First-time home buyer programs in North Dakota and Fargo

What the state offers

NDHFA, the state housing finance agency, does not lend directly. According to its website, you apply through a participating lender, which handles the application and closing and then sells the loan to NDHFA. Every program has these basic rules:

• A $500 out-of-pocket cash investment.
• You must live in the home as your principal residence.
• Lenders decide credit questions: NDHFA says every situation is different and tells you to ask a participating lender about your credit score.

Source: NDHFA, “Homeownership,” read October 13, 2026.

Income and price limits

Limits for FirstHome and HomeAccess are the same in every county:

Source: NDHFA, “Income and Purchase Price Limits,” effective June 15, 2026. New construction: $500,000 for a single-family home.

NDHFA counts the income of the borrower, the spouse and any co-borrowers, from every source, including child support, Social Security and pensions. For comparison, the 2024 median value of owner-occupied homes is $292,900 in Fargo (see North Dakota home prices), well below the $500,000 cap.

Targeted areas in Fargo

Federal tax rules require NDHFA to set aside part of its bond proceeds for reduced-rate loans in targeted areas. In Cass County, NDHFA lists these census tracts: 0005.02, 0006.01, 0006.02, 0101.06, 0101.07 and 0101.11. You check an address with the geocoding tool linked on the agency’s page.

Source: NDHFA, “Targeted Area Loan.” NDHFA’s homeownership division checks the property and the availability of funds before the loan application goes ahead.

Down payment and closing cost help: DCA and Start

Two programs add help with the cash you need at closing. NDHFA describes both the same way: the assistance equals three percent of the first mortgage loan amount, as a credit toward your out-of-pocket cash requirement. It can be used for the down payment, closing costs and prepaid items.

Source: NDHFA, “Homeownership,” read October 13, 2026. Three and four-unit homes are not eligible under DCA or Start.

Example. On a $250,000 first mortgage, 3% is $7,500 of credit toward your cash requirement. This is an example, not a quote. NDHFA’s page does not say whether the assistance must be repaid, so ask a participating lender before you rely on it.

DCA has its own income limits by county and household size. For Cass County (grouped by NDHFA with McLean and Steele counties), they are:

Source: NDHFA, “DCA,” limits effective July 15, 2026. NDHFA does not publish a separate income table for Start on the pages we read; the Start program page says “low- to moderate-income,” so confirm the limit with a lender.

What Fargo adds

The City of Fargo runs no down payment grant of its own on the pages we read. Its “Downpayment Assistance” page says first-time buyers in Fargo are eligible for NDHFA’s DCA program, and its “Purchasing a Home” page lists the NDHFA programs above and a participating-lender search. The city’s housing assistance page also lists Habitat for Humanity and other nonprofit resources.

Two city items matter after you buy:

• Rehabilitation loans. The city’s Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI), run with a local bank, offers second-mortgage loans of $10,000 to $100,000 for homes at least 40 years old, with an assessed value under $300,000, inside the program boundary and outside the 100-year floodplain. Applications run from March 16 to October 31, 2026. The city’s separate federally funded rehabilitation program is not accepting new applications.
• Special assessments. The city says any special assessment due on a property is added to the owner’s annual tax statement. See our North Dakota property tax guide.

How to apply

1. Take a homebuyer education class. NDHFA’s page lists an online course (eHome America, $100 per registration, with a discount code posted on NDHFA’s page), Freddie Mac’s CreditSmart Homebuyer U, Fannie Mae’s HomeView (which NDHFA calls a free class) and an in-person class in the Fargo area.
2. Choose a participating lender from NDHFA’s list and say you want an NDHFA loan.
3. Check which program fits: FirstHome, HomeAccess, Roots or Targeted Area, with DCA or Start for cash help.
4. Read your Loan Estimate. It shows your estimated closing costs and the cash you need at closing. Our closing costs guide and the home buying steps explain what comes next.

NDHFA says most borrowers pay no federal recapture tax, and that it reimburses the borrower if one is due on a home bought after October 1, 2006. Other loan types have their own rules: see our guides to FHA loans and VA loans. For a look at the city, read buying a home in Fargo.