First-time home buyer programs and steps in Utah

"First-time buyer" doesn't mean you've never owned a home. For Utah Housing Corporation's programs it usually means you haven't had an ownership interest in a principal residence at any time in the three years before your new loan closes. That's the definition in UHC's Selling Supplement, the rulebook its lenders follow (version dated July 6, 2026). It tracks the federal rule for bond-financed loans in Internal Revenue Code Section 143(d).

This guide is general information about Utah home buying programs, federal loan programs and Utah's state-approved forms, current as of October 2026. It isn't legal, tax or lending advice. Program rules, rates and limits change often. Confirm everything with a Utah Housing participating lender, and talk to a Utah real estate attorney or tax advisor about your situation.

Two groups get an exception to the three-year rule for UHC's FirstHome loan. Veterans, as defined by the Department of Veterans Affairs, are exempt. So is a borrower who qualifies as a single parent under UHC's definition (Selling Supplement § 6.1.1.7). The state's new-construction assistance program uses a similar single-parent exception for a parent who owned a home with a former spouse and no longer owns or lives in it.

Some UHC programs don't care whether you've owned before. The FHA/VA Mortgage and Freddie Mac HFA Advantage programs are open to first-time buyers and to people who have owned a home. So if you're coming back to the market after a few years, you may still have options.

Utah Housing Corporation is Utah's housing finance agency. It doesn't lend to you directly. You apply through one of its approved participating lenders, and you tell the loan officer you want a Utah Housing loan. Every UHC first mortgage is a 30-year fixed-rate loan. UHC buys and services the loans, so your payments go to Utah Housing.

That table comes from UHC's Loan Program Overview for Realtors (Form 305, revised June 1, 2025) and its homeownership programs page. UHC says FirstHome typically has its lowest interest rate. HFA Advantage may carry a higher rate but lower mortgage insurance costs, which can mean a lower monthly payment. Your lender can compare them for you with UHC's payment comparison tool.

UHC lists three other programs as temporarily suspended in October 2026: HomeAgain, NoMI and Score. If you read about them elsewhere, check UHC's site before planning around them.

• Homebuyer education. For FirstHome, UHC recommends a class but doesn't require one. For HFA Advantage, when every borrower living in the home is a first-time buyer, at least one must finish a homebuyer education course before closing (Selling Supplement § 6.1.4.8). UHC points to Freddie Mac's free CreditSmart course and to HUD-approved counseling agencies.
• Occupancy. You must live in the home. UHC doesn't finance vacation homes, second homes or short-term rentals such as Airbnb-type properties.
• Property types. Single-family homes, condominiums and planned unit developments are eligible. FHA/VA Mortgage loans can finance an owner-occupied two-unit home. Manufactured homes are allowed with requirements on the FHA and VA programs, but not on HFA Advantage.
• Acreage. FirstHome is limited to one acre, or up to five acres when the appraiser identifies the property as being in a highly rural area (a county the CFPB lists as underserved).
• Recapture tax. A FirstHome loan may be funded with tax-exempt bonds. Federal law can raise your income tax in the year you sell, in some situations. UHC says it may refund that recapture tax if you owe it. Your lender gives you a Recapture Notice at closing.

UHC's down payment assistance (DPA) is a second mortgage, not a grant. You can only get it alongside a UHC first mortgage. Your lender decides how much you need, and UHC says you may be able to borrow your entire minimum required down payment plus all or part of your closing costs. UHC doesn't require you to bring a minimum amount of your own money to closing.

Those terms are from UHC Form 305 and UHC's DPA page for Realtors, as posted in October 2026. On an FHA first mortgage, the loan amount used for the percentage may include the upfront FHA mortgage insurance premium.

Here's a hypothetical example. Say your first mortgage is $386,000. Traditional DPA could be up to 6% of that, or $23,160, which is under the $27,500 cap. Deferred DPA could be up to 3.5%, or $13,510. The traditional option lends more but adds a monthly payment. The deferred option has no payment, but the balance and interest come due when you sell or refinance.

