First-Time Home Buyer Programs in Mississippi 2026
Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC), the state housing finance agency, runs the first-time buyer loans here. Its 30-year fixed mortgages come in four versions: JustRate with no assistance, Smart7 with a $7,000 second mortgage at 0%, Easy8 with $8,000 at 0%, and Trusty10 with $10,000 at 2% repaid over 15 years.
MHC does not lend to you directly. A participating lender quotes the rate, checks your income against MHC’s county table, and reserves the assistance with MHC once you have a signed sales contract. This page walks through what those lenders will check. Down-payment help in Mississippi gets its own Mississippi down payment assistance guide. Read this one first if you want to know which MHC loan you fit and what else rides on top of it.
The four MHC mortgages, side by side
MHC describes every product below as a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. What changes from one to the next is the second lien attached to it. MHC sets and posts the rates weekly, so they are not printed here. Your lender quotes the day’s rate.
| MHC product | Second mortgage attached | How the second is repaid | First-time rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| JustRate | None | Not applicable | Applies outside Target Areas; veterans exempt |
| Smart7 | $7,000 at 0% interest | Owed back to MHC on sale, refinance, when the home stops being owner-occupied, or when the first mortgage is paid in full | None |
| Easy8 | $8,000 at 0% interest | Owed back to MHC on sale, refinance, non-owner occupancy, or payoff of the first mortgage | Applies outside Target Areas; veterans exempt |
| Trusty10 | $10,000 at 2% interest | Principal and interest paid over 15 years | Applies outside Target Areas; veterans exempt |
The Smart7, Easy8 and Trusty10 money can go toward the down payment, closing costs or prepaids. MHC’s product pages describe no forgiveness for any of the three. For the two 0% seconds, the listed events are the only repayment trigger MHC names. Trusty10 is repaid with interest over 15 years. According to MHC, JustRate gets “a lower rate than any other MRB Programs,” because you take no assistance with it.
Each product can sit on an FHA, VA, Rural Development, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac first mortgage. MHC names no minimum credit score. Its product list says “Credit Score requirements are based on participating lender guidelines,” so two lenders can answer differently.
Who counts as a first-time buyer under MHC rules
You are a first-time buyer if you have not owned, or had an interest in, a principal residence in the last three years. Owning a home five years ago does not disqualify you.
The rule has three ways around it:
- Smart7 has no first-time requirement at all. Its page reads “No first-time homebuyer requirements.”
- Target Areas. On MHC’s income-limit table, 42 of Mississippi’s 82 counties carry an asterisk in the target column, and in those counties Easy8, Trusty10 and JustRate buyers do not have to be first-time buyers. Another 30 counties are marked NT/T. They are split between target and non-target tracts, and MHC says you need your lender to check the address.
- Veterans. The JustRate, Easy8 and Trusty10 pages each say that Target Areas and veterans “are exempt from the ‘first-time homebuyer’ rule.”
Income and price caps: county table versus one statewide number
MHC splits its limits two ways. JustRate, Easy8 and Trusty10 run on Mortgage Revenue Bond limits that vary by county and household size. In Hinds County, for example, the table read on September 24, 2026 shows $91,400 in non-target tracts and $109,680 in target tracts for a household of one or two. For three or more people it shows $105,110 and $127,960. For those three products the purchase price is capped at $382,590 in target areas and $316,373 elsewhere.
Smart7 uses a single statewide cap instead: household income up to $137,870 and a price up to $413,610. That makes Smart7 the MHC loan for households earning above the county bond limit and for move-up buyers. The trade-off is a smaller second lien than Easy8 or Trusty10. The MHC income limits page has every county’s row.
Two MHC grants with narrower gates
Home4All: HOME money for households at or below 80% of median
Home4All is funded with federal HOME dollars and run by MHC. It offers up to $25,000, sized by underwriting review, and total grant assistance cannot exceed 50% of the purchase price. MHC’s FAQ calls it “a forgivable grant subject to affordability requirements and recapture provisions.” It is not free and clear on day one. An award under $15,000 carries a 5-year affordability period, and an award from $15,000 to $40,000 carries 10 years. If you sell during that period, MHC can recapture the grant out of the net proceeds, following its schedule.
