By Andrew Dehan, Bankrate.com

If you qualify for a no-down-payment mortgage, you could get a loan for the full purchase price of a home. Here’s what you need to know.

A no-down-payment mortgage doesn’t require you to make a down payment at closing. With rising home prices, it’s more and more difficult for many buyers to save up for the upfront costs of homeownership. No-down-payment loans eliminate one of the biggest upfront costs.

One-fifth (20%) of aspiring homeowners believe they won’t ever be able to save enough to buy a home, according to Bankrate’s 2025 Down Payment Survey.

The two most prominent no-down-payment mortgages are VA and USDA loans.

VA loans

If you’re a military service member, veteran or surviving spouse, you might qualify for a VA loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Unlike a conventional loan, VA loans don’t typically require a down payment, and they don’t charge mortgage insurance. However, you will pay a funding fee, either at closing or by financing it into your mortgage. This fee ranges from 1.25% to 3.3% of the loan amount, and it varies depending on the down payment amount and whether you’ve used a VA loan before. Those who don’t make a down payment, as well as repeat VA loan applicants, pay higher funding fees.

USDA loans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guarantees USDA home loans for lower- to moderate-income buyers purchasing homes in eligible rural areas. These loans don’t require a down payment, but there’s an upfront fee — also known as a guarantee fee — of 1% of the principal loan amount which can be financed into the mortgage. On top of that, there’s an annual fee of 0.35% of the loan amount which lasts for the life of the loan. The only way to remove this annual fee is to refinance to a non-USDA loan.

Other zero-down mortgage options

New York-based Sunmark Credit Union offers a no-down-payment option — known as a Dream Bigger mortgage — without permanent mortgage insurance.
If you’re in the medical field and have school debt, you may qualify for a no-down-payment physician mortgage. These allow higher debt-to-income DTI ratios, provided you have the income to afford monthly payments.
Most loan types allow gift funds as part of the down payment — or the whole thing. If you have a family member or friend willing to give you money toward your home, you may be able to avoid putting money down.

If you aren’t eligible for a true no-money-down home loan, you might still qualify for a low-down-payment mortgage.

3% conventional loans

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two government-sponsored enterprises underpinning mortgages in the U.S. — back several 3-percent-down conventional loan programs: Conventional 97, HomeReady, Home Possible and HomeOne.

You will be required to pay for private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI varies in cost depending on your down payment amount and credit score. Once you reach 80% loan-to-value (LTV) on your home, you can request the lender remove PMI. Otherwise, it will automatically come off once you reach 78% LTV.

FHA loans

Insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), an FHA loan requires only 3.5% down with a credit score as low as 580. If you have a credit score between 500 and 579, you’ll need to put 10% down.

Similar to PMI, you’ll pay FHA mortgage insurance with an FHA loan. However, unlike conventional PMI, you’ll pay both an upfront mortgage insurance premium (MIP) at closing and an annual MIP divvied up between your monthly payments. The upfront MIP equals 1.75% of your loan amount, and the annual MIP varies depending on your down payment and other factors. If you make a down payment of 10% or more, you’ll pay the annual MIP for 11 years. Otherwise, you’ll pay it for the life of the loan.

1% down mortgage programs

Some mortgage lenders offer conventional mortgage programs that require only 1% down, including Rocket Mortgage’s ONE+ program. In this case, the lender pays 2% of the required 3% down payment for a HomeReady or Home Possible loan, and you need only provide the remaining 1%.

Good Neighbor Next Door

The Good Neighbor Next Door (GNND) program is for borrowers who work in select public service professions — teachers, firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical technicians — and plan to buy a home in a qualifying area. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the program provides a discount of up to 50% on the list price of a qualifying home.

Pros and cons of a no-down-payment mortgage

The ability to buy a home with no or very little money down can be appealing, but there are drawbacks, too.

