Starting the
Homebuying Process

If you're looking to buy a HomePath home, whether you're buying your first home or your fifth, the experience can be exciting, confusing, overwhelming and wonderful — all at once! Buying a Fannie Mae-owned home isn't much different. We're here to help you through the process with tools and resources.

HFA Preferred Incentive Program on HomePath Properties

With Fannie Mae’s HFA Preferred™ incentive program on HomePath properties, buyers can receive up to 3 percent in closing cost assistance toward the purchase of a HomePath® property when they finance the home with an HFA Preferred conventional loan through their state housing finance agency (HFA).

Borrower Eligibility

To be eligible, buyers must:

Borrower Eligibility
  • Purchase a Fannie Mae HomePath property as their primary residence.*
  • Receive an HFA Preferred mortgage through a state HFA home-buyer program. (HomePath properties purchased with an FHA, USDA or VA loan are not eligible for the incentive).

Instructions for Real Estate Professionals

All offers will be reviewed by Fannie Mae’s internal sales team to ensure buyers receive the appropriate benefits. To ensure that offer response is streamlined, please use the following guidelines for submission.

Borrower Eligibility
  • Request the HFA HomePath Incentive with the initial offer submission using the HomePath Online Offer system:
  • The offer should be submitted as “Buyer Using Public Funds” in the public fund usage field.
  • With the initial offer submission, provide the name of the financing program being used by the buyer (for example, Florida Housing Finance Corporation First Time Homebuyer Program).
  • Include documentation identifying the funding source in the offer submission. (This can include a letter or other authorization document naming the source of funds.)

Additional Instructions for Fannie Mae Listing Agents

When a buyer is purchasing a Fannie Mae HomePath property using HFA Preferred Financing through an HFA:

  • Submit the offer in Equator as “individual using public funds.”
  • Include the concession amount under the “Seller Paid Buyer Expenses” section of the offer in Equator.
  • Provide the buyer’s public funds designation letter to the Public Funds Sales Rep via Equator messaging.

*NOTE: Owner occupants are those buyers who will occupy the property as their principal residence within 60 days of closing and will maintain their occupancy for at least one year. Owner-occupant purchasers are required to sign an Owner Occupant Certification as a rider to the Residential Real Estate Purchase and Sale Contract. A buyer purchasing in the name of a trust, purchasing as a vacation/part-time residence, or purchasing so another person or relative can live in the property will typically be considered an investor and not eligible for this incentive.

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