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Single Family Mortgage Revenue Bond Program (SFMRB)

Commonly referred to as the First-Time Home Buyers Program, this statewide program provides first mortgage financing at below-market interest rates to low- and moderate-income Delaware homebuyers who have not owned a home in the past three years.

How To Apply

  1. Contact a participating mortgage lender and say you want to participate in this program.
  2. Make sure you (the borrower) meet all borrower requirements.
  3. Ensure the property you want to purchase meets all property requirements.
  4. Understand the loan terms, contract requirements, and related details.
  5. Please view Home Buyers' Information Guidebook

Targeted Areas
Throughout this page the terms "targeted areas" and "non-targeted areas" are used. Different qualification requirements apply if a targeted or non-targeted area is selected by a borrower. You can see if the property you want to purchase is in a targeted area by clicking on a Census Tract number below.

  • Borrowers purchasing in targeted areas do not have to meet first-time homebuyer status requirement.
  • Targeted areas include the following Census Tracts:
    • New Castle County: 1, 7, 17, 20, 21 and 22. Or, see all tracts.
    • Kent County: 411 Or, see the CT 411 area.
    • Sussex County: none at this time
    • To see if your selected property is in a qualified targeted area census tract, please click here:
  • Prior-issue targeted funds are still available.

Borrower Qualifications
To qualify, a borrower's current gross family income cannot exceed:

County Area 1 or 2 Person Households 3 or More Person Households
New Castle Non-targeted $77,800 $89,470
  Targeted $93,360 $108,920
Kent & Sussex Non-targeted $70,800 $81,420
  Targeted $84,960 $99,120

Exceptions to First Time Homebuyer Restrictions

  1. A first-time homebuyer is defined as a borrower who has not owned their principal residence during the past three years. There are two exceptions to this rule:
    1. A borrower purchasing a home in a targeted area
    2. A Veteran with a Qualified Veteran’s Exemption
  2. A mobile home on rented land or a temporary foundation is not considered homeownership.

Property Qualifications
To qualify, a property's purchase price cannot exceed:

County Type of Loan Type of Home
1 Unit 2 Units 3 Units 4 Units
New Castle Non-targeted $378,000 $483,885 $584,910 $726,930
  Targeted $462,000 $591,415 $714,890 $888,470
Kent Non-targeted $338,625 $433,485 $523,980 $651,195
  Targeted $413,875 $529,815 $640,420 $795,905
Sussex Non-targeted $337,500 $432,045 $522,270 $649,035
  Targeted N/A N/A N/A N/A


Loan Terms

  1. Zero Point Loans for existing homes currently at 4.75% fixed for 30 years.
  2. Zero Point Loans for newly constructed or to-be-built homes currently 4.25% fixed for 30 years

Related Details
Delaware banks and other financial institutions may apply to DSHA to become approved lenders to originate below-market interest rate first mortgages. Banks and financial institutions can also purchase the mortgage revenue bonds in order to make the proceeds available at below-market rates to low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers.


Participating Mortgage Lenders
Once you know you have met all requirements for this program, contact the lender of your choice.

Lender County
New Castle Kent Sussex
Allied Mortgage Group, Inc. 302.477.9449
American Home Bank 302.293.2218 302.293.2218 302.293.2218
Atlantic Home Loans 302.999.9899
Bank of America 302.498.7300 302.674.5379 866.469.4593
302.644.3060
Chase Home Mortgage 302.453.4455 302.453.4455 302.453.4455
302.226.8182
Chesapeake Mortgage Funding 302.628.7663
Delaware National Bank 302.228.5618 302.228.5618 302.228.5618
Embrace Home Loans 302.657.0181 302.657.0181 302.657.0181
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp 302.239.5173 302.877.0400 302.227.5626
Gilpin Financial Services, Inc. 302.656.5400 302.656.5400 800.656.5400
Met Life Home Loans 302.456.0776 302.734.5770 800.238.6662
Prosperity Mortgage 302.838.4838 302.838.4838 800.798.8679
Superior Mortgage Corp 302.299.1129 302.346.6000 302.346.6000
Trident Mortgage 302.235.6405 302.235.6405 302.235.6405
Weichert Financial Services 302.992.9500    
Wells Fargo 302.661.2500
302.239.6300
302.731.1400
302.672.1200 302.227.5710
Wilmington Mortgage 302.633.1660 302.633.1660 302.633.1660
Wilmington Trust 866.829.1929 866.829.1929 866.829.1929


DSHA Contact Person
Do you have questions about this program? Would you like to suggest an improvement to this Web page? Please contact DSHA at  302.577.5001


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Last Updated: Thursday, 01-Jul-2010 14:32:15 EDT
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