• The DPA second can only pay your down payment and closing costs. It can also cover the gap when the price is higher than the appraised value.
• It can't give you cash back, pay off debt or fund repair escrows (Selling Supplement § 7.1.1.2).
• The DPA second becomes due if you default on either loan or transfer the home without authorization (Selling Supplement § 7.1.1.3).

Both the purchase price and your income have to be under UHC's limits. For FirstHome, the income limit counts the gross annual household income of everyone who will live in the home, sign the deed of trust and be liable on the mortgage. These are the FirstHome limits as posted on UHC's limits page when we checked in October 2026. UHC changes them, so confirm the current figures before you shop.

The other two programs work differently. As posted in October 2026, FHA/VA Mortgage and Freddie Mac HFA Advantage have a $165,200 qualifying income limit in all counties and no UHC purchase price limit. Their loan amounts follow FHA and VA loan limits or Freddie Mac's baseline conforming loan limit. For an owner-occupied two-unit home on the FHA/VA Mortgage program, the income limit is $165,200 plus annual qualifying rental income.

Notice the difference in how income is counted. FirstHome uses household income. The other two use qualifying income, the income the lender uses to approve the loan. A participating lender can tell you which number applies to you.

The Utah Legislature has funded several programs that UHC runs for the state. Each has its own rules, and some run out of money.

• First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program (new construction). Created by Senate Bill 240 (2023). You can borrow up to $20,000 for your down payment, closing costs or a permanent interest rate buydown. The loan has 0% interest and no monthly payment. The home must be newly built and never lived in, and the price can't exceed $450,000 (UHC FAQ updated July 16, 2026, which says limits may be adjusted by home location or type). You must have lived in Utah for at least the 12 months before closing and qualify for a UHC mortgage. It can be combined with UHC's DPA second. Funds are available until depleted.
• Utah Veterans Grant (First-Time Homebuyer Veteran Grant Program). For members of the military, or veterans who separated in the last five years, who are first-time Utah homebuyers. Eligible veterans could receive up to $2,500, and the grant doesn't have to be repaid. UHC says the veteran doesn't have to use a specific lender or loan program. UHC's page says the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs reopened applications on August 3, 2026, and issues certificates to eligible applicants closing on or after August 14, 2026.
• Law Enforcement Assistance Program. Grants up to $25,000 for eligible Utah law enforcement and correctional officers buying their first home in Utah. As of October 2026, UHC says funds are depleted.

The new-construction program has to be repaid in some cases. If you sell or refinance, you repay the lesser of the assistance you received or 50% of your home equity, as UHC's FAQ defines it. If you refinance into another UHC loan, the assistance loan may be resubordinated with no payment due then. UHC's FAQ says the program can't be combined with the veteran or law enforcement grants.

Some Utah cities and nonprofits offer their own help, often with lower income limits and their own application steps. Salt Lake City's Funding Our Future program, funded each year with 0.5% of city sales tax, lists down payment assistance for first-time homeowners among its housing services. The city's page doesn't post amounts or eligibility, so contact its Housing Stability division for current details.

Salt Lake County's housing resource page lists NeighborWorks Salt Lake as offering financial coaching and down payment help. Check whether a city or nonprofit program can be combined with a UHC loan before you apply for both. Ask your lender which local programs it has closed recently, and confirm terms with the program itself. We haven't listed amounts for local programs because we couldn't confirm them from the programs' own published terms.

You don't need a UHC loan to buy with a small down payment. Three federal programs are common for first-time buyers, and two of them sit underneath UHC's own loans.

FHA. HUD says your down payment can be as low as 3.5%. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes FHA loans allow lower credit scores than most conventional loans. It also says that for borrowers with good credit and a 10-15% down payment, FHA loans tend to cost more than conventional loans. UHC's FirstHome and FHA/VA Mortgage programs are FHA or VA loans, so these rules apply on top of UHC's.

