How do I find programs I qualify for?

The short answer is: run the wizard. It's nine questions, takes about three minutes, and never asks for your Social Security number or pulls your credit. By the end you'll have two lists — programs you're definitely eligible for, and programs you're probably eligible for but where a loan officer needs to confirm one thing the wizard can't see.

What the wizard actually asks

Nothing scary. Ranges, not exact numbers. You'll click through:

1. Where you're looking to buy — state, county, target city.
2. Your household income, as a range.
3. Your credit score, as a range — pick the bucket you think you're in.
4. The purchase price range you're shopping.
5. How much you have saved for a down payment, as a range.
6. Whether you've owned a home before, and your household size.
7. Whether you're a veteran or active military.
8. Your profession — teacher, first responder, healthcare, public service, or none of the above.
9. The kind of property — single-family, condo, townhouse, manufactured, or multi-unit you'd live in.

That's it. We don't ask for your employer name, your bank balance, or your last four. We never will.

What happens next

When you finish the wizard, our matching engine evaluates every program in our database against your answers. About three seconds later, you get two lists:

• Eligible — every rule the wizard can check passes. Sunshine badge.
• May be eligible — every rule we can check passes, but the program has at least one rule the wizard can't evaluate (typically a specific census tract, lender overlay, or an underwriter judgment call). You'd talk to a loan officer to confirm. Amber badge with a caveat line.

What if no programs match?

Rare but it happens. Usually it means you're shopping in a high-cost area with an income just over the AMI limits. Two options: lower the purchase price range to see if the income-to-purchase ratio opens up programs, or set an alert and we'll ping you when new programs open in your area. Programs launch and re-open more often than you'd think — most state housing finance agencies have an annual cycle.