The Minnesota First-Time Buyer Checklist: MHFA, Down Payment Help, and What to Do First

Buying your first home in Minnesota goes smoothly when the steps happen in the right order. Most first-time buyer stress comes from doing them out of sequence — touring first, budgeting later, discovering costs at the closing table. Here is the order we run with every first-time buyer, and why.

1. Check your MHFA eligibility before anything else

Minnesota Housing (MHFA) pairs an affordable first mortgage with down payment and closing-cost assistance, but eligibility turns on household income, purchase price, credit, and buyer history — limits that vary by household size and location. Knowing whether you qualify changes your whole budget, so it comes first. It takes one short review of your real numbers.

2. Map your real cash-to-close

The down payment is only part of the number. Closing costs, prepaid taxes and insurance, and the appraisal ride along — and surprises there are what sink first purchases. Our current offer helps with one piece: a free appraisal on MHFA loans for first-time buyers. We itemize the full cash-to-close before you write an offer, in writing.

3. Take the homebuyer education course early

MHFA buyers typically complete a short, approved homebuyer-education course. Done early, it is genuinely useful — it covers the same costs we map together, in depth. Left to the last week, it is a scramble. Take it before you tour.

4. Get a fully documented pre-approval

A real pre-approval — documents reviewed, hard questions answered — is what listing agents trust. With complete documents, the conversation can happen the same day and a full pre-approval is often issued within 1–2 business days, good for 60–90 days. Then you tour homes knowing exactly what you can spend and what it costs monthly.

5. Shop with a payment, not a price

Two homes at the same price can carry very different monthly costs once taxes and insurance land. Shop by the monthly picture we mapped, and the home you fall for is one you can comfortably keep.

The full breakdown of programs, down payments from 3% (conventional), 3.5% (FHA), and 0% (VA/USDA) lives in our first-time buyer guide — and if saving the down payment is the hurdle, the down payment assistance guide covers what help exists right now.

Ben Coulter · Supreme Lending Midwest · 5151 Edina Industrial Blvd, Suite 500, Edina, MN 55439 · (612) 384-7818 · Book a call · Apply online