Zero Down Mortgagesin Arizona

Yes — five of them, and they don't all look alike. VA loans buy a home with $0 down for veterans, service members, and many surviving spouses, with no monthly mortgage insurance. USDA loans do $0 down in eligible rural areas, which covers a bigger share of Arizona than most people expect. NACA does $0 down and $0 closing costs if you're patient with its counseling process. HUD's Section 184 program starts at 2.25% down for enrolled tribal members. And the modern workhorse: an FHA loan (3.5% down) or conventional loan (3% down) where a down-payment-assistance second mortgage covers the whole down payment and seller-paid credits cover your closing costs. What's gone is the version people remember from the 2000s — Congress banned seller-funded "charity gift" down payments in 2008, and true 80/20 piggyback loans have all but vanished from lender menus.

Arizona runs one of the deepest down-payment-assistance systems in the country. HOME Plus works statewide: up to 4% of the loan amount as a no-interest, no-payment second mortgage, income up to $155,386, no first-time-buyer requirement, and it's continuously funded rather than an annual pot that runs dry. Home in Five Advantage covers Maricopa County with up to 6% (640 credit score). The Pima-Tucson Homebuyer's Solution covers Pima County with 2–5%. Arizona Is Home is a newer brand stretched over several programs — including one rural tranche that used up its 2026 funds on October 6, 2026. On top of the state programs, some Arizona credit unions fund true 100% financing themselves: OneAZ's 0% Down Payment Program, Desert Financial's first-time and Community Heroes programs, and the Tucson Welcome Home consortium around Vantage West.

Not directly, and it's been that way since October 1, 2008. That's when Congress statutorily banned the seller-funded "charity gift" schemes (Nehemiah, AmeriDream, and friends) after the IRS ruled the charities weren't really charities — their gift money was just the seller's price recycled through a nonprofit plus fees. The ban was never repealed, and both FHA and Fannie Mae now treat money routed from the seller to you through any third party as an interested-party contribution, which cannot fund your down payment. What a seller CAN still do is pay up to 6% of the price toward your closing costs and prepaid items on an FHA loan (3% on a conventional loan above 90% LTV). That's not the down payment — but combined with down-payment assistance covering the 3.5%, it's exactly how today's $0-at-the-table deals get built.

Not under that name — it's gone. The successor is Arizona Is Home, which Governor Hobbs expanded in August 2025 and which is really several differently-shaped programs sharing one brand. The rural tranche (everywhere except Maricopa and Pima counties) used up its 2026 funds on October 6, 2026 and retired for the rest of the year, though it has historically refilled annually. The Maricopa County version rides inside Home in Five Advantage (3–6% forgivable, first-time buyers only, and it comes with a 1% origination fee due at closing). The Pima/Tucson version offers up to $15,000. A statewide tranche run through the Arizona Department of Housing offers up to $30,000 depending on income — check current availability before you count on it. If you're chasing a "heroes" loan specifically, the surviving product is Desert Financial Credit Union's Community Heroes program, which waives mortgage insurance for teachers, military, medical workers, first responders, and government employees.

Often no — and this surprises people. HOME Plus, the statewide workhorse, has no first-time requirement at all. The Pima-Tucson Homebuyer's Solution doesn't either, and Home in Five Advantage accepts repeat buyers. First-time rules show up in specific corners: the Maricopa County Arizona Is Home tranche requires it, the bond-financed programs historically did, and the credit-union 100% products mostly do (Desert Financial's is first-time-only; OneAZ's is not). The practical takeaway: don't self-reject because you've owned a home before. Check the specific program instead.

It depends on which door you walk through. VA and USDA set no minimum score in their rulebooks — lenders add their own floors, and approval leans on your full file. The down-payment-assistance programs sit in the low-to-mid 600s: HOME Plus wants 620, Home in Five Advantage wants 640, and the Chenoa Fund second mortgage goes down to 600. The credit-union 100% financing products run stricter because the credit union keeps the risk: Desert Financial wants 680, OneAZ wants 700. So the range is roughly 600 to 700, and where you land decides which path is open.

Really $0 down, and there's no monthly mortgage insurance — the VA guarantee is what makes that possible. The catch, such as it is, is the one-time VA funding fee: 2.15% of the loan amount on a first use with nothing down (3.3% after that). It can be financed into the loan instead of paid at closing, and plenty of buyers skip it entirely — veterans receiving VA disability compensation, Purple Heart recipients, and certain surviving spouses are exempt. Sellers can also pay your closing costs without a dollar cap on loan-related costs, with other concessions up to 4% of the home's value, which is how veterans get to the closing table with nothing out of pocket.

Across much of the state outside the Phoenix and Tucson cores — the USDA definition of "rural" is generous, and plenty of suburbs and exurbs still qualify. But the maps shift: some areas that qualified a few years ago have fallen out as they grew, and income caps apply (roughly 115% of the area median, adjusted by household size and county). The fees are low — 1% of the loan upfront and 0.35% per year as of FY2026 — and the rate is a 30-year fixed. Before you fall in love with a house, run the exact address through USDA's eligibility tool; it takes about a minute and it's the only answer that counts.

They're functionally extinct. The old structure — an 80% first mortgage and a 20% second, so you brought nothing — was a product of the loose-lending 2000s, and no mainstream lender markets a true zero-cash 80/20 purchase loan anymore. (To be precise about what we can and can't prove: this is absence from lender menus through 2025–2026, not a law against it — one small membership-gated credit union back East still advertises one.) What survived: 80/10/10-style piggybacks for buyers who already have cash and want to avoid mortgage insurance, and the down-payment-assistance second, which does the same job for buyers who don't. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's 3%-down programs with gift-fund flexibility are the modern replacement the market actually uses.

No — and this is the distinction that saves deals. "Zero down" covers the down payment. "Zero cash to close" also covers closing costs, which usually run 2% to 5% of the loan amount between title work, appraisal, recording, and prepaid taxes and insurance. Getting to true zero takes a stack: down-payment assistance covers the down payment, seller concessions (up to 6% on FHA, 3% on conventional) cover closing costs, and whatever's left over often goes to a rate buydown or principal reduction. Then check the fine print, because a few programs still want some of your own money at the table — the Maricopa Arizona Is Home tranche expects a 1% origination fee plus closing costs, Tucson's city program requires $1,000 of buyer funds, and in some Pima programs surplus assistance becomes principal reduction instead of cash back. Your loan officer should map the whole stack before you write an offer.