When I bought my townhouse in suburban Chicago in 1998, I was a first time homebuyer. Since I was a first time homebuyer, Citimortgage (my mortgage company) had a special program for first time homebuyers. I bought with a 2% down payment, and I had to attend a series of classes for first time homebuyers explaining the responsibilities of being an homeowner versus a renter (like having to call the furnace repair company at 9:00 pm on a Friday night when the furnace goes out and then having to write a check for $200 for the repair; that really happened to me about 10 years ago
). I had to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) for about the first 3 or 4 years of my mortgage until I hit 20% equity in my home which required an appraisal of my house.
I don't know if you are a first time homebuyer or not, but you may want to check into that. With all the mortgage turmoil of the past few years, I don't know if first time homebuyer programs even exist any longer.
You may also want to inquire about seller financing. I have seen a few homes listed for sale in The Villages where the seller is offering seller financing.