Wells Fargo launched the yourFirst Mortgage Program to help first-time home buyers and low-to-moderate income borrowers afford mortgages. The yourFirst Mortgage Program, offered in conjunction with with Self-Help and Fannie Mae, enables home buyers to buy a home with a down payment as low as 3.0% of the property purchase price and no minimum borrower contribution. Wells Fargo, Fannie Mae and Self-Help cooperated to develop the yourFirst Mortgage Program to offer borrowers a low down payment mortgage option that is potentially less complex and more borrower-friendly than other programs. Wells Fargo is one of the biggest mortgage lenders in the country. Fannie Mae is a government-sponsored enterprise that provides mortgage capital to lenders. In short, Fannie Mae buys mortgages from lenders such as Wells Fargo which in turn enables lenders to offer more mortgages. Self-Help is a community development lender that focuses on borrowers underserved by traditional financial institutions. The borrower can combine the yourFirst Mortgage Program with a personal gift, employer program, down payment grant or closing cost assistance program to pay for a down payment or closing costs, allowing the borrower to buy a home with no personal financial contribution. Down payment and closing cost assistance grants are provided through state or local housing agencies or commissions. Review information on down payment grants and other mortgage assistance programs in your state STATE PROGRAMS Unlike many other low or no down payment mortgage programs, yourFirst Mortgage participants are not required to take a homebuyer counseling class although borrowers that make a down payment of less than 10% may be able to reduce their interest rate by .125% by completing a HUD-approved homebuyer education course. Additionally, the yourFirst Mortgage Program does not apply borrower income limits or restrict where a property is located, making the program accessible to more homebuyers in more locations. The Wells Fargo yourFirst Mortgage Program competes with the Bank of America Affordable Loan Solution Program, the Fannie Mae HomeReady Program and the FHA Mortgage Program. These programs also enable borrowers to buy a home with a down payment as low as 3.0% - 3.5% and no personal financial contribution. In some ways, yourFirst Mortgage takes some of the best parts of these other programs and puts them into a single program for low-to-moderate income borrowers. For example, similar to the HomeReady Mortgage Program, yourFirst Mortgage considers non-traditional credit profiles and income from non-borrower household members, such as relatives or boarders, to determine a borrower’s ability to qualify for a mortgage