Duane Buziak

Mortgage Maestro | NMLS #1110647 | Coast2Coast Mortgage LLC

Licensed mortgage broker serving Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Washington DC, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland, specializing in VA home loans and first-time homebuyer programs.

Searches for “best first time buyer programs” return a pile of acronyms (FHA, HomeReady, VA, USDA, DPA) and almost no way to tell which one costs you less over the life of your loan. A program’s name says little about your cost. Mortgage insurance, upfront fees, assistance repayment terms, and the rate you qualify for decide it.

Below are seven comparison strategies that put total cost side by side, so you choose on numbers. Every dollar figure in the examples is an illustration built on stated assumptions, not a quote. “Don’t Guess Your Rate. Shop It.” applies to programs as much as to rates.

Duane Buziak, NMLS #1110647

1. Run a Side-by-Side Total Cost Worksheet

A rate tells you the cost of borrowing but not the cost of owning. Programs differ in down payment, financed fees, and mortgage insurance, so the lowest rate can sit on the most expensive loan. A worksheet that prices the same home under each program and adds up monthly and multi-year outlay removes that guesswork.

Suppose you are buying a $300,000 home in a North Carolina or Tennessee county. The table prices three programs on the same day. Assumptions: 30-year terms, $1,500 a year in homeowners insurance ($125 a month), an effective property tax rate of 0.80% ($2,400 a year, $200 a month), and $9,000 in closing costs for each. The tax rate is a placeholder, so replace it with the current figure from your county assessor, such as Wake County Tax Administration in North Carolina or your own county’s assessor in Tennessee.

The five-year outlay is the monthly total times 60 plus cash to close. At seven years the same math gives $210,348, $213,588, and $216,072. These are gross outlays and ignore the equity you build, which is larger when you put more down. APR is the figure that folds fees into the rate, and it only exists on a real Loan Estimate.

1. Request Loan Estimates for each program using the same price, credit assumptions, and lock period.
2. Enter principal and interest, mortgage insurance, and cash to close into the worksheet.
3. Add the county’s current tax figure and your insurance quote.
4. Multiply monthly cost by 60 and 84, then add cash to close.

The common mistake is mixing down payments or lock periods across quotes, which makes the comparison meaningless. Measure total monthly payment and cumulative cost at 5 and 7 years for each program.

2. Compare Mortgage Insurance Costs and Removal Timelines

The belief that 20% down is required is a myth, and the reason is mortgage insurance: it lets you buy with less down in exchange for a monthly charge. What separates programs is how much that charge is and how long it lasts.

Take a $285,000 balance on a $300,000 value, which is 95% loan-to-value (LTV, the loan divided by the home’s value). Reaching 80% LTV means a balance of $240,000, or $45,000 of paydown. If PMI runs 0.55% a year (an assumption), it costs about $131 a month ($285,000 x 0.0055 / 12). When it ends, that $131 stays in your pocket. If the home appreciates 4% to $312,000, 80% is $249,600, so you only need $35,400 of paydown. Many servicers measure from original value, though, and may require an appraisal to use the current one.

Conventional PMI is cancelable. Under the Homeowners Protection Act you can request removal at 80% of original value with a good payment record, and it terminates automatically at 78% scheduled LTV. FHA works differently. As of this writing, HUD’s schedule has annual MIP lasting 11 years when the down payment is 10% or more, and the life of the loan when it is less. The HUD loan resources link to the current rules, so verify them rather than assuming FHA cancels at 80%.

To compare programs, get the PMI or MIP figure in dollars on every quote and ask for the removal conditions in writing. Then model LTV with and without appreciation, because a plan that depends on a price rise is a plan with a risk in it. Measure the monthly mortgage insurance cost and the months until it ends. A cheaper monthly premium that never ends can cost more than a pricier one that disappears in seven years.

3. Weigh Down Payment Assistance Against Cash to Close

Down payment assistance (DPA) cuts the cash you bring to closing, but “free money” is rarely accurate. Assistance comes in three forms: a grant with no repayment, a forgivable second lien that is forgiven after a set period of occupancy, and a repayable second lien due at sale or refinance. The type decides what the help really costs.

Here is a labelled illustration. A buyer needs $9,000 down plus about $6,000 in closing costs, $15,000 in total. A program offers $10,500 in assistance, leaving $4,500 to cover out of pocket. If that $10,500 is a repayable second lien, it comes out of your sale proceeds later. If the DPA-linked first mortgage carries a rate premium of 0.25% on a $285,000 loan, that adds roughly $50 a month, which compounds to about $3,000 over five years.

Eligibility is the first gate, and “first-time buyer” often has a narrower or wider definition than people assume. Programs commonly define it as not having owned a home in the past three years, so a prior owner may still qualify. Income limits, location, credit, and homebuyer education requirements vary by program.

1. Confirm eligibility with Duane Buziak, including income, location, and credit.
2. Identify whether the assistance is a grant, forgivable, or repayable.
3. Read the second-lien terms: due-on-sale triggers, forgiveness period, and any interest.
4. Add any rate or fee premium on the first mortgage to your worksheet.

Ignoring the higher rate or repayment terms that some DPA-linked loans carry is the usual error. Duane Buziak can price Dynamo and Turbo DPA options next to a no-assistance loan so you see both, and the terms of each program should be confirmed at quote time. Measure net cash to close and any added monthly or payoff cost.

4. Check Zero-Down Government Program Eligibility

Before assuming you need a down payment, test the programs that do not require one. A general impression of who qualifies often turns out to be wrong, and only a quote settles it.

