Mississippi Grants There are many grants available in this State to assist a home buyer purchase a home. By using these grants it makes it possible to purchase a home with little or no money down.  Below is a list of some of the grants available, as well as contact information for each. Some are State sponsored grants. Some are sponsored on the county or municipality level.  Understand that many of these grants have limited funding, and most have income restrictions, so it is important to work with your mortgage lender and the non profit administering the grant program to ensure availability of funds.  State Sponsored Bank Sponsored Matching Funds Programs Community/local Sponsored Grants Seller Funded Down Payment Assistance Programs State Sponsored  The State of Mississippi offers a second mortgage of up to $3% of your mortgage amount, to be used for down payment and closing costs. It must be repaid at the sale of the home. They also have a $6000 dollar grant for teachers to help them buy homes in designated area, as well as a $15,000 grant for families with a disabled member. Below is a link to the State’s web site:  www.mshomecorp.com/homebuyers/downpayment%20assistance.htm Bank Sponsored Matching Funds Programs  Banks that are members of the Federal Home Loan Banking system also offer IDA savings accounts. Visit the Regional Federal Home Loan Bank web site for more information. Community/local Sponsored Grants Biloxi & Gulfport Gulf Coast Community Action Agency Inc HOME Grant (HG)  (228) 896-1409  Biloxi PRIDE Homeownership Program (PRIDE)  (228) 435-6280  MS Home Corporation. MHC administers 2 grant programs on behalf of the Dept. of Education and MS Development Authority.  They are the Housing Assistance For Teachers (HAT). Up to a $6,000 Grant if they teach for a period of 3 years in a critical shortage public school district. The other program is the household with someone that is permanently disabled. It's called Home of Your Own (HOYO). This a grant of up to $15,000 depending upon household income.  MHC offers other programs for first-time buyers. Most are in the form of a second mortgage (3% of the loan amount, 10-year fixed rate) and then one program that offers a 3% Cash Advance and that is with the Mortgage Revenue Bond Program.  (601) 718-4626 Seller Funded Down Payment Assistance Programs There are several non profit organizations that allow a seller to “donate” funds to them at closing, which is then given to the buyer as a down payment assistance grant. Presently, the federal government is reviewing these programs to determine whether this practice is an acceptable lending practice. By using one of these programs it is possible to purchase a home with little or no money. The seller needs to be a motivated seller, and the home needs to be priced correctly. Usually the sales price is inflated to cover the “donation”. The home must be able to appraise at the inflated price. These programs are initiated by the lender, so it is important to work with a local lender before you start looking for a home. The lender will also know how present legislation is affecting the program. The two most commonly used programs are The American Dream DAP and The Nehemiah DAP. Below are links to their web site. American Dream:  http://www.americandreamdownpaymentassistance.com/dpa_app.cfm Nehemiah Corp:    http://www.nehemiahcorp.org/