Which home grants in Utah are real, and which are loans?

Grant money for a home purchase is real, but it comes from a short list of places. In Utah, that means the state's veteran grant, two local Realtor boards, and a federal bank program that works through member banks and credit unions. Each one sets its own rules, and most give money out in rounds until it runs out.

HUD does not write checks to buyers. It sends housing money to states, cities and nonprofits, and they decide how to use it. Most of them lend it out with no monthly payment, which is why so much city help turns out to be a loan.

• 01
  The state's veteran grant

  For recent veterans and service members buying their first Utah home. The rules are below.

• 02
  Two Realtor board grants

  Salt Lake's American Dream Grant and Washington County's REACH grant. Both need a Realtor. For the first, your agent applies. For REACH, you apply with your agent's signed agreement.

• 03
  Home$tart

  Grant money from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, through some Utah banks and credit unions. You keep it once you have owned the home five years.

• 04
  VA housing grants

  For veterans and service members with certain disabilities from their service, to buy, build or change a home.

Your lender has rules about grant money too. It can come from a government body, a housing agency, a nonprofit charity, a Federal Home Loan Bank, your employer, a tribe or a lender, but never from the seller. The grant paper must say you are not expected to pay it back. Your loan application lists every grant and gift, and the money can go to the down payment, closing costs or savings the lender wants to see.

Plenty of programs call themselves grants because the word gets attention. Read the papers, not the name. What counts is what happens if you sell, refinance or move out.

• 01
  A true grant

  Money you never repay. No claim is recorded on the home, and nothing is owed when you sell.

• 02
  A forgivable loan

  Wiped out bit by bit while you keep its rules, such as living in the home. Leave early, and you may owe part of it.

• 03
  A deferred loan

  No monthly payment. It comes due in full when you sell, refinance or move out.

• 04
  A second loan with a payment

  A smaller loan beside your mortgage, with a monthly payment of its own.

City programs mostly sit in the third row. Own in Ogden is a deferred loan for homes inside Ogden city limits, and the city says it is paused and expects to reopen January 1, 2027. Provo's Home Purchase Plus and Utah County's own program are deferred loans too. Several Salt Lake County cities run help of their own, so ask the city where you plan to buy.

Utah Housing's down payment help is a second loan as well, with a payment or deferred. So is the state's help on brand new homes. I cover both on the Utah first-time buyer programs page.

Utah's Veteran First-Time Homebuyer Grant uses money the Legislature sets aside. Utah Housing handles the money, and the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs decides who qualifies. You do not pay it back.

• 01
  Who can apply

  A veteran who left the service within the last five years, or a current Active Duty, Reserve or Guard member, who can get a VA Certificate of Eligibility.

• 02
  A first home in Utah

  You must be a first-time buyer in Utah. A home you owned in another state does not count against you.

• 03
  The home

  In Utah, and you move in within 30 days of closing. A couple who both serve gets one grant, not two.

• 04
  The loan

  Any lender licensed in Utah, on a VA, FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan.

1. 1Get the state's approval

   Apply to the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs first, and get your grant approved.

2. 2Pick a lender

   Any lender licensed in Utah can use the grant with a VA, FHA or conventional loan.

3. 3The lender reserves it

   Your lender asks Utah Housing to hold the money. Your file reaches the state at least ten business days before closing.

4. 4Money at closing

   The grant goes to the title company and shows up as a credit on your closing papers.

The VA has two more grants, Specially Adapted Housing and Special Home Adaptation. They are for veterans and service members with certain disabilities tied to their service. Each helps you buy, build or change a home to fit your needs, such as ramps or wider doors. You apply to the VA on VA Form 26-4555, online, by mail or in person, and the grant can be used up to six times over a lifetime.

The state grant depends on the money the Legislature sets aside. Ask whether funds remain before you plan around it.

Utah Housing runs this program for the state, and the Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund pays for it. It is for full-time law enforcement and corrections officers, as Utah law defines them. Strictly speaking it is a loan, but it shrinks each year you keep working in Utah as an officer and living in the home. After five years, nothing is left to repay.