VA loans

Imagine an eligible veteran buying a $320,000 home with no down payment. As of 2026, VA.gov lists a 2.15% funding fee for first use with zero down, so $6,880 financed gives a $326,880 loan. At an assumed 6.00%, principal and interest is about $1,960, with no monthly mortgage insurance. Against FHA at 3.5% down ($11,200), a $314,204 loan after the financed 1.75% MIP, at an assumed 6.25%, the FHA payment is about $1,935 plus roughly $142 of annual MIP, about $2,076 in all. In this illustration the VA loan runs about $116 less each month and needs $11,200 less cash.

The Certificate of Eligibility (COE) can usually be pulled electronically with your Social Security number and date of birth, so you do not need to hunt for paperwork. If you already used some entitlement, second-tier (bonus) entitlement may apply: take the county loan limit times 25% for the maximum guarantee, subtract the entitlement already used, and multiply by 4 for the zero-down purchase limit. For example, a $832,750 county limit (the 2026 FHFA baseline) gives $208,187.50. Subtract an illustrative $36,000 used, and $172,187.50 x 4 is $688,750.

USDA and profession-based options

USDA loans need the property in an eligible area and household income under the program limit, so check the USDA guaranteed loan page for the current map and limits. The Physician Loan is another path for eligible doctors, with terms that Duane Buziak confirms at quote time.

Price each option against a conventional low-down loan. Measure the down payment required, the funding or guarantee fee, and the monthly payment.

5. Match the Program to Your Credit and DTI Profile

Credit score and debt-to-income ratio (DTI, your monthly debts divided by gross monthly income) steer both eligibility and price, and they do so differently by program. Conventional mortgage insurance is priced on your score, so it swings widely. FHA annual MIP does not vary with score the same way, which creates a crossover point.

Consider a $285,000 loan at 95% LTV, priced as an illustration. At a 640 score, conventional PMI might be 1.40% a year (about $333 a month) with a rate near 7.00% (about $1,896 in principal and interest). At 740, PMI could be 0.40% (about $95 a month) with a rate near 6.50% (about $1,801). That gap is roughly $330 a month. FHA’s 0.55% MIP is about $131 either way, so FHA can win at 640 and conventional at 740. HUD sets FHA minimum scores, and automated underwriting on the conventional side can approve higher DTIs in some cases, so ask which limit applies to you.

1. Start with a soft credit pull mortgage review, a mortgage pre approval without hard pull, so your score stays untouched.
2. Review the program options your numbers allow.
3. Pay down revolving balances if it moves your score or DTI enough to matter.
4. Move to a full application once the target program is clear.

A soft pull mortgage broker like Duane Buziak can show how each program prices before you commit to anything, a no credit hit mortgage application step you can repeat after you improve your profile. The mistake to avoid is applying with several companies on hard pulls spread across months. Scoring models generally treat mortgage inquiries within a short window (up to 45 days in newer models) as one, but months of scattered inquiries lose that protection; see the CFPB home buying guide. Measure how the rate and mortgage insurance quote change after each credit improvement.

6. Shop the Broker Channel

The same program can price differently depending on who delivers it. A single-lender retail shop shows you its own product. A broker with access to hundreds of wholesale lenders can price one program multiple ways and put the results next to each other.

Take the same $285,000 conventional loan at the same lock term, priced three ways as an illustration. Channel one: 6.50%, no points, no credit, principal and interest of about $1,801. Channel two: 6.375% with one point ($2,850), about $1,778. Channel three: 6.625% with a $2,850 lender credit, about $1,825. The point saves roughly $23 a month, so it takes about ten years to repay itself. If you may sell or refinance sooner, the credit channel is cheaper.

Use the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey as a market benchmark. It is a national average, not a quote, but it shows whether an offer sits near the market.

1. Ask every channel for quotes with identical points, lock period, and credit assumptions.
2. Collect the Loan Estimates inside one shopping window so the credit inquiries are treated together.
3. Compare lender credits and fees alongside the rate.

The most common mistake is comparing a quote with discount points against one without. A lower rate that cost $2,850 is not cheaper than a higher rate that earned a credit. Measure APR, lender credits, and total closing costs across channels.

7. Read the Loan Estimate Line by Line

The lowest rate is not always the cheapest loan, and the CFPB Loan Estimate is where the difference shows. This standardized three-page form must be provided within three business days of your application, and it lets you compare real costs across programs and companies.

Imagine two Loan Estimates for the same program, both at 6.50%. One carries $2,800 more in Section A (origination charges) and Section B (services you cannot shop for). Over a 60-month hold that is about $47 a month, enough to erase the benefit of a slightly lower rate elsewhere.

• Sections A to C: origination charges, services you cannot shop for, and services you can shop for. Compare these first.
• Section J: total closing costs, after any lender credits.
• Page 3: the APR and total interest percentage, which fold fees and interest into one comparison.

Mark which services are shoppable, since title and survey can often be bought elsewhere, and challenge any fee nobody can explain. Ask why a charge exists and whether it can be reduced or removed. Fees can be negotiated or reshopped within the guidelines, but only if you notice them.

The common mistake is focusing only on the interest rate on page one. Measure total closing costs in Section J and APR for every estimate.

Where to Start, and How to Layer the Rest

Begin with the total cost worksheet (1) and the mortgage insurance comparison (2). Together they show which programs even stay in contention. Then layer in down payment assistance and zero-down eligibility checks (3 and 4), since those change how much cash you need and which programs are open to you. Finish by shopping channels and reading Loan Estimates line by line (6 and 7), when real numbers are on the table. Strategy 5 runs in the background throughout, because your credit profile shapes every price you see.

Your dream home is within reach. Discover how much you could save with personalized mortgage rates tailored to your unique situation. Securely pre-qualify in minutes with no impact to your credit score and compare competitive offers from trusted lenders who are ready to help you save. Duane Buziak will lay the options out side by side so you can compare them before you pick one.