The City of Philadelphia's Division of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) supports the Philly First Home program in the City of Philadelphia. Philly First Home is run by Philadelphia Housing Development Corp. This program offers an interest-free loan for the down payment and closing costs. This loan is 100% forgiven if you live in the house for 15 years.
Starting a home search is an exciting time for first-time home buyers in Philadelphia. However, before you start exploring and touring properties, go to the bank and request a pre-approval of the mortgage. To apply for Philly First Home, contact a city-funded housing counseling agency. Your lender can also help point you in the right direction.
This week, the program was relaunched by the Housing and Community Development Division and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation. Curbed Philly asked long-time local realtors to weigh in on the current state of the Philadelphia real estate market for the sake of beginners looking to buy in the city. And if they've been in the game for a while, chances are they have a good network of other people to contact you with during your home search, such as a mortgage lender, who can find out how much house you can afford. Learn what to expect when buying your first home in Philadelphia and how to increase your chances of an offer being accepted with the step-by-step guide for first-time buyers in Philadelphia that you can use below.