Pennsylvania home loans, from PHFA's 5% forgivable K-FIT loan to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh jumbo lending.
Pennsylvania-licensed lending across Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, Lancaster, and the rural counties in between. Straight numbers on PHFA's K-FIT and Keystone Advantage, USDA in the Northern Tier, and the VA benefit. A Cornerstone branch manager who works the file himself instead of handing it to a call center.
Program figures verified August 2026. PHFA amounts, county limits, and tax rates change; confirm your scenario with us.
A Pennsylvania-licensed team fluent in the PHFA menu, Keystone Home Loan, K-FIT, Keystone Advantage, from the Philadelphia suburbs to the Northern Tier.
Straight math on K-FIT versus Keystone Advantage, and on Philadelphia's 4.578% transfer tax before it surprises you at the table. No script. We say so when PHFA is the wrong move for your file.
A first-time buyer in Lancaster, a self-employed borrower in Pittsburgh, a jumbo file in Chester County, a Poconos short-term-rental investor, a veteran near Carlisle Barracks. We cover the full Pennsylvania toolbox.
Mike and his Pennsylvania-licensed loan officers work every Philadelphia, Allegheny, and Lehigh County file directly. No handoffs. You always know where your closing stands.
Pick the Pennsylvania path that fits your situation.
Each guide goes deep on one kind of Pennsylvania buyer, from a first-timer stacking K-FIT with a Keystone Home Loan to a jumbo file in the Main Line suburbs. Land directly on the answers that matter to you.
Down Payment Assistance
PHFA's K-FIT (5% forgivable, no cap) and Keystone Advantage (up to 4% or $6,000), plus city programs, Philly First Home up to $10,000 and Allegheny County's tiered assistance. The full Pennsylvania DPA menu explained simply.
See Pennsylvania DPA details →Buy Before You Sell
Bridge financing that removes the sale contingency so a move-up buyer in the Lehigh Valley or the Pittsburgh suburbs can buy before the current home sells. Pennsylvania listing agents call this the deal-saver.
See BBYS details →Self-Employed Loans
Bank statement, 1099, and asset-qualifier paths for Pennsylvania's self-employed. Qualify on what your Philadelphia or Pittsburgh business actually earns, not the number left after Schedule C write-offs.
See Self-Employed details →Jumbo & Doctor Loans
Above $832,750 in nearly every Pennsylvania county a loan turns jumbo (Pike County runs higher). Full doc, alt doc, super jumbo, plus the physician program: up to 100% financing, no PMI, residents and fellows eligible before the first paycheck.
See Jumbo / Doctor details →Investor & DSCR Loans
DSCR loans that qualify on the property's rent, not your tax returns. Short-term-rental and standard rental options built for Pennsylvania markets from the Poconos to Pittsburgh's rehab neighborhoods.
See Investor / DSCR details →First-Time Home Buyer Loans
The full first-time path in Pennsylvania: PHFA's Keystone Home Loan, K-FIT, homebuyer education, county income and price limits, and the veteran and target-area exemptions that widen who qualifies.
See First-Time Buyer details →A licensed Pennsylvania loan officer, not a call-center voice.
Most Pennsylvania buyers who search for PHFA help land on a national aggregator that sells the lead three times before anyone calls back. That is not us. Mike Certo is a branch manager with Cornerstone First Mortgage who works Pennsylvania files himself, and he will tell you straight which path fits: K-FIT for the biggest forgivable assistance, Keystone Advantage when K-FIT does not, a plain conventional or FHA when PHFA adds nothing. He has closed these across Philadelphia, Lancaster, and the western suburbs, and he knows the parts that trip buyers up here, the transfer tax, the older housing stock, the well-and-septic appraisal calls in USDA country.
The Pennsylvania lender you call when the deal has a complication.
A self-employed buyer in Pittsburgh whose tax returns understate the business. A veteran near Tobyhanna using full VA entitlement with zero down. A move-up family in Chester County who needs to buy before they sell. A rehab investor financing on the rent, not the returns. Those are the files that stall with a call center and close with us. Pennsylvania's transfer tax, its pre-1978 housing stock, and its rural appraisal quirks all reward a lender who has seen them before.
Common questions.
What is PHFA's K-FIT program, and how is it different from other down payment help?
K-FIT (Keystone Forgivable in Ten Years) provides 5% of the lesser of the purchase price or appraised value toward your down payment and closing costs, with no maximum dollar amount. It is forgiven 10% per year over 10 years, so if you stay in the home a decade you never repay it. Most state programs cap at a flat figure like $6,000; K-FIT scales with the price, which on a $300,000 Pennsylvania home is $15,000. It requires a 660 credit score and pairs with a PHFA Keystone Home Loan or an eligible conventional, FHA, VA, or USDA first mortgage.
Do I have to be a first-time buyer to use PHFA in Pennsylvania?
For the Keystone Home Loan, generally yes, defined as not having owned a principal residence in the past three years, but veterans and buyers in federally designated target areas are exempt. PHFA's HFA Preferred conventional product has no first-time-buyer requirement and no purchase-price limit. Income limits still apply and are set by county. We check which path you qualify for before you shop.
How much is the transfer tax when I buy in Pennsylvania?
The statewide realty transfer tax is 2%, split as 1% state and 1% local, and it is customarily divided between buyer and seller though that is negotiable. Several cities charge much more locally: Philadelphia's total is 4.578% as of July 2025, and Pittsburgh and Reading run near 5%. On a $300,000 Philadelphia home the total transfer tax is roughly $13,700. We fold your exact figure into the cash-to-close so it is never a surprise.
Is much of Pennsylvania eligible for a zero-down USDA loan?
Yes. Outside the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metro cores, a large share of Pennsylvania is USDA-eligible, the Northern Tier, much of central PA, the Poconos fringe, and the farmland around Lancaster. USDA loans need no down payment. Eligibility is address-specific, so we check the USDA map for your target home. The 2026 USDA income limit is around $122,800 for a one-to-four-person household in most Pennsylvania counties as of 2026, and a bit higher in the Philadelphia area. Because USDA updates these and the number is address-specific, confirm your county's current limit at USDA's eligibility tool before counting on it.
What's the fastest way to find out if you can help me?
Call (480) 296-6513 and ask for Mike, or send your scenario through the contact form. Our team calls you back shortly. Pre-approval typically takes 24 to 48 hours once your credit and income documents are in.
Ready when you are.
Tell us your county, your credit range, and whether you are a first-time or move-up buyer, and we will map your Pennsylvania options in a no-pressure call. No obligation.