Back to homes for sale · True monthly cost · The buyer's guide
Ready Plan
Know how much to save, by when, and when to get pre-approved, in two minutes, with no credit check. For example: To buy a $450,000 home in Salt Lake City by 1 August 2027, aim to have about $21,434 saved by 17 June 2027: $13,500 down (Conventional, 3%) and about $7,934 of closing costs. You have $5,000, so save about $2,350 a month for 7 months. Get pre-approved by 22 April 2027 and start touring by 6 May 2027.
Answer seven questions and get your own dated plan: the savings target from the loans that fit you, a monthly pace, the programs to look at and every step to the keys. It never asks your income, debts or credit score.
Your Ready Plan
Answer a price or payment, your credit band, veteran, first-time buyer to see your dated plan.
Questions
How much do I need saved to buy a $450,000 home in Salt Lake City?
The down payment plus closing costs. For a first-time buyer at this week's rate: Conventional 3%: about $21,434; FHA 3.5%: about $23,657; VA 0% for eligible veterans: about $8,103. That is the least down payment each loan allows plus our estimates of lender, title and first-year insurance costs; your lender's Loan Estimate has the real figures.
How do I get ready to buy a home?
Set a savings target from the loan you will use, save toward it at a steady pace, talk to a loan officer early, get pre-approved about two weeks before you start touring, and allow about six weeks to find the home and 30 to 45 days from an accepted offer to closing. This page works out the dates back from the month you want to move.
What credit score do I need to buy a home?
It depends on the loan and the lender. FHA allows 3.5% down from a 580 score and needs 10% down from 500 to 579 (HUD Handbook 4000.1); conventional and VA lenders set their own minimums, and a higher score usually means a lower rate. This page only asks for a band you describe yourself: it never asks your score or checks your credit. A loan officer can.
Is there down payment help in Utah?
Utah Housing Corporation offers loans and down payment assistance for qualifying Utah buyers, with income and price limits, through participating lenders. What is open changes, so check utahhousingcorp.org and ask a lender who works with it. Nothing on this page promises you qualify.
When should I get pre-approved?
Before you start touring, so you shop in your real budget and can offer the day you find the home. The plan puts it 14 days before your first tour. The lender checks your income, assets and credit; Aaron Pehrson never asks those here.
My lease ends before I want to move. What do I do?
Ask your landlord about a month-to-month extension, or move your plan up so you close near the lease end. If you would close well before it ends, ask what ending the lease early costs. The plan flags either case.
Is a VA loan really zero down?
For eligible veterans, service members and surviving spouses, VA loans can need no down payment and have no monthly mortgage insurance. Most borrowers pay a one-time funding fee, usually added to the loan, and closing costs still apply. VA confirms eligibility with a Certificate of Eligibility.
How to make a plan to buy a home in Utah
- Pick the month you want to move and, if you rent, when your lease ends.
- Type the price you have in mind or the most you want to pay a month, and where in Utah.
- Type what you have saved, your rough credit band, and whether you are a veteran or a first-time buyer.
- Read your savings target, your monthly pace and the programs to look at.
- Follow the dated steps: talk to a loan officer, pre-approval, touring, contract and closing.
- Talk to your loan officer, or save your plan and tick off each step.
Where the numbers come from
- HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 (annual MIP for FHA case numbers from 20 March 2023); upfront MIP 1.75% (HUD Handbook 4000.1) (read 24 October 2026)
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA funding fee for purchase loans (read 24 October 2026)
- USDA Rural Development, Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program: 1% upfront and 0.35% a year for loans obligated from 1 October 2025 (read 24 October 2026)
- FHFA, 2026 conforming loan limit for one-unit homes in most of the U.S.: $832,750 (read 24 October 2026)
- Utah Housing Corporation, home buyer loans and down payment assistance (programs, limits and lenders change; check there) (read 24 October 2026)
FHA's 10% down from a 500 to 579 score: HUD Handbook 4000.1. Closing costs are the estimates our cash-to-close page uses; insurance is our assumption of 0.25% of the price a year (at least $900).