VA. To use a VA-backed purchase loan, you need a VA home loan Certificate of Eligibility. You also have to meet VA's and your lender's credit and income standards and live in the home. VA says there's no down payment as long as the price isn't higher than the appraised value.

USDA. The Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program helps approved lenders lend to low- and moderate-income households in eligible rural areas. Under 7 CFR § 3555.151, your household's adjusted income must not exceed the moderate income limit, and you must live in the home as your principal residence. The home must be modest, decent, safe and sanitary. The loan can't exceed the appraised value plus the upfront guarantee fee, or the price plus eligible costs, whichever is less (§ 3555.103). USDA has an address lookup to check whether a home is in an eligible area.

A housing counselor can help you compare these. HUD lists a number for finding a HUD-approved housing counselor: (800) 569-4287.

• Check your credit. UHC's minimums run from 620 to 680 depending on the program. UHC says a higher score may get you a better rate.
• Take a homebuyer class. It's required for some programs and useful for all. Freddie Mac's CreditSmart course is free and takes about four to six hours, according to UHC.
• Gather documents. UHC suggests being ready to show two years of employment history. Your loan officer will tell you what else they need.
• Pick a lender and get preapproved. If you want UHC down payment help, use a UHC participating lender and say so at the start. Ask more than one lender for a Loan Estimate. Federal rules require a lender to send it within three business days after your application (12 CFR § 1026.19(e)).
• Choose a buyer's agent and sign a written agreement before touring. More on that below.
• Shop within your limits. If you're using FirstHome or the new-construction program, keep the price under the limit for that county or program.
• Write an offer on the Utah REPC. Your agent fills in the price, earnest money, financing, deadlines and any seller contribution.
• Do your due diligence. Hire inspectors, read the Seller Disclosures, check insurance costs and HOA rules before the Due Diligence Deadline.
• Finish the loan and appraisal by the Financing & Appraisal Deadline.
• Review your Closing Disclosure. You must receive it at least three business days before closing (12 CFR § 1026.19(f)). Compare it to your Loan Estimate.
• Do a final walk-through, sign at settlement, and get your keys when possession transfers under the REPC.

UHC also warns about "payment shock," a jump from your current rent to a higher house payment. Its suggestion is simple. If the new payment will be $500 more than your rent, try saving that $500 every month for a while before you buy.

Since August 17, 2024, practice changes from the National Association of REALTORS® settlement have applied to MLS participants. The one that matters most to you as a buyer is the written buyer agreement. If you work with an agent who belongs to the MLS, you sign a written agreement with them before touring a home, in person or by live video.

• The agreement must state the amount or rate of your agent's pay in a way that is objective and not open-ended.
• Your agent can't receive more than that amount from any source.
• The agreement must say fees are fully negotiable and not set by law.
• You don't need an agreement just to talk with the seller's agent at an open house. NAR's FAQs say an agent hosting an open house or giving access only on the seller's behalf, to a buyer without an agent, may not need one.

Offers of compensation to buyer agents can no longer appear on the MLS. Sellers can still agree to pay your agent off the MLS or in the purchase contract, and you can ask them to as part of your offer. In Utah that goes in REPC § 4.3(e), Real Estate Brokerage Compensation, as the "Seller's Compensation Contribution." You agree that the seller's contribution plus anything the listing brokerage pays can't exceed what your buyer agreement says. Whatever the seller doesn't cover, you owe under your agreement.

Read the agreement before you sign it, ask how long it lasts, and ask what happens if you stop working together. For the seller's side of the same rules, see /selling-costs/buyer-agent-commission/. For how your own agent gets paid, see /buy/guides/buyer-agent-commission/.

Most Utah offers are written on the state-approved Real Estate Purchase Contract, effective December 4, 2024. The form says Utah law requires real estate licensees to use it, though buyer and seller may agree to change it. It runs on four deadlines you and the seller fill in, in Section 24.

