Smart7: $7,000, 0%, and the Loosest Rules in Mississippi
Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Smart7 pays the least of the three MHC assistance programs and asks the least in return. For a lot of Mississippi buyers that trade is not close.
What are Smart7's terms?
Seven thousand dollars toward your down payment and closing costs, structured as a second mortgage at 0% interest (CFPB explains what a second mortgage is). Source: MHC's Smart7 program page. Nothing is collected monthly. MHC defers the principal until one of four things happens: you sell, you refinance, the property stops being owner-occupied, or the first mortgage is paid in full.
Sitting underneath it is a 30-year fixed first mortgage at a rate MHC sets and quotes weekly, available on FHA, VA, Rural Development, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac financing.
Do I have to be a first-time buyer for Smart7?
No. MHC lists it as a program feature: Smart7 carries no first-time homebuyer requirements. The property has to be your primary residence, but your ownership history does not come into it.
This separates Smart7 from everything else MHC offers. Easy8, Trusty10 and JustRate all run the three-year lookback, waived only in target areas or for veterans. Smart7 skips the question for everyone, everywhere in Mississippi.
What is the Smart7 income limit?
$137,870 for household annual income, and it is one figure for the whole state. No county table, no household-size split, no target-area adjustment.
Compare that against the bond programs. The highest county figure anywhere in Mississippi is $117,720, on the target side of Lafayette County. The lowest is $81,100. Smart7's ceiling beats the best county in the state by more than $20,000 and the worst by $56,770.
| Smart7 | Easy8 / Trusty10 / JustRate | |
|---|---|---|
| Income limit | $137,870 statewide | County MRB, $81,100 to $117,720 |
| Varies by county? | No | Yes |
| Varies by household size? | No | Yes, splits at three |
| Varies by target status? | No | Yes |
| Purchase price | $413,610 | $382,590 / $316,373 |
How much house does $413,610 buy in Mississippi?
More than almost anyone using this program needs, which is the point. The bond programs cap at $316,373 outside target areas, so Smart7 allows $97,237 more purchase price than Easy8 does in a non-target county.
For most Mississippi buyers neither cap binds. For a buyer in Madison, Oxford or Southaven looking at the upper end of their range, the Smart7 cap can be the only one that does not.
Is there an asset limit?
MHC lists "no liquid asset limit" as a Smart7 feature. Savings beyond what you need to close do not disqualify you, which is not true of every assistance program in the country.
That pairs usefully with the lack of a first-time requirement. A buyer who sold a home, has proceeds sitting in the bank, and earns under $137,870 is a legitimate Smart7 borrower.
What properties qualify?
A new or existing home in Mississippi, as a single-family home, townhouse or condominium, serving as your primary residence. Manufactured homes are possible but MHC conditions them on servicer overlays, so that is a question for your specific file rather than a general yes.
Other Smart7 requirements: you must be a legal resident of the United States, and credit score is determined by servicer guidelines rather than a single published floor.
Is homebuyer education required?
Yes. MHC requires pre-purchase homebuyer education on all of its products, and your lender needs proof of completion before the file moves forward. How to get it done.
Is $7,000 enough?
Often, yes. On an FHA purchase the minimum down payment is 3.5% of the price, because HUD Handbook 4000.1 caps purchase LTV at 96.5% of adjusted value. So $7,000 covers the full down payment on a purchase up to $200,000 and most of it well above that. Add that it costs you nothing monthly and nothing in eligibility, and the $1,000 or $3,000 you give up against the other programs starts to look expensive.
Mike's position: if you clear the Smart7 box, take Smart7. Why, with the arithmetic.
Frequently asked questions
What is MHC Smart7?
A Mississippi Home Corporation program providing $7,000 toward down payment and closing costs as a 0% second mortgage with no monthly payment, paired with a 30-year fixed first mortgage at a rate MHC sets. It has no first-time homebuyer requirement, a statewide income limit of $137,870, a purchase price limit of $413,610, and no liquid asset limit. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.Does Smart7 require you to be a first-time homebuyer?
No. MHC publishes it as a program feature that Smart7 carries no first-time homebuyer requirements. The home must serve as your primary residence, but your prior ownership history is not a factor. This makes Smart7 the only MHC assistance product open to previous homeowners anywhere in Mississippi without needing a target-area or veteran exemption. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.When do you repay Smart7?
When one of four events occurs, in MHC's wording: the property is sold, the loan is refinanced, the property becomes non-owner-occupied, or the first mortgage is paid in full. Until then the $7,000 sits as a 0% second lien with nothing collected monthly and no interest accruing. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.What is the Smart7 income limit in Mississippi?
$137,870 in household annual income, applied statewide with no county, household-size or target-area variation. That figure is higher than every county Mortgage Revenue Bond limit in Mississippi, the highest of which is $117,720, so Smart7 has the most generous income ceiling in all eighty-two counties. Verified against MHC 2026-10-06.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not tax or legal guidance. MHC program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Mississippi Home Corporation and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against MHC's published pages and its Homebuyer Guide. Smart7 and Easy8 are 0% second mortgages with no monthly payment, deferred until sale, refinance, loss of owner-occupancy or payoff of the first mortgage. Trusty10 is a 15-year second at a 2% rate set by MHC and does carry a monthly payment. Housing Assistance for Teachers is Mississippi Department of Education grant money forgiven on completion of three years' service in a district the Department designates as critical-shortage. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.