Ask ten renters why they haven't bought a home yet, and most will tell you some version of the same thing: "I don't have 20% saved up." It's the most common reason we hear from first-time buyers in Layton, Ogden, and across the Wasatch Front for why they think homeownership is years away. For most buyers, it simply isn't true — and believing it can cost you years of rent payments while home prices keep climbing.
Where the 20% number actually comes from
Twenty percent down isn't a legal requirement — it's the threshold where conventional loans stop requiring private mortgage insurance (PMI). That's a real cost consideration, but it's not a gate you have to pass through before you're allowed to buy. Plenty of loan programs are built specifically for buyers putting down far less.
- FHA loans: as little as 3.5% down with a credit score of 580 or higher
- Conventional loans: many programs allow 3–5% down for qualified first-time buyers
- VA loans: 0% down for eligible veterans and active-duty service members
- USDA loans: 0% down in eligible rural and suburban Utah areas
On a $400,000 home, 3.5% down is $14,000 — not the $80,000 that 20% would require. That's the difference between buying in the next year and buying five years from now.
What down payment assistance adds to the picture
Beyond low-down-payment loan programs, down payment assistance programs — including the Chenoa Fund — can cover some or all of your down payment on top of an FHA or conventional loan. These programs have their own terms: some are forgivable after a few years in the home, some are second loans repaid alongside your mortgage. The point isn't that assistance is automatically the right fit for everyone — it's that most buyers never even find out whether they qualify, because they assumed they needed to save 20% first and stopped looking.
The real cost of waiting
Every year spent saving toward 20% is a year of rent paid to a landlord instead of equity built for yourself — and a year of Utah home prices having room to climb further out of reach. That's not a scare tactic, it's just math: rent is a bill; a mortgage payment is a bill that also builds ownership.
"We'd rather tell you honestly what you qualify for today than have you wait three more years chasing a number you never actually needed."
— Kenny Farshchian, Founder
If the only thing standing between you and a pre-approval is the assumption that you need a huge down payment, let's find out what's actually true for your situation. It takes one conversation.