Close your PHFA loan on time.
Your PHFA lock, in dollars: 3 days free, then 0.125%, 0.25%, 0.375%. Enter four numbers and see the ladder priced on your loan, the 33-day ceiling, and the three questions to ask your lender today.
Lock Survival
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Your extension ladder, in dollars
| Extension | Fee | Cost on your loan | New expiration |
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What to ask your lender today
- Has my file actually reached PHFA yet — what date did they receive it? "Submitted" sometimes means submitted to the lender's own underwriter, not to PHFA. Get the date.
- Which lock length did you choose, and when does it expire? Lock days are consecutive calendar days — weekends and holidays count. New locks aren't accepted on weekends or holidays, which is why a Friday problem becomes a Monday problem.
- If we need more time, will you request the free 3-day extension first? The request has to reach PHFA on or before the expiration date. One free 3-day extension is available per loan; after that the ladder starts costing money.
Is the PHFA rate premium worth the assistance? Run it.
Enter your numbers. See both paths side by side — eligibility, assistance, cash to close, payment, and where you stand at 5 and 10 years. Rates are yours to enter; we don't quote one here.
Your numbers
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Eligibility — the two hard gates
| Gate | Your number | Limit | Result |
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Both paths, line by line
| PHFA path | Non-PHFA path |
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P&I is calculated on the base first-mortgage amount at the rates you entered, 30-year term. Mortgage insurance, FHA upfront MIP and monthly MIP, taxes, homeowner's insurance and HOA dues are not in these payment figures — they apply on both sides and can move the answer. This is an estimate from your inputs, not a Loan Estimate, not a quote, and not a commitment to lend. Program facts: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13
Grant, loan, or forgivable? Decode your PHFA assistance.
Three ways PHFA assistance shows up on a Loan Estimate. Pick the one that matches yours and take the question with you.
Which one is yours?
Pattern 1 — "It's baked into the loan"
Your Loan Estimate shows one loan amount and no separate assistance line. Nothing was lost — PHFA assistance is a second lien or a forgivable second, and a Loan Estimate covers one loan. Your first-mortgage LE simply doesn't describe it. If your first-mortgage loan amount looks larger than price-minus-down, that's a different thing: financed FHA upfront MIP, which K-FIT is not allowed to pay for.
Ask your loan officer "Is the assistance a separate lien with its own note, and can I see that note and its terms in writing? And is my first-mortgage amount larger than price minus down payment because upfront MIP was financed?"
Pattern 2 — "There's a second lien"
You see two sets of documents: the first mortgage, and a second for the assistance. This is normal and it's the honest version. What matters is which assistance it is, because the three behave completely differently: K-FIT is forgiven 10% a year over 10 years. Keystone Advantage is 0% interest but repayable monthly over 10 years — that's a real payment. K-DATE is deferred with nothing due until you sell, refinance, or the loan expires.
Ask your loan officer "Which program is the second — K-FIT, Keystone Advantage, or K-DATE? Is there a monthly payment on it, and what triggers repayment?"
Pattern 3 — "My grant got smaller"
The most common surprise, and it's a rule, not a mistake. K-FIT can only be used for the minimum required down payment and/or closing costs — the Seller's Guide puts it as "K-FIT funds may not be used to fund down money in excess of the applicable minimum required." Your earnest money deposit and any cash you're already bringing count toward that minimum first. So if the minimum down is $9,800 and you've already put $5,000 down as earnest money plus $5,000 of your own, there's no down-payment gap left for K-FIT to fill — the remainder has to go toward closing costs or it isn't used at all. A bigger deposit doesn't lose you money; it just moves which bucket the assistance can land in, and can shrink the total.
Ask your loan officer "Show me the K-FIT calculation: minimum required down payment, my own funds and deposit applied against it, and the remainder applied to closing costs. What's the number, and did my deposit change it?"
Rate premium vs. assistance: a PHFA first mortgage often carries a different rate than the same lender's plain conventional or FHA offer. That difference is not shown as a fee anywhere on the Loan Estimate — it shows up in the payment, every month, for as long as you keep the loan. The side-by-side above is where you price it. Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13
Waiting on PHFA? Here's how long.
Days from lender submission to PHFA approval, reported by buyers who used this kit. Crowd-sourced, unofficial, and the only number of its kind we know of.
PHFA turn-times — reported by buyers
We're collecting this — be the first to report yours.
Buyer-reported, unverified, and not a PHFA figure. PHFA does not publish turn-times. Treat it as what other buyers experienced, not as a promise about your file.
Email me the kit
Don't read the Seller's Guide. Read this.
Everything above stays on this page whether you give us your email or not — nothing is held back. The kit is the printable PDF plus turn-time updates when the numbers move.