The pros of no-down-payment mortgages include:

You can buy a home now instead of later. When you don’t have to come up with a substantial down payment, you won’t have to save up as much money to buy a home.
You can keep more cash on hand. Even if you have enough to make a sizable down payment, you might want to keep that money liquid for things like emergency savings, remodeling or investing.

The cons of no-down-payment mortgages include:

You’ll have no or little equity. Home equity is the portion of your home that isn’t financed by a mortgage. When you start with a low- or zero-down loan, you’ll have little to no equity. If home values fall, you could end up owing more on the home than it’s worth, making it difficult to sell or refinance.
Your interest rate might be higher. You might pay a higher interest rate for a no- or low-money-down loan. That’s because, with less money tied up in the home, a mortgage lender might view you as more of a risk. Of course, the higher your interest rate, the more you’ll pay overall.
You’ll need a bigger mortgage. The less you put down, the more you’ll need to borrow, which means you’ll pay more in interest over the life of the loan.
You’ll pay fees. Both VA and USDA loans come with fees, which add to the cost of the loan.

No-down-payment mortgages are geared toward buyers with limited savings who want the security of owning a home. While they’re a great option for those who qualify, they also come with extra fees. You’ll pay less for your loan over time if you can afford to make a down payment.

FAQ

What credit score do I need to buy a house with no money down?

The Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture don’t set a minimum credit score requirement for VA and USDA loans, respectively. However, most lenders offering these loans do, and they’d want them to be at least in the “fair” range: 620 for VA loans, 640 for USDA loans.

What are my alternatives if I don’t qualify for a low-money-down loan?

If you don’t qualify for a no- or low-down-payment mortgage, a down payment assistance program might help. These programs typically offer loans or grants to first-time or repeat homebuyers within certain income thresholds based on location. The money can often be applied to both the down payment and closing costs.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By KELVIN CHAN, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Unwanted phone calls are out of control. Whether it’s a robocall trying to sell you something or spam calls from scammers trying to rip you off, it’s enough to make you want to stop answering your phone. So what can you do to stop them?

The scourge of unwanted phone calls has been branded an epidemic by consumer groups, while the Federal Communications Commission says it’s the top consumer complaint. The calls are a nuisance to many ordinary people, some of whom have complained to The Associated Press.

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“I need help on getting spam calls to stop,” one reader said in an email. She’s getting up to 14 calls a day despite the countermeasures she’s employed.

As the name implies, robocalls are automated calls to deliver recorded messages to a large number of phones. A robocall purely to deliver a message or collect a debt is allowed under U.S. regulations, but the Federal Trade Commission says robocalls with a recorded voice trying to sell you something are illegal unless you’ve given explicit written permission to receive them. Many robocalls are also probably scams, the FTC warns.

If you’re flooded by unsolicited calls, here are some ways to fight back.

Phone settings

Smartphone users can turn on some built-in settings to combat unknown calls.

Apple advises iPhone users to turn on the Silence Unknown Callers feature. Go to your “Settings,” then scroll down to “Apps,” and then to “Phone,” where you’ll see it under the “Calls” section. When you turn this on, any calls from numbers that you’ve never been in touch with and aren’t saved in your contacts list will not ring through. Instead, they’ll be sent to voicemail and show up in your list of recent calls.

Android has a similar setting that allows you to block calls from private or unidentified numbers, although you will still receive calls from numbers that aren’t stored in your contact list.

After this story was first published, a reader wrote in with a workaround for that problem: Leave your Android phone on Do Not Disturb but configure it so that anyone on your Contacts list is allowed to interrupt.

Just keep in mind that you could also end up not getting important calls, which sometimes come from unknown numbers.

If an unwanted call does get through, both Android and iPhone users can block the individual phone number by tapping on it in the recent callers or call history list. You can also enter numbers directly into your phone’s block list.

Do not call

Sign up for the national Do Not Call registry, which is a list of numbers that have opted out of most telemarketing calls. The Federal Trade Commission, which runs the registry, says it only contains phone numbers and holds no other personally identifiable information, nor does the registry know whether the number is for a landline or a cellphone.