Section 2.1(c) is where your new loan goes. If it's an FHA or VA loan, an FHA/VA Loan Addendum is attached. Deadlines are strict because Section 21 makes time of the essence. Unless the form says otherwise, they fall at 5:00 PM Mountain Time on the date. For a fuller walk-through of each section, see /utah/sell-by-owner/repc-explained/. It's written for sellers, but the contract is the same one you sign.

If you're using UHC or the new-construction program, build in enough time for the lender. Section 21 says REPC dates don't bind lenders and title companies unless they agree in writing. A slow loan doesn't move your deadlines. Only a signed extension does.

Your Loan Estimate lists your expected costs, and your Closing Disclosure lists the final ones. The REPC sets these defaults for who pays what. Buyer and seller can change them in writing.

Utah property taxes are due November 30 each year (Utah Code § 59-2-1331). If you buy before the bill is paid, the seller usually credits you for their share of the year, and you pay the full bill when it comes due. Lenders usually collect prepaid items too, such as homeowners insurance and an escrow cushion. Your lender's figures on the Loan Estimate show what yours will be.

On a UHC loan, the lender's origination fee can't exceed 1.5% of the first mortgage amount (Selling Supplement, definition of Closing Fee). For how the same closing looks from the seller's side, see /selling-costs/utah-closing-costs/.

If you plan to use assistance and also expect money at closing, such as a seller concession or an agent rebate, check how your program treats it. Here's what the program documents we reviewed say. Your lender applies them to your file.

• Utah Housing first mortgages. "No cash proceeds of a Loan may be disbursed to the Borrower or any other person for the benefit of the Borrower." Getting back your own earnest money, excess deposits or cash down payment paid before closing is allowed (Selling Supplement § 5.7).
• Utah Housing DPA second. It's for down payment and closing costs only. You can't receive cash back from it (§ 7.1.1.2).
• Excess cash on the Closing Disclosure. If, after the loan proceeds are applied, your Closing Disclosure shows cash back above your earnest money or funds you paid outside closing, "the excess funds can be used to reduce the principal of the DPA Second" (§ 11.2).
• USDA guaranteed loans. USDA won't guarantee a purchase loan if the seller or another interested third party contributes more than 6% of the price toward your financing costs, closing costs, escrow accounts, furniture or other giveaways, unless USDA provides otherwise (7 CFR § 3555.102(h)).
• FHA and VA loans have their own limits on seller and other interested-party contributions. Ask your lender how they apply to your loan.

In practice, a credit you're entitled to may be applied to your closing costs or used to pay down a UHC DPA second, rather than paid to you in cash. Tell your lender early about any seller concession, rebate or credit you expect. For the legal and tax side of buyer rebates, see /buy/guides/cash-back-rebate-taxes/.

JupiDoor is a licensed Utah brokerage. In Utah, buyers who purchase with JupiDoor can get 1% of the purchase price back when the seller offers a 3% buyer-agent commission. JupiDoor keeps a 2% minimum, so there's no cash back when the commission it receives is 2% or less. It's paid as a closing credit, a check or a commission adjustment. The offer is for Utah only, and the full terms are at /cashback/.

On some loan programs, cash to the buyer at closing is restricted, and a credit may have to be applied to your costs or your loan instead of paid to you. Utah Housing loans are an example: UHC bars paying its loan proceeds to the borrower, and if your Closing Disclosure shows cash back beyond your earnest money or funds you paid outside closing, UHC's guide says the excess can be used to reduce the principal of the DPA second (Selling Supplement §§ 5.7, 11.2). Tell your lender about the cash back before you lock your loan. The lender decides how a credit can appear on your Closing Disclosure.

Program figures on this page come from Utah Housing Corporation's website, Form 305 and Selling Supplement, HUD, VA, the CFPB, eCFR and Utah Code, as published in October 2026. Limits and funding change. Confirm current terms with a Utah Housing participating lender before you make an offer.