- A lock-survival calculator with PHFA's extension ladder in dollars
- A PHFA-vs-alternative side-by-side with 5- and 10-year net
- The K-FIT / Keystone Advantage / K-DATE rules in buyer terms, with dates
- Three Loan Estimate patterns and the question to ask for each
- Live PHFA turn-times, reported by buyers like you
The PHFA rules nobody explains to the buyer.
The extension ladder, the K-FIT catch, the counseling rule, the lender-fee cap. Summarized from PHFA's own Seller's Guide with the date on every number.
K-FIT — up to 5%, forgiven over 10 years, and the deposit catch
Minimum mid credit score 660. Up to 5% of the lesser of purchase price or appraised value, with no dollar cap and a $500 minimum. Forgiven at 10% a year over 10 years — stay 10 years and you owe nothing. It must be used for the minimum required down payment and/or closing costs: "K-FIT funds may not be used to fund down money in excess of the applicable minimum required." It cannot finance FHA upfront MIP, or VA or RD guaranty fees. You may not hold more than $50,000 in liquid assets after closing. It can't be combined with other PHFA assistance except Access Modification.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
Keystone Advantage — the one with a monthly payment
The lesser of 4% of purchase price or $6,000. 0% interest, but repayable over 10 years — that's a real monthly payment on top of your mortgage. Minimum mid score 660, no more than $50,000 in liquid assets after closing, and you must use the maximum PHFA financing available to you.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
K-DATE — deferred until you sell or refinance
Up to 8% of the lesser of purchase price or appraised value — dropping to 5% for loan amounts of $150,001 or more. Nothing is due until the loan expires, you sell, or you refinance. It isn't forgiven; it's postponed.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
Lock extensions — the ladder, the ceiling, and the refund
The extension request must reach PHFA on or before the lock expiration date. Fees are a percentage of the loan amount: 3 days = no cost (once per loan), 7 days = 0.125%, 15 days = 0.25%, 30 days = 0.375%. A maximum of 33 days of extensions is allowed. The fee is only charged if the loan closes and is purchased — and if the extension proves unnecessary, it must not be charged to you; the lender reimburses it. Lock days are consecutive calendar days including weekends and holidays, and new locks are not accepted on weekends or holidays.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
If the lock already expired — relock rules
A relock after expiration is priced at worse case plus a 37.5 basis point relock fee, for requests made up to 59 days after expiration. At 60 days or more past expiration, it's current market.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
Counseling — which one you have to take depends on your score
Mid credit score below 680: face-to-face counseling is required. 680 and above: the online course (Framework) satisfies it. Book it early — this is a common reason a file sits.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
What a lender may charge you on a PHFA loan
An administration fee of no more than $1,100. No other lender overhead fees — no document preparation fee, no underwriting fee. You may pay up to 2 bona fide discount points. If you see a doc-prep or underwriting fee on a PHFA loan, ask about it.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide, Aug 2026. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
Monroe · Pike · Carbon: are you inside PHFA's limits?
For Monroe, Pike and Carbon counties (non-targeted), the Keystone Home Loan limits are a purchase price of $499,900 and household income of $106,000 for 1–2 people or $121,900 for 3 or more. Lehigh and Northampton limits are not published on this page yet — the side-by-side will tell you so rather than guess.
Source: PHFA Seller's Guide Appendix A, effective 2026-07-01. As of 2026-09-13 · Verify with PHFA or your participating lender — program terms change.
Monroe County has its own program, separate from PHFA
The Monroe County Redevelopment Authority First-Time Homebuyer Program is a county program, not a PHFA one: a no-interest second mortgage of up to $20,000 or 20% of the purchase price, whichever is less, forgiven at 10% a year over a 10-year affordability period or until the property is sold. An extra $5,000 is available if you've lived in Monroe County for the last 12 consecutive months. HUD-approved pre-purchase counseling is required, existing homes only, and you contribute at least 3% of the purchase price from your own funds. Income limits by household size: 1 person $69,750 · 2 $79,375 · 3 $89,313 · 4 $99,188 · 5 $107,125 · 6 $115,135 · 7 $123,000 · 8 $130,937. Whether this can stack with a PHFA program has to be confirmed by your lender — don't assume it.
Source: monroecountyrda.org, First-Time Homebuyer Program. As of 2026-09-13 · Limits are set annually and change — verify with the Monroe County RDA.
Who this kit is for
Pennsylvania first-time buyers in Monroe, Pike, Carbon, or the Lehigh Valley who've been told "PHFA" and want to know what that means for their closing date and their money. Walk away with a dollar figure for your lock, a verdict on the assistance, and today's three questions.