Homes for Veterans — 0.40% Off the Mortgage Rate, and the First-Time-Buyer Rule Waived
The state mortgage agency prices veterans below its own standard rate — 0.40% lower on loans with down payment assistance — and lifts the first-time-buyer requirement that applies to everyone else. A veteran who has owned before can still use it, which is what makes it worth checking twice.
Verified August 22, 2026
What this benefit is
The state mortgage agency prices veterans below its own standard rate — 0.40% lower on loans with down payment assistance — and lifts the first-time-buyer requirement that applies to everyone else. A veteran who has owned before can still use it, which is what makes it worth checking twice.
What it's worth: Interest rates 0.40% below the agency's standard rates on loans with down payment assistance; assistance of $3,000 or 3% of the purchase price, whichever is higher, capped at $15,000; only 1% of your own money required
- Eligibility reaches active-duty service members, veterans discharged other than dishonorably, and their spouses or co-borrowers, as well as active or honorably discharged Guard and reserve members.
- The borrower must contribute at least 1% from their own funds; the remaining 2% may come from gifts or other acceptable sources.
- A veteran who is not a first-time buyer must file the agency's military veteran's eligibility affidavit.
Who is entitled to it
- Your discharge is other than dishonorable.
- Your home is in New York.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Start from the agency's participating lender list rather than your own bank. Only a participating lender can write this loan, and a bank that is not on the list cannot match the pricing.
- 2Say at the first conversation that you are applying as a veteran. The 0.40% reduction and the first-time-buyer waiver are both things the lender has to apply deliberately.
- 3If you have owned a home before, ask for the military veteran's eligibility affidavit by name. That single form is what lifts the first-time-buyer requirement, and it is the step most often missed.
- 4Work out your own 1% before you look at houses. The down payment assistance covers the larger of $3,000 or 3% of the price up to $15,000, but at least 1% has to be your own money — a gift cannot fill that part.
- 5Compare this against a federal VA home loan rather than assuming. They are different products, and which is cheaper depends on your rate, your deposit and whether you are paying a funding fee.
- 6Ask the lender for the income and purchase-price ceilings that apply in your county. They exist and they vary, and the agency does not publish them on the programme page.
- Form
- Mortgage application through a participating lender, plus the military veteran's eligibility affidavit where you are not a first-time buyer
- File with
- A lender on the agency's participating lender list
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal needed
Sources
- authority · published policyHomes and Community Renewal — SONYMA Homes for Veterans
Why only one source type: The mortgage agency's own programme page states the rate reduction, the assistance ceiling, the 1% borrower contribution, the eligible groups and the affidavit that lifts the first-time-buyer rule. No statute governs the pricing — it is an agency product — so there is no second authority to read against it.
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.