The FTC says there are some exemptions, including political calls, calls from non-profit groups and charities, and legitimate survey groups that aren’t selling anything. Also allowed are calls from companies up to 18 months after you’ve done — or sought to do — business with them.

But it also warns that while having your number on the registry will cut down on unwanted sales calls, it won’t stop scammers from making illegal calls.

Other countries have similar registries. Canada has its own Do Not Call list while the U.K. has the Telephone Preference Service.

Carrier filters

Check whether your wireless carrier has a call-blocking service. Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, three of the biggest U.S. networks, all have their own call filters for customers to block robocalls and report spam. There’s typically a free basic version and an advanced version that requires a subscription fee.

Try an app

If your phone company’s filters aren’t good enough, try third-party apps to weed out unwanted callers.

There are a host of smartphone apps available that promise to block spam calls, like Nomorobo, YouMail, Hiya, RoboKiller, TrueCaller and others. Many charge a monthly or annual subscription fee but some offer a free basic option. Some also can be installed on landline phones, but only if they use VOIP technology, not copper cables.

The Associated Press hasn’t tested any of these apps and isn’t making specific recommendations. We recommend you read user reviews and try some out for yourself.

Apple says the apps work by comparing a caller’s number with a list of known numbers and labeling them, for example, spam or telemarketing. Then it might automatically block the call. “Incoming calls are never sent to third-party developers,” the company says.

Report calls

Did you know you can file a complaint with the FCC about specific spam calls? You can do so easily through an online form. It might not give you immediate satisfaction, but the National Consumer Law Center says data on complaints is the best tool federal agencies have for determining how big a problem robocalls are.

Just say no

While companies you’ve done business with can make robocalls to you, the National Consumer Law Center says it’s probably because you gave consent – possibly hidden in fine print. But you can also revoke your consent at any time.

Just tell the company representative that you want to “revoke consent,” and if that doesn’t stop them, contact customer service and tell them that you don’t consent to receive calls and want your number added to the company’s “do not call” list, the center says.

Hang up

You might be tempted to try to engage with the call in an attempt to get your number off the call list or be put through to a real person. The FTC warns against doing this and recommends that you just hang up.

“Pressing numbers to speak to someone or remove you from the list will probably only lead to more robocalls,” the agency says on its advice page. “And the number on your caller ID probably isn’t real. Caller ID is easy to fake” and can’t be trusted, it says.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky advises not even saying anything when you receive what you think is a robocall. We’ve all received scammy calls that start with something like “Hello, can you hear me?” to which you’ve probably replied “yes” without thinking.

Scammers “can then store the recording of your confirmation and use it for fraudulent activities,” Kaspersky says. “So, avoid saying yes where possible.”

LAURA CHILDS: Minnesotan Gerry Schmitt, writing as Childs, hosts a meet-and-greet celebrating publication of “High Tea and Misdemeanors,” latest in her mystery series in which tea shop owner Theodosia Browning and her sommelier Drayton are hired to cater an elegant wedding with murder as a guest. Noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

ALLISON EPSTEIN: Presents “Fagin the Thief,” in conversation with Ann Foster. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

TONI HALLEEN: Launches her novel “The Good Samaritan,” about a college professor’s entanglement with a boy he finds huddled under a tarp in a rainstorm. 7 p.m. Monday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

MARLENE M. JOHNSON: Minnesota’s first female lieutenant governor discusses her memoir “Rise to the Challenge,” in conversation with Margaret Kelliher, former speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. 6 p.m. Friday, Story Line Books inside the Union Depot, 214 E. Fourth St., St. Paul.

EMILY ST. JAMES: Discusses “Woodworking: A Novel,” in conversation with Dex  Anderson. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

LESLIE JAMISON: Presents “Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story,” in conversation with Peter Bognanni. 7 p.m. Thursday, Mages & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

LINDA SUE PARK: Newbery Award winner celebrates her newest picture book, “Smiling Eyes,” which showcases the variety of Asian eye shapes and hues in an inclusive celebration of eyes. 6 p.m. Wednesday, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

PRESS PLAY: Minnesota Center for Book Arts hosts a printing event with local artists Nancy Ariza, Robyn Awend, Andrea Shaker and Whitney Terrill in a celebration of International Women’s Day featuring female-identifying artists and the power of community and creative expression. Free. 1-4 p.m. Saturday, MCBA in the Open Book building, 1011 Washington Ave. S., Mpls.

