Utah first-time home buyer programs
Up to $30,000
toward your first home
Nine grant and down-payment programs across the Salt Lake Valley — money most buyers
never hear about. Three are unlocked below. The rest open in one step.
No credit pull. Nothing to download. Two fields opens the rest.
Three years, not never
Nearly every program defines “first-time buyer” as not having owned a home in the last three years. Owned one in 2019 and rented since? You are probably back in.
Some are grants, some are loans
A few never get repaid. Others are forgivable over five years, or sit silently behind your mortgage until you sell. The difference matters enormously — it is spelled out for each one below.
Timing beats everything
These are funded in rounds and drawn on deadlines. Several must be locked in before you go under contract. The buyers who miss out are almost always the ones who found out late.
The list
Nine programs, and what each one actually requires
Amounts are current as of September 2026 and come straight from the agencies that run them. Every card shows the real eligibility rules — income caps, credit floors, property limits — and whether you ever pay the money back.
A charitable grant awarded by random drawing six times a year. You cannot apply for this one yourself — it has to be submitted by a Salt Lake Board of Realtors® member, which is where I come in. Full American Dream Grant details here. It is never repaid and no lien is placed on your home — the funds go straight to the title company at closing.
Who qualifies
- No home ownership in the last three years
- Credit score above 620
- Household income at or under $141,400
- Owner-occupied home. Modular and manufactured qualify; mobile homes do not
- Pre-qualified with a lender before applying
- Your agent must be a Salt Lake Board of Realtors® member — I am
The catch, and how to apply
Three $10,000 grants are awarded at each drawing. Applying does not guarantee anything — recipients are picked at random, and the drawing happens the day after applications close.
You must close within 90 days of being awarded or the funds are forfeited. And if your purchase closes before the grant is awarded, you are no longer eligible — so this one has to be started early.
Two steps: your lender fills out a Lender Certification Letter, then your agent submits the application. I submit it for you. Remaining 2026 drawings: September 16 and November 18.
The state legislature set aside $50 million to move first-time buyers into brand-new homes. The largest single pot of money on this page — and it is first come, first served until it runs out.
Who qualifies
- First-time homebuyer as defined by Utah Housing
- The home must be newly constructed and never lived in
- Purchase price no higher than $450,000
- You must qualify for a Utah Housing mortgage through a participating lender
What it costs you
This one is a loan, not a grant — but an unusually gentle one. 0% interest, typically no monthly payment. It sits quietly behind your first mortgage and is repaid when you sell or refinance.
Funds can go toward your down payment, closing costs, or a permanent interest rate buydown — which on a 30-year loan is often the most valuable use of the three.
The appropriation covers roughly 2,400 buyers statewide and is available until depleted. There is no deadline; there is just an end.
The most generous local program in the valley, and the most overlooked — because you have to buy inside Midvale city limits. If Midvale is on your map, this changes what you can afford.
Who qualifies
- $25,000 standard — $30,000 for current Midvale residents or public-entity employees with a year or more of service
- Household income at or below 80% of Area Median Income
- First-time buyers only, purchasing inside Midvale city limits
- You cannot hold more than $20,000 in any account before or after funding
- Homeowner education course plus a post-purchase debrief
How the forgiveness works
A five-year forgivable loan: 20% of the balance is wiped out each year you stay. Live there five years and you owe nothing at all.
You must occupy the home within 30 days of closing and keep it as your residence for the full five-year term. A deed restriction stays on the property for the life of the loan.
Usable for down payment, closing costs, single-pay mortgage insurance, or a rate buydown. You must be under contract to receive funding — so we time the application to the offer.
That’s three. Six more below.
The remaining six include the $25,000 forgivable grant for officers, the $20,000
state program for new construction, and the one nobody uses because they assume they
can’t. Two fields opens all of them right here — no email to wait for.
The state put $5 million behind recruiting and keeping Utah officers. No payment, no interest, and forgiven a slice at a time for every year you stay on the job in Utah.
Who qualifies
- Law enforcement and corrections officers as defined in Utah Code 53-13-103 and 53-13-104
- First-time homebuyer — though this requirement can be waived in certain conditions, which is worth asking about
- Financed through Utah Housing Corporation and an approved participating lender
- Occupy as your primary residence within 30 days of closing
The terms
No payment, no interest. A portion is forgiven each year you remain employed as an officer in Utah; five years of service after receiving the funds clears it entirely.
Usable for down payment, closing costs, a rate buydown, or paid-in-advance mortgage insurance — and it stacks with the Utah Housing down payment assistance second mortgage below.
