Are There Any Mortgage Loans with No Down Payment?

Yes. VA loans for eligible service members, veterans, and some surviving spouses, and USDA guaranteed loans for moderate-income buyers in eligible rural areas, both let you buy with 0% down. With an FHA or conventional loan, down payment assistance can cover the required 3.5% or 3% so you pay nothing toward it yourself. Zero down does not mean zero cost: VA charges a one-time funding fee of 2.15% on first use unless you are exempt, USDA charges 1% upfront plus 0.35% a year, and you still owe closing costs.

Which loans allow no down payment?

VA and USDA loans are government-backed, which is why they can skip the down payment; government-insured and conventional loans explains how that backing works.

Who can get a VA loan with no down payment?

You need a COE showing enough qualifying service. For most people, that means one of these:

• Veterans who served after August 2, 1990: 24 continuous months of active duty, or the full period you were called to active duty if it was at least 90 days.
• Current active-duty members: 90 continuous days.
• National Guard and Reserve members: 6 creditable years, or at least 90 days of qualifying active-duty service.
• Surviving spouses: those eligible for or receiving VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, and some spouses of service members who are missing in action or prisoners of war.

You must plan to live in the home. The no-down-payment option holds as long as the price is not above the home's appraised value; if it is, you pay the difference. With full entitlement, the guaranty amount VA gives you, there is no VA loan limit. If part of your entitlement is still tied to an earlier VA loan, the lender may require a down payment; most lenders want your remaining entitlement plus any down payment to cover at least 25% of the loan. The lender also approves your credit and income. See VA loan requirements for the underwriting rules.

Who can get a USDA loan with no down payment?

The Section 502 Guaranteed loan comes from a private lender, and USDA guarantees part of it. You need:

• An eligible property: a home in an area USDA designates as rural. USDA's eligibility website lets you check an address.
• Household income at or below USDA's moderate-income limit: generally about 115% of the area's median income, adjusted for household size. The same website runs the income test for your county.
• A home you will live in: USDA does not guarantee loans for rental or investment property.
• Debt-to-income ratios of 29% and 41%: your housing payment can be up to 29% of gross monthly income and all debts up to 41%, unless USDA's automated system or a waiver allows more.

The loan can be up to the appraised value plus the 1% upfront fee, but no more than the price plus allowed costs. If the home appraises above the price, that gap lets you finance closing costs too. USDA loan requirements covers credit and the Direct loan for low-income buyers.

What does a zero-down loan cost? A worked example

All three examples use a 30-year fixed rate of 7.32%, Freddie Mac's average for the week of October 22, 2026, so the loans compare evenly. Actual VA, USDA, and FHA quotes differ, and none of these totals include taxes, homeowners insurance, or closing costs.

VA, $350,000 home, first use, funding fee financed:

• Funding fee: $350,000 x 2.15% = $7,525
• Loan: $357,525
• Principal and interest: $2,455.95 a month, with no monthly mortgage insurance
• If you are exempt from the fee (for example, you receive VA disability compensation), the loan is $350,000 and the payment is $2,404.26.

USDA Guaranteed, $300,000 home, fee financed:

• Loan with the entire upfront fee financed: $300,000 / 0.99 = $303,030.30
• Upfront fee: $303,030.30 x 1% = $3,030.30
• Principal and interest: $2,081.61 a month
• Annual fee: just under $88.38 a month in the first year ($303,030.30 x 0.35% / 12), figured on the year's average balance and paid for the life of the loan

FHA with assistance, $300,000 home:

• A state housing agency second loan covers the 3.5% down payment: $10,500
• Base loan: $289,500, plus the 1.75% upfront premium of $5,066.25, for $294,566.25
• Principal and interest: $2,023.47 a month
• Annual mortgage insurance: about $132.12 a month in the first year ($288,249.79 average scheduled balance excluding the upfront premium x 0.55% / 12), plus any payment the assistance loan requires

FHA accepts second loans from government agencies for the down payment as long as the second loan's payments count in your monthly housing payment. For conventional loans, Fannie Mae allows a Community Seconds loan from a housing agency, nonprofit, or employer to bring your combined loan-to-value ratio up to 105%, and the second loan can pay all or part of the down payment and closing costs. Its payments can be monthly or deferred, depending on the program.

What are the trade-offs of buying with no money down?

• You start with little or no equity. In the VA example, you owe $357,525 on a $350,000 home. If you sell within a few years, the sale price minus your selling costs may not cover the loan, and you would bring cash to closing.
• Closing costs still need cash. On a VA loan, only the funding fee can be added to the loan; all other fees are paid at closing. The seller can pay your normal closing costs with no VA limit, but concessions such as paying your funding fee are capped at 4% of the home's reasonable value.
• Some fees last for years. The USDA annual fee lasts the life of the loan, and FHA's annual premium lasts the life of the loan when you put less than 10% down.

For how a down payment changes your loan amount and mortgage insurance when you do put money down, see what a down payment is, and for how the loan works overall, see what a mortgage is.