Unlike Smart7, Home4All requires first-time buyer status: no principal residence owned in the previous three years. It also requires a fixed-rate mortgage from an MHC-approved lender, household income no higher than 80% of HUD area median income, and a home in an eligible area that passes inspection against HUD Housing Quality Standards. Every adult household member on the deed must complete an 8-hour homebuyer education course.
Housing Assistance for Teachers (HAT)
HAT money comes from the Mississippi Department of Education, and MHC runs the program through its participating lenders. It covers the funds a teacher needs to close, up to $6,000. The teacher must sign a Loan Agreement to teach for at least three years in a critical-shortage school district. MHC calls the money grant funds and says the grant “is forgiven if the approved licensed teacher satisfies” that agreement. You put in 1% of the sales price from your own money, and a relative cannot gift that part. The home must sit in the county where you teach. HAT has no income limit unless you pair it with another MHC product.
MHC announced 2026-2027 HAT funding on August 20, 2026, and its rates page listed $160,000 in HAT funds available on September 24, 2026.
What is not available from MHC right now
Mortgage Credit Certificate. MHC told lenders on October 16, 2025 that “the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program is being suspended until further notice.” Reservations ended November 15, 2025, and MCC loans had to close by December 31, 2025. Certificates issued before that stay valid for the life of the loan. For a 2026 purchase, though, there is no new MHC tax credit to add.
Trusty10 Plus 2. In June 2026, Mississippi REALTORS® added a $2,000 grant on top of Trusty10 for buyers represented by a real estate agent, “while funds last.” On September 24, 2026, MHC’s rates page showed Trusty10 Plus 2 available funds of $0.
From pre-qualification to a reserved loan
- Pick a lender from MHC’s participating lender list. MHC warns that “Not all lenders participate in all of the programs,” so ask which of the four products the loan officer actually offers.
- Take a homebuyer education class. MHC “requires anyone taking advantage of our programs to have a homebuyer education class” and accepts face-to-face HUD-approved agencies or online courses from the list on its education page.
- Get a signed sales contract. The lender needs it before MHC will reserve assistance on your loan.
- The lender underwrites to FHA, VA, RD, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rules, then contacts MHC to reserve the funds.
If your credit needs work first, MHC describes a set order: the lender refers you to an approved credit counselor, who then passes you to a homebuyer education counselor. After that, the lender reserves the loan.
To see the payment on a 30-year MHC loan with a second lien, run the numbers in the mortgage calculator or check the price range in how much house you can afford. Mississippi’s closing costs are what the Smart7, Easy8 and Trusty10 funds may be spent on besides the down payment. For the federal loan underneath, see the FHA requirements or the VA loan guide.
Mississippi first-time buyer questions
I sold my last house in 2022. Can I use Easy8?
Yes. A 2022 sale means you have owned no principal residence in the last three years. You can also qualify regardless of that history if the home is in a Target Area county or you are a veteran.
Which MHC loan works if I make too much for my county?
Smart7. It uses a single statewide income cap of $137,870 instead of the county bond limits, and it has no first-time rule.
Is the Smart7 or Easy8 money a grant?
No. Both are 0% second mortgages that you repay to MHC when you sell, refinance, move out, or pay off the first mortgage. Home4All and HAT are MHC’s grant programs, and each has conditions attached.
Can I still get an MCC in Mississippi?
Not a new one. MHC suspended the MCC program in October 2025, and the last MCC loans had to close by December 31, 2025.
Can a teacher combine HAT with an MHC loan?
Yes. MHC’s 2026-2027 announcement says HAT “can be used in conjunction with MHC’s other downpayment assistance programs.” Pairing it with another product brings that product’s income limit into play.
Buyers comparing states can read the first-time guides for Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee. Taxes, insurance and the rest of the Mississippi picture are in the Mississippi hub.