A limited number are issued each year, first come, first served, aimed at officers buying in or near the community they serve. Availability moves — check current funding before you plan around it.
Small, simple, and genuinely free money. Cash at purchase for service members and recent veterans, with no repayment of any kind — and it layers on top of a VA loan.
Who qualifies
- Current military members, or veterans who separated within the last five years
- Must be a first-time Utah homebuyer
- Proof of service required
The terms
Up to $2,500 in cash at purchase. The Utah Veterans Grant does not require repayment — there is no forgiveness clock and no lien.
On its own it is the smallest number on this page. Paired with a VA loan at zero down, it can be the difference between renting one more year and closing this one.
The workhorse behind most of the others. A second mortgage that covers your entire minimum down payment plus some or all of your closing costs — so you walk in with little or no cash.
How it works
- You must first qualify for a Utah Housing first mortgage
- Borrow your full minimum down payment plus all or part of closing costs
- Structured as a 30-year fixed second mortgage
- Arranged through a Utah Housing approved participating lender — tell them you want a Utah Housing loan
Read this part carefully
This is the one program here that you do pay back, with a monthly payment, on top of your first mortgage. It buys you the door, not the discount.
Which is exactly why it belongs underneath a grant rather than instead of one. The right order is: take the free money first, then use this to cover whatever gap is left.
A participating lender decides how much assistance you actually need and which Utah Housing loan product fits. Ask to see the payment with and without it before you sign.
If you teach, nurse, patrol, respond, or serve, there is usually a bundle built for you — a mix of the state programs above plus lender and brokerage credits that only apply to your profession.
Who this covers
- Teachers — current and retired primary, secondary, and post-secondary educators and staff
- Nurses and medical professionals
- First responders — firefighters, law enforcement, EMTs, paramedics, emergency dispatchers, current or retired
- Avalanche and ski patrol
- Active duty, veterans, and spouses
What you are actually being offered
Be a little skeptical here. Most “hero program” websites are marketing packages assembled by a single lender or agent — the underlying money is usually the state programs already listed above, repackaged under your job title.
That does not make them worthless. Some genuinely add lender credits or agent rebates on top, and those are real dollars. But you should know which part is a state grant and which part is someone’s commission.
Ask one question of anyone offering you a hero program: which of these funds come from the state, and which come from you choosing to work with you? I will tell you the same thing about mine.
Not a program anyone markets to you, because nobody makes money on it. If you have a Roth IRA, the IRS lets you pull money out for a first home without the usual early-withdrawal penalty.
How it works
- Up to $10,000 per person, once in your lifetime, toward a first home
- Buying with a partner who also has a Roth? Each of you has your own $10,000
- No repayment — it is your money
Before you do it
The penalty is waived. Taxes on the earnings portion may still apply depending on how long the account has been open, and the retirement growth you give up is real.
I am a Realtor®, not a CPA or a financial advisor, and I will not tell you whether to raid your retirement. Talk to a tax professional first. I mention it only because most first-time buyers do not know the door exists.
The foundation everything else sits on. Not grants — loan products with far lower entry requirements than a conventional mortgage, and the reason a $10,000 grant can become a whole down payment.
The three doors
- FHA — as little as 3.5% down. Credit scores from 580, or from 500 with 10% down
- VA — zero down for eligible service members, veterans, and some spouses
- USDA — zero down in qualifying rural areas, which reach closer to the valley than most people assume
Why this card matters
Grants and assistance programs attach to specific loan products, and not every combination is permitted. The loan you choose quietly decides which of the eight programs above you can still use.
This is the single most common way first-time buyers lose free money: they get pre-approved on the first loan offered to them, and only afterward find out it disqualified them from a grant.
Two fields · No credit pull · Opens on this page
The part nobody explains
They stack — but only in the right order
Almost every buyer who loses out on this money loses it to sequence, not eligibility. Here is how the pieces actually fit together.
Free money first, borrowed money last
Grants that are never repaid — the American Dream Grant, the Utah Veterans Grant — go on the table before anything that carries a payment. Only after those are counted do you decide how much of the Utah Housing second mortgage you actually need. Do it the other way around and you borrow money you were about to be given.
Order of operations
Lock the assistance before you write the offer
The American Dream Grant is forfeited if you close before it is awarded. Midvale requires you to be under contract to receive funds, but the application has to already be moving. Utah Housing programs have to be tied to your loan file before it goes to underwriting. There is a narrow window on each — and it opens well before you find the house.