• 01
  First-time buyers, mostly

  No home owned as your main home in the last three years. A single parent with a child at home, or someone who lost a spouse, can count too.

• 02
  Moving here for the job

  An officer from another state can skip the first-time rule by buying within six months of starting work in Utah, or twelve on a new home contract.

• 03
  Living there

  Move in within 60 days and stay through the five years. Selling, leaving the job or moving out early can mean paying part back.

• 04
  The first loan

  It needs a Utah Housing first loan through a lender Utah Housing approves. You can pair it with Utah Housing's down payment help as well.

The money can cover the down payment, closing costs or mortgage insurance. It is one per officer and one per home, first come, first served, so ask whether funds remain this year. If you serve and this sounds like you, ask me whether a Utah Housing loan fits your plans.

The Salt Lake Board of Realtors started the American Dream Grant through its charity in 2019. It goes toward a down payment and closing costs, and you never pay it back. In 2026 the board added more money and is picking winners in rounds through the year.

• 01
  Your agent

  Must be a member of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. The agent applies online for you.

• 02
  First-time buyer

  Or no home owned in the last three years.

• 03
  Credit and income

  A credit score floor and a household income limit, both set by the board.

• 04
  The home

  One you will live in. Modular and manufactured homes count, but mobile homes do not.

• 05
  Timing

  Get pre-qualified with a lender before you apply, then close within 90 days of the award or lose it.

The catch: whether you can use this grant depends on your agent. Before you sign with one, ask whether they belong to that board and can apply for you.

I live in Cedar City, so this question is close to home. The clearest local example is the REACH grant from the REALTORS REACH Foundation. That charity is run by the Washington County Board of REALTORS in St. George. The grant goes toward a down payment or closing costs, it never has to be repaid, and no lien is placed on the home. A lien is a claim on the home that must be paid off when you sell.

• The REACH grant

  For a home in Washington County you will live in, with a local REALTOR and a credit score floor. Close within 12 months of the award; a deal that closes first does not qualify.

• Home$tart

  A federal bank program through member banks and credit unions. You keep it if you own the home five years. Sell sooner, and part comes back from the sale.

• Your city and county

  Programs start and stop. Check with the city and county where you plan to buy, including Cedar City and the rest of Iron County.

As of November 2026, REACH applications are closed. The foundation opens them in rounds through the year, and it gave four buyer grants in 2026. The money goes straight to the title company. You apply yourself, with your REALTOR's signed agreement, and your REALTOR tells the board when you close.

Home$tart money is released in rounds, four times in 2026, first come, first served. It has an income limit tied to the area's median income. First-time buyers take a homebuyer class, and you need a signed purchase contract to enroll. Some Utah banks and credit unions offer it, and the rules can differ between them, so ask yours.

The National Homebuyers Fund, or NHF, is a nonprofit based in Sacramento. You do not apply to it yourself. A lender that takes part offers its help along with your main loan, usually an FHA loan, and there is no first-time buyer rule. Older articles call it a grant. As Utah lenders offer it now, it is a second loan that is either forgiven over a set time or repaid with a monthly payment.

The Chenoa Fund works the same way. CBC Mortgage Agency runs it, a company owned by the Cedar Band of Paiutes, and it offers help in every state except New York. Before you choose either one, ask your lender to show you the loan with the help and without it, side by side.

HomeChoice is run by Neighborhood NonProfit Housing Corporation in Logan and paid for by the state's Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund. Its own page says it is a second mortgage, not down payment help. It is meant to make the home more affordable, and it works for an existing home anywhere in Utah.

• 01
  The household

  You, or someone who will live with you, has a disability as federal disability and fair housing laws define it.

• 02
  Income and credit

  A household income limit set by HUD, a credit score floor and a limit on your debts.

• 03
  Your part

  A small amount of your own money, and you must qualify for a first mortgage too.

The state's Division of Services for People with Disabilities keeps a housing list as well. It points readers to a HUD-approved housing counselor and the local housing authority, who can tell you what is open where you plan to buy. Veterans and service members should also look at the VA grants above.