(Courtesy of Orchard Books)

DAVID SHANNON: Internationally acclaimed author celebrates “That’s Not Funny, David,” newest companion picture book to his Caldecott Honor award-winner “No, David.” 1 p.m. March 9, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

MAI DER VANG: Pulitzer Prize finalist joins poet/scholar Chaun Webster for a reading and conversation about Vang’s new poetry collection “Primordial,” focusing on the saola, a rare and critically endangered animal native to the mountains of Laos and Vietnam, as a vehicle to investigate the collective trauma experienced by the Hmong people. Free. 7 p.m. Thursday, East Side Freedom Library, 1105 Greenbrier St., St. Paul.

What else is going on

Minnesota author Julie Fasciana offers a twisty tale of domestic revenge in the new short story anthology “Deadly Yellowstone” (Thalia Press), made up of 13 original stories by fiction writers from across North America, set in Yellowstone National Park. She will host a meet-and-greet from noon to 2 p.m. March 29 at Once Upon a Crime bookstore, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.

Excelsior Bay Books is for sale, according to a letter to customers posted by Shelf Awareness, publisher of news about book stores. Ann and Dale Woodbeck have owned the 28-year-old store in the Minneapolis suburb since 2019. They are looking for a seller dedicated to continuing their legacy.

Kat Beaulieu, St. Paul writer, has published “Owl Music,” the first book from his Tapestrata Inc. publishing company. It’s a fable about an owl, a boy and a feather inspired by the author’s finding a great horned owl feather four years ago. Illustrated by Melissa Crowley, the book’s first 1,000-copy printing sold out and 5,000 more made up a second printing. Beaulieu, a former IT professional, will discuss “Owl Music” during the International Festival of the Owls Friday through March 9 in Houston, Minn., across the river from La Crosse, Wis. For information go to festivalofowls.com.

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With the dramatic firing of two members of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff — the chairman, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, and the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti — President Donald Trump’s administration has shocked the armed forces. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also dismissed the Air Force’s vice chief of staff, General James Slife, and three judge advocate generals (JAGS) — the top uniformed lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force. Trump indicated more firings of top military officials are in the offing.

How should we think about this rare purge at the very top of the uniformed military? Is it unprecedented? What are the likely consequences on the Department of Defense’s mission?

Let’s start with the legalities and precedents. Presidents, as commanders in chief, have unquestioned authority to relieve any senior military officer for essentially any reason. This power has been exercised across both political parties going back to the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln fired a whole series of ineffectual and indecisive generals before finding the leader he needed, Ulysses S. Grant.

Likewise, after the Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt fired the Army general and the Navy admiral who had been in charge in Hawaii, and brought in Admiral Chester Nimitz and General Douglas MacArthur. A few years later, President Harry Truman fired MacArthur, then the nation’s top general, for insubordination and policy differences during the Korean War.

More recently, President Barack Obama fired Army General Stanley McChrystal for disrespectful conversations by his staff concerning then-Vice President Joe Biden (McChrystal was later exonerated by the Army inspector general, but by then he was out of uniform).

So, the question is not whether the president has the authority to relieve senior military officers, but whether Trump’s actions were warranted and what the repercussions on American security will be.

I know the case surrounding McChrystal all too well. He is an extraordinary leader, a former head of the fearsome Joint Special Operations Command, and an expert in special forces and counterinsurgency. I was thrilled when he became the leader of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, under my strategic command as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military chief. He had an immediate and dynamic impact on the battlefield, and was a loyal subordinate and a fine shipmate.

