Home buying help for North Carolina nurses and healthcare workers

Step 1: Confirm your job is covered

Nurses, CNAs, techs and other healthcare workers qualify on the same terms as any buyer. NCHFA's programs are open to every occupation.

Your lender verifies income and employment as part of normal underwriting. There's no job certificate.

The NC Home Advantage Mortgage is a 30-year fixed-rate loan from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA), offered through participating lenders. It comes with forgivable down payment help: up to 3% of the loan for first-time and move-up buyers, or $15,000 through the NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment for qualifying first-time buyers and military veterans. The programs are open to any eligible buyer, so teachers and first responders qualify on the same income, credit and home rules as everyone else.

Shift differentials and income limits

Night, weekend and overtime pay can raise your qualifying income, which helps with the loan but also counts toward the $158,000 limit for the NC Home Advantage Mortgage. The $15,000 option uses lower limits that vary by county and family size, so ask a lender to check yours. See how the limits work.

Travel and contract nurses

The home must be your principal residence, and you must move in within 60 days of closing. If you work contracts, talk to your loan officer early about how they'll document your income.

Step 2: Collect these papers

• Recent pay stubs and two years of W-2s
• Contract or offer letters if you work contracts
• Homebuyer education certificate, if every borrower is a first-time buyer
• Bank statements for your savings

Step 3: Read the common questions

Other covered jobs

• Teachers
• Police officers and deputies
• Firefighters
• EMTs and paramedics
• Military veterans