What income qualifies in your area?
The FTHB rate waiver, HomeReady, and Home Possible all have income caps tied to your area's median income. Type an address, ZIP, city, or county and we'll show the limits that apply.
Washington, DC
High-cost Area
AMI 80% Cap $129,600
AMI 120% Cap $194,400
Income limits for
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HomeReady / Home Possible
Rate add-on waiver plus mortgage insurance reduction. Available in every area. Fannie Mae (HomeReady) or Freddie Mac (Home Possible), 3% down options.
FTHB AMI Waiver
Rate add-on waiver only (no MI reduction). High-cost areas only. Available to first-time buyers earning above the 80% threshold but at or below 120% (= 80% × 1.5).
Pick an area above to see the income limits that apply to you.
The hidden lever
The income limit isn't always the income you bring in.
Most people see "$129,600" and assume that's their household paycheck — and decide they're already over. But the cap uses qualifying income, not total household income. That's the income we actually use to underwrite your loan, and we don't always have to use all of it.
$300K combined → $150K qualifying
- Spouse A base salary $150,000
- Spouse B base salary $150,000
- Total household $300,000
If the loan qualifies on Spouse A alone ↓
$215K W-2 → $150K qualifying
- Base salary $150,000
- Commission / bonus $65,000
- Total W-2 income $215,000
If the loan qualifies on base alone ↓
Most lenders won't structure your file this way. They'll plug in the highest income, tell you you're over, and move on. I'll walk through every income source on your file and figure out the smallest amount we can use to qualify — because under the cap is where the math gets meaningful.