First-time home buyer programs in Virginia.

Who runs these programs

Virginia Housing runs these programs, and you use them through a Virginia Housing approved lender. The lender confirms your income, sales price and loan limits and tells you which programs you qualify for. Find an approved lender.

Many Virginia Housing loans require a free homebuyer education course. More on that below.

Grants you never repay

Down Payment Assistance Grant

A true grant toward your down payment, paired with a Virginia Housing FHA or conventional bond loan. You need to be a first-time buyer (or buying in an Area of Economic Opportunity), with household income and price within the limits below. It can be combined with assistance from outside Virginia Housing.

Closing Cost Assistance Grant

Worth up to 2 percent of the purchase price, for buyers with a Virginia Housing VA or USDA Rural Housing Service bond loan. It can go toward closing costs, the USDA guarantee fee or the VA funding fee, and it never has to be repaid. The same first-time buyer, income and price rules apply.

The Plus Second Mortgage

The Plus Second Mortgage pairs a Virginia Housing first mortgage with a second mortgage that covers your down payment.

Maximum

5 percent of the purchase priceDepends on your credit score and first mortgage

Total financing

Up to 1.5 percent more than the priceFor buyers who qualify

Closing costs

Can be financed in partWith a credit score of 680 or higher

Terms

30-year fixed rateNo prepayment penalty

Who can use it

First-time and repeat buyersWithin Virginia Housing income limits

First mortgages

Virginia Housing's conventional non-bond loan does not require first-time buyer status and has no sales price limit, though other programs combined with it may.

Income and price limits for Blacksburg

Limits depend on where the home is. Montgomery County is not in one of the metro areas Virginia Housing lists separately, so Blacksburg uses the "All Other Areas of Virginia" limits, effective August 1, 2026.

Shop within the limit: homes under $300K, homes from $300K to $500K, townhomes and condos.

Free homebuyer education

Virginia Housing's homebuyer classes are free. Take one in person, in a virtual session, or online at your own pace; the online course takes about eight hours on average. Many Virginia Housing loans require it, and it is worth taking either way. Sign up at Virginia Housing.

Save on Virginia income tax while you save

Virginia lets you designate an account at a Virginia financial institution as a first-time home buyer savings account. Interest and gains in it that are taxed federally are not taxed by Virginia; you subtract them on your state return.

• The money can only pay the down payment or closing costs on a single-family home for a qualified beneficiary, someone who has never owned a single-family home and lives in Virginia when buying.
• Each account can hold no more than $50,000 of principal and $150,000 of principal and interest.
• Use it for anything else and you repay every subtraction you claimed.

For service members and veterans

Virginia Housing offers a VA-guaranteed loan, and borrowers who qualify for it are also eligible for the Closing Cost Assistance Grant. Its Granting Freedom program helps pay for home modifications for veterans and service members with a service-connected disability from a line-of-duty injury.

Ready to look? Read buying a home in Blacksburg.