not count as ownership. A mobile home on owned land, or one permanently attached to leased land, makes you ineligible.
- First Generation is stricter. It wants a “true first-time homebuyer,” meaning someone who never held an ownership interest in a principal home. At least one borrower also has to have never lived in a home owned by their biological parents or legal guardians, or to have been in foster care as a child.
First Home Loan: the base mortgage
The First Home Loan is a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, except on mobile homes, whose term depends on the home’s age. You can pick a zero-point or a two-point rate. The rate you get is the one in effect when your lender reserves the loan with MaineHousing, which can happen only after a purchase and sale agreement is signed. The rate lock is free: 90 days for an existing home and 210 days for new construction.
The down payment depends on who insures the loan: 0% with Rural Development or VA, 3.5% with FHA, and 5% under MaineHousing’s own self-insurance for mobile homes. MaineHousing also runs a private mortgage insurance pilot with Arch MI. It is open only for one-unit homes and approved condos in Bangor, Lewiston, Auburn, Westbrook, Portland and South Portland.
Underwriting caps the housing payment at 33% of income (or whatever the automated system approves) and total debt at 45%, with a minimum credit score of 640. Scores below 640 or debt above 45% can be considered only with compensating factors, and MaineHousing has to accept them before closing. On top of the lender’s usual paperwork, MaineHousing asks for three years of federal tax returns from each borrower or title holder.
Advantage, First Gen and the other add-ons
| Option | What it adds | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Advantage | $5,000 toward down payment, closing costs and prepaid escrow | hoMEworks-approved homebuyer class before closing; you contribute at least 1% of the loan, which can be a gift |
| Multi-Unit Advantage | $8,000 for two units, $11,000 for three, $14,000 for four | Owner-occupied 2-4 unit building; landlord course plus homebuyer class; 1% contribution |
| First Generation | $10,000 toward closing, plus a 1.00% discount on the zero-point First Home rate | Financial literacy class and homebuyer class before closing; 1% contribution |
| Salute ME / Salute Home Again | 0.50% off the First Home 30-year fixed rate | Active duty, veterans, retired military; Salute Home Again is for those who owned before |
| Purchase Plus Improvement | $500 to $35,000 of repairs financed in the same loan | Price plus improvements must stay within the purchase price limit |
MaineHousing describes Advantage as “No interest rate add on,” “No increase in loan amount” and “No second mortgage required,” so it puts no second lien on the house. The cost of the homebuyer class counts toward your 1%. You cannot take cash back at closing: excess assistance goes against the loan amount. Advantage works with FHA, VA and RD loans, with mobile-home self-insured loans and with uninsured loans.
A state tax break rides along with these programs. Since November 1, 2025, 36 M.R.S. § 4641-C(22) exempts from the real estate transfer tax any deed to a purchaser who receives financial assistance through MaineHousing’s first-time home-buyer mortgage loan programs, and “applies to both the buyer and the seller.” Maine Revenue Services’ Bulletin 31 (September 23, 2025 revision) lists the qualifying programs: First Home Loan Advantage, First Home Multi-Unit Advantage, First Generation, First Generation Mobile Home and Salute ME. Our Maine closing costs guide covers what the tax would otherwise cost.
MaineHousing income and price limits in 2026
Income limits depend on household size (1-2 people or 3 or more) and on where you buy. They took effect June 1, 2026.
- Portland HMFA (Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Falmouth, Scarborough, Gorham, Windham and nearby towns, plus Buxton, Hollis, Limington and Old Orchard Beach in York County): $139,100 and $159,965.
- York/Kittery HMFA: $132,900 and $152,835.
- Bangor HMFA: $106,500 and $122,475.
- Cumberland County outside the Portland HMFA: $115,754 and $133,117.
- Sagadahoc County: $116,634 and $134,129.
- York County outside the Portland and York/Kittery HMFAs: $116,554 and $134,037.
- All other areas: $105,000 and $120,750.
The purchase price table on the same page carries an effective date of June 1, 2025. A one-unit home can cost up to $565,000 in the Portland and York/Kittery areas, the rest of Cumberland, York and Sagadahoc counties, and up to $525,000 in Bangor and all other areas. Two- to four-unit buildings have higher caps. A mobile home under MaineHousing self-insurance is capped at $250,000 on owned land and $200,000 on leased land. When a loan also carries RD, VA or FHA rules, the lender applies whichever guideline is stricter.
How Advantage and First Gen money compares with other down payment help in Maine is on our Maine down payment assistance page.
Two protections that come with a MaineHousing loan
Maine HOPE. If you are a borrower in good standing and lose your job, MaineHousing may advance up to four mortgage payments, including taxes and insurance. The amount becomes a junior lien with no interest and no monthly payments. You repay it when you sell, pay off the MaineHousing loan or stop living in the home.
Recapture tax reimbursement. MaineHousing loans are funded with mortgage revenue bonds. You owe federal recapture tax only if all three of these happen: you sell within 9 years of closing, you realize a gain, and your family income has risen above the IRS limits. The tax is capped at 6.25% of the original loan amount or 50% of the gain, whichever is less. For loans closed on or after January 1, 2013, “MaineHousing will reimburse borrowers for any recapture tax paid to the IRS.” You apply for reimbursement in the calendar year after the sale, and it does not apply to refinance loans.
Maine first-time buyer questions
I owned a condo until 2020. Am I a first-time buyer for MaineHousing?
Yes, for the First Home Loan, as long as you held no ownership interest in a principal home during the past three years. You would not qualify for First Generation, which requires that you never owned one.
Is Advantage a loan I pay back?
MaineHousing attaches no second mortgage, no rate add-on and no increase in the loan amount to it. What you do have to do is take the hoMEworks-approved class before closing and put in 1% of the loan yourself, which can be a gift.
Is a homebuyer class required for every MaineHousing loan?
No. It is required with Advantage (and with First Gen, together with a financial literacy class). For everyone else, MaineHousing recommends it but does not require it.
Can I buy a duplex and rent out the other side?
Yes. Owner-occupied 2- to 4-unit buildings are eligible, and Multi-Unit Advantage pays $8,000 on a two-unit property if you take a landlord course and a homebuyer class and put in 1% of the loan.
Does MaineHousing inspect the house?
No. It does not require a home inspection, though it “highly recommend[s]” making one a condition of your purchase and sale agreement.
MaineHousing pages: First Home Loan, income and price limits, recapture tax. Also on askdoss: how much house you can afford, pre-approval, VA loans in 2026, FHA rules, choosing FHA or conventional, a payment calculator, a down payment calculator and our Maine state page. Neighbors: New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts.