A CHFA loan is a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage funded by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, the state housing agency. CHFA sells tax-exempt bonds and lends the proceeds at a rate below the open market to buyers whose income and purchase price fall under limits it sets. Since June 2026 CHFA brands these first mortgages Make it Yours; the rules did not change. You cannot get one from CHFA directly. A participating lender, or a broker one sponsors, takes the application, reserves the rate and sends the file to CHFA for review. Here is who qualifies, how the rate is set and what the 2026 limits are.
What a CHFA loan is, and the CHFA programs under it
CHFA is the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. Its homebuyer loans are called bond loans because the money comes from tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, which let CHFA borrow cheaply; in return the loans must go to buyers who meet federal first-time, income and price rules. Every CHFA first mortgage is 30-year fixed, purchase only, on a home you will live in. It comes in these forms:
- HFA Advantage and HFA Preferred: conventional loans backed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, up to 97% loan-to-value (LTV, the loan divided by the home value) on one unit, with reduced mortgage insurance at or below 80% of area median income (AMI).
- Government Insured: FHA, VA or USDA loans at the CHFA rate.
- Special programs with a rate discount for military members and veterans, police, certified teachers and buyers with a disability, plus 203(k) and renovation versions that add repair money.
- Behind any of them, the DAP and Time To Own second mortgages. Separately, Next Move with Deferred DPA serves first-time and repeat buyers up to 120% of AMI with no price limit.
CHFA first time home buyer rules and who qualifies
- First-time buyer: no ownership interest in your principal residence in the three years before closing, and no other property owned at closing. Waived in federally designated targeted census tracts.
- Income: the applicants’ income, counted the CHFA way with overtime and bonus, at or below the CHFA limit for the planning region and household size.
- Price: at or below the CHFA sales price limit for the town; the appraisal may not exceed that limit by more than 5%.
- Property: one to four units, condos, townhouses and planned unit developments, occupied as your principal residence within 60 days.
- Education: a free CHFA-approved homebuyer class for at least one borrower before closing, plus a landlord class on two to four units.
- Credit: CHFA adds no score overlay; FHA, Fannie or Freddie rules apply. Debt-to-income (DTI, monthly debts divided by gross monthly income) is capped at 50% on conventional, and on FHA at 50% with a 660 score or 45% below it.
How CHFA mortgage rates work
CHFA sets its own rate. It prices loans off the bonds it sells, publishes one rate per program on chfa.org, and every participating lender reserves at that published rate, so a bank and a broker-sponsored originator deliver the same CHFA rate on the same day. What differs is service, speed and fees, which CHFA caps.
A home in a targeted area takes a quarter of a percent off the published rate; the military, police, teacher, disability and public housing programs take an eighth (teachers under Recruit and Retain, a quarter). Discounts do not stack. The rate locks for 60 days at reservation. Rates change, so I will not print one; ask and I will send today’s, dated.
| Item | CHFA cap |
|---|---|
| Lender application, processing and underwriting fees | $1,295 total |
| Origination fee on the CHFA rate sheet | None listed |
| DAP or Time To Own application fee | $600 |
| DAP or Time To Own settlement agent fee | $200 |
| Rate lock from reservation | 60 days |
| One-time lock extension fee past 60 days | 0.25% of the loan amount |
Third-party costs such as appraisal, title, recording and attorney are at actual cost. Source: CHFA Loan Program Outlines (Bond), revised October 5, 2026.
CHFA income and purchase price limits for 2026
CHFA sets limits by planning region, not county, effective for reservations on or after June 22, 2026. These regions cover most of the towns I work in; the full table for every town is on its own page.
| Planning region | Income, 1 or 2 people | Income, 3 or more | Sales price limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Central (Milford, Orange, West Haven, New Haven, Hamden and 10 more towns) | $129,500 | $148,925 | $566,350 |
| South Central targeted tracts (parts of New Haven, West Haven, Meriden) | $155,400 | $181,300 | $692,210 |
| Greater Bridgeport (Bridgeport, Stratford, Fairfield, Trumbull, Monroe, Easton) | $168,720 | $196,840 | $750,000 |
| Greater Bridgeport targeted tracts (parts of Bridgeport) | $168,720 | $196,840 | $800,000 |
| Naugatuck Valley (Shelton, Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Waterbury and 14 more towns) | $129,500 | $148,925 | $566,350 |
| Western, lower Fairfield County (Stamford, Norwalk, Greenwich, Darien and 4 more) | $186,515 | $214,490 | $750,000 |
Applicant income only, by household size. Targeted figures apply only inside an eligible census tract. Source: CHFA Form 064-0308, Make it Yours (Bond) Income and Sales Price Limits, as of June 22, 2026.
How a CHFA loan works, step by step
- 01
Pre-approval
A participating lender documents income, credit and assets and runs the CHFA compliance income calculation.
- 02
Class and contract
Take the free class (the pre-purchase version counts for 12 months). A signed contract comes before anything is reserved.
- 03
Reservation
The lender reserves the first mortgage and any DAP or Time To Own in the CHFA system, locking the rate for 60 days.
- 04
Underwriting, twice
The lender underwrites to agency or FHA rules; CHFA then reviews income, price, first-time status and education.
- 05
Closing
With an attorney, as Connecticut requires. Payments then go to the servicer CHFA assigns.
Mortgage insurance, the recapture tax and other trade-offs
Mortgage insurance: on the conventional CHFA loans, borrowers at or below 80% of AMI get reduced coverage, usually a lower premium than a standard 3% down loan, cancellable later under agency rules. On the FHA version you pay the FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP) like any FHA borrower.
The recapture tax: federal law can claw back part of the bond subsidy if all three happen: you sell within nine years, at a gain, with income that year above a federal threshold for your region and household size. The maximum is the lesser of half the gain or the share of the original loan below. Most borrowers never owe it, and CHFA reimburses it on loans closed since March 18, 2013 if you file its form.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | After |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.25% | 2.50% | 3.75% | 5.00% | 6.25% | 5.00% | 3.75% | 2.50% | 1.25% | None |
Capped at 50% of the gain. No tax on a sale at a loss, a transfer on death or a transfer to a spouse in a divorce. Source: CHFA Understanding Recapture Tax disclosure package, revised June 23, 2025.
CHFA refinance: what is and is not possible
There is no CHFA refinance; the bond programs are purchases only, apart from paying off short-term construction financing. If rates drop, you refinance out of a CHFA loan with any lender; see refinancing in Connecticut. Two things first: a DAP or Time To Own second cannot be subordinated, so it is paid off at the refinance, with the unforgiven Time To Own balance due; and refinancing does not trigger the recapture tax, only a sale within nine years does.
CHFA participating lenders and how to apply
CHFA works with more than 60 participating banks and mortgage companies, and a participating lender may sponsor a licensed broker or third-party originator with CHFA approval: the lender funds the loan and answers to CHFA, the originator runs the file. The lender list is on chfa.org. Only a participating lender can reserve a CHFA loan, so ask that first. Then get pre-approved with two years of W-2s or returns, a month of pay stubs and two months of bank statements, and tell me the town. I will check the limits and the tract and tell you whether CHFA beats a plain FHA loan; first-time buyers can start with the full program overview.
Is this the right loan for you?
- 01
A first-time buyer in New Haven County under the income limit, with a credit score in the mid 600s and 3% to 5% saved.
- 02
A renter in Bridgeport, Stratford or Fairfield, where the Greater Bridgeport limits run higher than the rest of the state.
- 03
A buyer in a targeted tract in New Haven, West Haven or Bridgeport who owned a home before and assumed they were out.
- 04
A teacher, police officer, service member or veteran who qualifies for a special program rate discount.
A recent example
A CHFA conventional loan in Stratford
A couple renting in Stratford came to me with credit scores in the high 600s and about 4% saved, worried that Fairfield County prices put them over. Stratford sits in the CHFA Greater Bridgeport region, where the limits run higher than on the New Haven side of the line, and their income cleared it. We used a CHFA HFA Preferred loan at 3% down with a DAP second covering the rest of the down payment and part of the closing costs. Their income was under 80% of area median, so the mortgage insurance came in at the reduced level. They took the pre-closing class online the week we went under contract, and we closed with their attorney inside the 60-day lock.
How I shop this loan
CHFA is the one loan where I cannot shop the rate, because CHFA sets it and every participating lender delivers the same number. So I shop everything around it. First, is CHFA the right first mortgage at all? Some days it beats the open market by a wide margin; some days a plain FHA or conventional loan with lender credits is close enough that the recapture tax and the income paperwork are not worth it. I price both side by side. Second, which CHFA first mortgage: under 80% of AMI the conventional version usually wins on mortgage insurance; above that, FHA often does. Third, the second mortgage: DAP, Time To Own or both. Fourth, the lender behind the file, because turn times and overlays differ even when the rate does not. Rates change daily, so I quote everything on the same day and date it.
The questions I get most
01What is a CHFA loan?
02What are the requirements for a CHFA loan?
03What are CHFA mortgage rates today?
04Do you have to be a first time home buyer to get a CHFA loan?
05Who are CHFA participating lenders?
06Can you refinance a CHFA loan?
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Keep reading
- CHFA Down Payment Assistance: Who Qualifies and How MuchCHFA down payment assistance is a second mortgage behind a CHFA first mortgage: Time To Own is zero-interest and forgiven over ten years, up to $25,000, and DAP is a repayable loan up to $15,000.
- CHFA Income and Purchase Price LimitsCHFA income limits run from $129,500 to $195,600 for one or two people and $148,925 to $228,200 for three or more, depending on the planning region and targeted tracts; purchase price limits run from $566,350 to $800,000.
- First-Time Home Buyer Programs in ConnecticutThe main first-time home buyer programs in Connecticut are the CHFA below-market mortgage with Time To Own and DAP down payment help, FHA at 3.5% down, VA and USDA at zero down, and 3% down conventional loans.
- Connecticut mortgage broker: home
Written by
AJ Doerr
Loan Officer, NMLS #2051311. Mortgage broker in Milford, Connecticut, licensed in Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts. Updated October 2026. About AJ.