I was deeply shocked and saddened when Obama, responding to an article in Rolling Stone magazine, fired Stan for a handful of disrespectful comments made by his aides while they were on liberty in Paris. I fought to keep him in command to no avail. Losing him altered the course of the war in Afghanistan and not for the better — had he stayed for several more years, we might have achieved a far better outcome there.

Similarly, I feel it was a major mistake to fire Brown, Franchetti, Slife and the judge advocate generals. No real reason has been given, beyond criticisms of a “woke culture” and that Hegseth is a longtime critic of the military lawyers, calling them “jagoffs” and writing that they put their “own priorities in front of the war fighters.”

I know Lisa Franchetti well, and she is anything but a so-called DEI hire. She has commanded a guided missile destroyer, a squadron of warships and two carrier strike groups in combat. She was also commander of the venerable Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. She is an experienced warrior and a fine strategist — her departure under these circumstances is a serious loss to the Navy.

Looking at the mass firings overall, I am struck by how this will hurt U.S. security in three serious ways.

First, at the tactical level, it will create real disruption throughout the military. Each of these officers will be replaced by other uniformed military, who themselves will be pulled from key assignments, leaving temporary voids at uncounted numbers of senior positions. (The exception is the return from retirement of Lieutenant General Dan “Razin” Caine to replace Brown as Joint Chiefs chairman). All of their staffs will likely be replaced as well, and the knock-on effect of vacant posts will be significant, especially if even more officers are summarily fired. All of the policies and the strategy direction of Brown and Franchetti need to be reexamined and reissued. Moscow and Beijing are no doubt applauding.

More worrisome is the divisive effect these firings will have over time. Senior and mid-grade officers will be looking over their shoulders at their bosses and even their peers. They will be worried about whether they will come under fire for an anodyne email they may have sent years ago expressing concern about racial tensions in America or another controversial topic. Or if they are women or people of color, they will feel they will be judged as unqualified “DEI hires” by the new administration. This will inject politics into the military, and the effects will be felt top to bottom over time.

And finally, it will be a discouraging time in the senior levels of the military. When the president and secretary of defense select a retired three-star officer to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs, they are, in effect, passing over about 40 active-duty four-star officers and 150 three-stars.

I know Caine, and he is smart and charismatic, a former fighter pilot and White House fellow. In 2009, he switched to the National Guard and became an entrepreneur, but returned to full-time service and ascended to three-star rank and a top position at the Central Intelligence Agency — a remarkable achievement. (Caine and I have both advised the VC firm Shield Capital.)

But he has a very difficult leadership challenge ahead given the circumstances around his selection and the very human reactions we can expect from the generals and admirals he has vaulted over.

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I also worry about losing the leaders of the Judge Advocate General Corps. These are apolitical, legally trained, uniformed officers who only advise commanders. When I led the intervention in Libya in 2011, I relied greatly on my JAG to help us avoid killing innocent civilians during thousands of strikes. I never found a military lawyer I worked with to be a “Dr. No” who forbade me to take action — a power they do not have. Rather, they were a group of “Yes, but …” soldiers who helped me assess the risk/reward calculus of applying combat power. They made me a better, more just and honorable commander — without restricting my lethality in commands from Colombia to the Balkans to Afghanistan to the Horn of Africa to Libya.

Will the Department of Defense continue to conduct prompt and sustained combat operations? Sure — new leaders will step up and perform. The new JAGs will be people of honor who cherish the law. And I have faith that all newly promoted generals and admirals will hew to their oath to “support and defend the constitution of the United States,” full stop.

The ability to replace leaders and keep fighting is at the center of our military DNA. That is the nature of combat. But firing senior officers, suddenly and peremptorily, without providing a coherent and understandable rationale, will gradually reduce America’s security, not enhance it.

James Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, former supreme allied commander of NATO, and vice chairman of global affairs at the Carlyle Group. He is dean emeritus of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is on the boards of Aon, Fortinet and Ankura Consulting Group, and has advised Shield Capital, a firm that invests in the cybersecurity sector.