Weeks before you shop
The loan you pick decides what you keep
Assistance attaches to specific loan products. A pre-approval taken in a hurry can quietly disqualify you from a $20,000 program you would have received. Before you accept a pre-approval, the question to ask is not “what is my rate” — it is “which assistance programs does this loan still allow?”
Before pre-approval
Where you buy can be worth more than what you earn
Midvale will forgive up to $30,000 for a buyer under 80% AMI. Two miles outside those city limits, that program does not exist. Several cities in the valley run their own smaller versions. It is worth knowing the map before you fall in love with an address.
City limits matter
The other six
Open the rest of the guide
Two fields. Everything unlocks on this page the moment you submit, and you can save the whole thing as a PDF.
- No credit pull and no cost to find out where you stand.
- I read it back to you. I’ll tell you which two or three of these you actually qualify for — and which ones are a waste of your time.
- Nothing to download and no waiting. The full guide opens right here on the page.
See all nine programs
Two fields. The rest of the guide opens on this page immediately — there’s no email to wait for.
All nine are open
Scroll up — every program now shows its eligibility rules, repayment terms, and how to apply.
Want me to narrow it down for you?
Nine is a lot to read. Answer these and I’ll come back with the two or three that actually fit your situation — usually the same day. Every field is optional.
Got it — I’ll come back to you within one business day.
Who you’ll be working with
Kirsten Horning
Realtor® · Cottonwood Realty Group
I spent a decade in finance and investor relations in New York City before real estate, which is a roundabout way of saying I read the numbers before I read the listing photos. First-time buyers get the same underwriting-grade analysis my downsizing sellers get.
I live in Cottonwood Heights and sell across the Salt Lake Valley — Draper, Holladay, Millcreek, West Valley, and everywhere in between. If a house is a stretch for you, I’ll say so. Accurate numbers beat flattering ones every time.
I’m a member of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®, which is what makes the American Dream Grant available to my buyers at all — I submit that application on your behalf.
The Perry Group at Real Broker · 2025
Straight answers
Questions people actually ask
Can I really use more than one of these?
Often, yes — but not in every combination. The Utah Housing programs are designed to layer with each other, and a charitable grant like the American Dream Grant generally sits on top of whatever loan you’re using.
What can’t be assumed is that any two will combine. Each program has its own rules about what else may be in the file, and the lender is the one who confirms it against your actual numbers. That check takes one conversation.
What counts as a first-time buyer?
For nearly all of these, it means you haven’t held an ownership interest in a primary residence in the past three years. If you owned a home four years ago and have rented since, you likely qualify again.
Married or buying with a partner? The rule usually applies to everyone on the loan. A few programs — the law enforcement grant among them — can waive the requirement under certain conditions, which is worth asking about rather than assuming.
My credit score is under 620. Am I out?
Out of the American Dream Grant, yes — 620 is its floor. Not out of everything: FHA reaches down to 580, and to 500 with a larger down payment.
Scores also move faster than most people expect — sometimes 30 to 60 points in a few months once you know which two or three things to fix. Submit the form anyway. I’ll connect you with a lender who will map out exactly what to do and roughly how long it takes, at no cost.
Do I have to pay any of this back?
It depends entirely on which program, which is exactly why the difference is spelled out on every card above. The American Dream Grant and the Utah Veterans Grant are not repaid at all. Midvale’s is forgiven 20% a year over five years. The Utah Housing second mortgage is a real loan with a real monthly payment.
Terms change over time, so I won’t guess at yours. Whichever ones you pursue, the lender or administering agency puts the exact terms in writing before you commit to anything.
Are these amounts still accurate?
Everything on this page was verified in September 2026 against the agencies that run the programs — Utah Housing Corporation, the Salt Lake Board of Realtors®, and Midvale City.
That said, these are funded in rounds and appropriations get spent. A program that’s open today can be out of funds next month — the law enforcement grant has run dry before. Treat the amounts here as the starting point for a conversation, not a promise.
What does it cost me to work with you?
Nothing to ask, and nothing to find out what you qualify for. If you go on to buy a home with me, my compensation is set out in a written buyer agreement we sign before we tour anything — you’ll see the number and agree to it in advance.
How long do these funds last?
The state programs run until their appropriation is depleted — no deadline, just an end. The American Dream Grant runs on fixed drawing dates, and if your application misses one you wait roughly two months for the next.
If buying in the next year is realistic for you, get the eligibility check done now so you’re ready when a house shows up.
One conversation
Find out which two or three are actually yours
Nine programs is a lot to read. Most buyers qualify for two or three of them, and the whole point of the call is to find out which — in about fifteen minutes, at no cost.
Also useful: buying in the Salt Lake Valley
and what your current place is worth.