First-time home buyer guide for Washington

If you're buying your first home in Washington, you have more help available than most people realize. Three things usually matter most: the down-payment and closing-cost assistance offered through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC), low-down-payment loan options like FHA and Conventional 97, and getting preapproved early so you can shop with confidence. I'm Stephanie Silverman (NMLS 13228), and I help first-time buyers across Seattle, Bellevue, and the wider Eastside line all three of those up — so you know what you actually qualify for before you fall in love with a house. Let's map your options together.

What first-time buyer programs are available in Washington?

The biggest source of first-time-buyer help in our state is the WSHFC — a public agency that partners with approved lenders to pair an affordable first mortgage with down-payment assistance. Its main homebuyer programs include Home Advantage and House Key Opportunity, along with the Covenant Homeownership Program and the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC). You can see the full, current list on the WSHFC homebuyer page. I walk Eastside buyers through which of these they'd actually be eligible for — that's exactly the kind of thing we cover in my guide to how WSHFC programs work.

A few ground rules worth knowing up front. WSHFC requires you to complete a free, Commission-sponsored homebuyer education seminar as the first step, and you work with a Commission-trained loan officer to use the programs. Eligibility depends on factors like income, how the home will be occupied, and the property type — and the specific income and home-price (acquisition cost) caps vary by county and are updated periodically, so I confirm the exact current limits for your county rather than quoting a number that may have changed. "First-time buyer" is also defined more loosely than people expect; many programs count you as first-time if you simply haven't owned a home you lived in for the last several years, and some areas waive that requirement entirely. I'll confirm the current WSHFC definition for your situation.

How much down payment do first-time buyers actually need?

Far less than the old "20% down" rule of thumb. There are several genuinely low-down-payment paths. An FHA loan lets qualified buyers put down as little as 3.5% with a credit score of 580 or higher (between 500 and 579, FHA caps financing at 90% loan-to-value, meaning 10% down) — per HUD. On the conventional side, Fannie Mae's Conventional 97 and HomeReady options allow as little as 3% down for eligible buyers. The right choice between FHA and conventional depends on your credit, your debts, and the property — that's a conversation, not a one-size answer.

On top of a low-down-payment loan, WSHFC down-payment assistance can help cover the down payment and closing costs. It's structured as a second mortgage that pairs with a WSHFC first loan; the assistance amount and repayment terms vary by the specific program. You can read a plain-English breakdown in my guide to down-payment assistance in Washington, and the official program details live on the WSHFC down-payment assistance page.

One honest trade-off to plan for: when you put down less than 20% on a conventional loan, you'll typically pay private mortgage insurance (PMI), which protects the lender, not you — and it can usually be removed once you've built enough equity (CFPB). FHA loans carry their own mortgage insurance instead. Lower down payment gets you into a home sooner; I make sure you understand what it costs each month so there are no surprises.

What are the income, price, and county loan limits?

Two different sets of limits come up, and they're easy to confuse. The first is the conforming loan limit — the largest conventional loan that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will back, set each year by the FHFA. For 2026 the baseline one-unit limit is $832,750, but high-cost counties get a higher limit, up to a one-unit ceiling of $1,249,125 (Fannie Mae / FHFA). King County is a designated high-cost area in Washington, so its conforming limit sits above the national baseline — I confirm the exact current figure for your county, since it's set by FHFA's county lookup and changes annually. Above that limit you're into jumbo territory.

The second set is WSHFC's own income and acquisition-cost (home-price) limits, which are separate from the conforming limit, are county-specific, and are revised periodically. I won't guess at those — I pull the current numbers for your county so we know whether a WSHFC program is realistically in reach. I never guarantee eligibility on a figure that might be out of date; we verify it against the live source.

How do I go from researching to getting preapproved?

Here's the path I run with first-time buyers, step by step:

Get budget clarity. Before anything else, we figure out a monthly payment you'll be genuinely comfortable with — not just the maximum a lender will allow. That keeps your search focused and your offer strong.

Gather your documents. Pay stubs or income documentation, recent bank statements, tax returns, and ID. Self-employed? Your path looks a little different — see below.

Complete WSHFC homebuyer education (if you're using a WSHFC program). It's the required first step and it's genuinely useful.

Get your preapproval letter. This is what makes your offer credible in a competitive Eastside market — and it's fast once your documents are in.

Self-employed, a contractor, or paid on 1099? You can absolutely buy your first home — we just document income differently. I cover the bank-statement and 1099 paths in detail on my self-employed financing page.

And because so much of this is local, I keep current market context for the areas I serve most — including Seattle and Bellevue — so the plan we build reflects the neighborhood you're actually buying in, not a national average.

Want me to map which Washington programs you actually qualify for, and what your real monthly payment would look like? That's the most useful first conversation we can have. Let's talk — I'll walk you through every step.