An Act to Establish a First-time Home-buyer Program
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0845
Committee: Housing and Economic Development
Sponsors: FREDETTE

Legislative Document
No. 845
H.P. 531
House of Representatives, March 4, 2025
An Act to Establish a First-time Home-buyer Program 
Administered by the Finance Authority of Maine
Reference to the Committee on Housing and Economic Development suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FREDETTE of Newport.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  10 MRSA c. 110, sub-c. 2-C is enacted to read:
SUBCHAPTER 2-C
FIRST-TIME HOME-BUYER PROGRAM
§1040. First-time Home-buyer Program 
1.  Definitions.  As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "First-time home buyer" means an individual or household that has not owned a 
primary residence in the past 3 years. 
B.  "Program" means the First-time Home-buyer Program established in subsection 2.
2.  First-time Home-buyer Program established.  The First-time Home-buyer 
Program is established for the purpose of assisting first-time home buyers across all 
counties in the State by providing access to affordable mortgage loans with low interest 
rates and low down payment requirements.
3.  Financial terms and conditions of mortgages.  The mortgage loans provided 
under the program must:
A.  Have a loan term of no more than 30 years;
B.  Have an interest rate lower than market rates at the time of application;
C.  Require a down payment of no more than 5% of the home purchase price; and 
D.  Have a loan guarantee. 
4.  Eligibility criteria.  To qualify for a mortgage loan under the program, an applicant 
must:
A.  Be a first-time home buyer;
B.  Demonstrate that the home purchase price is equal to or less than the maximum 
purchase price for homes as established by the authority in accordance with subsection 
5; and
C.  Satisfy any additional eligibility criteria for applicants of the program established 
by the authority. 
5.  Administration; rules.  The authority shall administer the program.  To carry out 
the purposes of the program, the authority shall:
A.  Establish a method to calculate the maximum purchase price for a home in each 
county of the State based on the regional housing market conditions and adjust the 
maximum purchase price biennially to account for housing market changes and 
inflation;
B.  Allocate loan opportunities equitably across all counties in the State and adopt rules 
and procedures to monitor and adjust allocations to maintain the equitable geographic 
distribution of the program; and 
C.  Adopt rules establishing the program application process, the terms and conditions 
of the loan guarantees and any other rules necessary for administration of the program.
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
6.  Reporting requirements.  Beginning in January 2027, the authority shall submit 
an annual report on the program to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over housing matters.  The annual report must include information regarding:
A.  The number of loans issued; 
B.  The geographic distribution of loans issued; 
C.  The average purchase price of homes; and 
D.  Recommendations for improving the program. 
7.  Funding.  The authority may seek and accept funding from public and private 
sources, including federal grants, to support the implementation and sustainability of the 
program.  Money received by the authority on behalf of the program must be used for the 
purposes of this subchapter. The program fund must be maintained and administered by 
the authority.
Sec. 2.  Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the First-time Home-buyer Program to be administered by the 
Finance Authority of Maine.  The First-time Home-buyer Program is established for the 
purpose of assisting first-time home buyers across all 16 counties of the State by providing 
access to affordable mortgage loans with low interest rates and low down payment 
requirements.