OHFA GOLD & DREAM Eligibility Check

How the check works

Pick the county, your household size and income, the price, and the loan type. The checker looks up OHFA's published limits for that county (the 2025 exhibits released September 1, 2025, which OHFA's program page linked on October 8, 2026) and compares each rule. Every line shows the limit it used and its source.

Each program gets one of three results:

• Appears to meet the published limits: your numbers are at or under every limit we can check.
• Needs a check: the answer depends on something we can't see, almost always whether the home is in a targeted census tract.
• Doesn't meet a published limit: at least one number is over a limit, and the line says by how much.

It never says you qualify. Credit, debt-to-income, the property and the lender's review all come later, and OHFA's Reservation Portal and your OHFA lender decide.

GOLD vs. DREAM at a glance

Rates come from OHFA's rates page, posted at 10:00 a.m. on business days. OHFA notes: “Rates are subject to change at any time based on the daily market. Due to market conditions, always validate rates with OHFA. Reservation Portal published rates supersede all other information.”

OHFA income limits by county

GOLD's limits depend on the county, household size (1–2 people or 3 or more) and whether the home is in a targeted tract. In Oklahoma County the GOLD government limit is $97,700 for 1–2 people and $112,355 for 3 or more, rising to $117,240 and $136,780 in targeted tracts. In Tulsa County it's $98,474 and $113,245 ($108,360 and $126,420 targeted). Conventional GOLD (Freddie Mac HFA Advantage) uses one limit per county regardless of household size.

Targeted areas and census tracts

A targeted area is a qualified census tract (one where at least 70% of families earn 80% or less of the statewide median family income) or an area where OHFA wants more homeownership because mortgage lending there is lower than expected. Buying in one raises GOLD's income and price limits and removes the first-time-buyer requirement.

Exhibit H-3 lists 57 counties as entirely non-targeted and 20 as a mix: Adair, Bryan, Carter, Cleveland, Comanche, Grady, Muskogee, Oklahoma, Okmulgee, Ottawa, Pittsburg, Pottawatomie, Pushmataha, Seminole, Sequoyah, Stephens, Texas, Tillman, Tulsa, Washington. For those 20, the exhibit prints the targeted tract numbers, and the checker shows them when you pick the county. Pushmataha is listed as a combination county, but no tract numbers are printed for it, so ask an OHFA lender. To find a property's tract, OHFA's lender training points to www.ohfa.org/lenders-and-realtors, Census Tracts button.

The 3.5% down payment assistance

Both programs pair the first mortgage with assistance equal to 3.5% of the total loan amount. It's a second mortgage at 0% interest with no monthly payment and no added fees, due when the first mortgage matures, when you sell or refinance, or when you transfer the home or stop living in it. Every GOLD and DREAM borrower must watch OHFA's short DPA education video, and on Freddie Mac HFA Advantage loans homebuyer education is required before closing if all borrowers are first-time buyers.

Example: a $250,000 home with an FHA loan and 3.5% down has a base loan of $241,250.00; adding the 1.75% upfront premium makes the total loan $245,471.88, and 3.5% of that is $8,591.52.

Teachers, first responders and state employees

OHFA's 4Schools, Shield and State Employees rates are 0.125% below the GOLD rate for people currently working at an Oklahoma public or accredited private school, in law enforcement, fire service or emergency medical services (volunteers included), or at an Oklahoma state agency. You still have to meet GOLD's income, price and first-time-buyer rules. On Oct 8, 2026 the posted rates were 6.875% (government) and 7.000% (conventional).

Recapture tax on GOLD loans

GOLD is funded with tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds, so a federal recapture tax can apply when you sell. All three must be true: you sell within the first nine years, your household income rose significantly (more than 5% a year over the life of the loan), and you sell at a gain. It can never be more than 50% of the gain. DREAM loans don't carry it.

What your lender checks

OHFA's lender training lists a 640 minimum middle credit score for most government loans and for Freddie Mac HFA Advantage, with a 45% maximum debt-to-income for FHA borrowers at 640–679 (up to 50% at 680 and above). Manually underwritten FHA loans are capped at 31% housing and 43% total debt. The checker shows these tables but doesn't test them. To see the monthly payment at OHFA's rate, use the mortgage calculator.