i myself have been in the same exact boat you are in now, started my credit rebuild journey in april of this year. mid mortgage credit score was 609, had no money for down payment so i needed to save big time. i found a builder that was building in my area and took a look at their models. my wife and i found one that was the perfect fit for us. got a fha pre approval from their perferred lender and signed the purchase agreement in late april. i used this forum and the vast amount of knowledge it had to repair my credit, my mid score now is 695, the lender re processed my loan to conventional. i asked about first time buyer programs and what they could do to help me, turns out its not exactly what it says it is. many programs are region locked, have loan limits and other rules that apply like max income allowable. i did not fit into any of them, so i was stuck saving my down payment. i asked about tons of programs, and each one had its own rules, some require you to pay back the money borrowed for down payment, others were pure gifts that had income restrictions. find out what is available to you in your region and take a good look at what the rules are. make sure you understand them, its a pain in the arse if you get a program and turns out you have to pay back the money if you sell, or worse you cant sell or refinance the loan for a predetermined amount of time. 10k is probably not going to be enough for a down payment + closing if you want a good rate. remember there is always a trade off, if they cover your closing you will most likely have a much high rate than if you just paid all of it by yourself. if you pay all of it by yourself they give you a much better rate but you need to come up with alot more than 10K. so find a lender with a program that fits you specifically, shop around and dont be afraid to ask questions about their financing programs. some lenders have specific programs for people with high credit scores that are wonderful, but they also have programs for people who have lower credit scores, and they are not as attractive.
focus on your credit, get that score up. the higher it is the better your rate is going to be, and the more programs that will be available to you when you finaly pull the trigger. after getting my mid score up past 680 i qualified for special financing through my builders preferred lender, they got me a rate of 3.5% on a conventional 30yr mortgage with 5% down paayment. they were also able to pay for all of my closing costs, and i mean everything. title insurance, appraisal, lenders fees, pre paids like property taxes. all of it. find a lender that is going to go the extra mile to help you. my mortgage journey is finally coming to an end, im expecting to close on my new construction home this coming saturday.
good luck.
