What are the real down payment minimums?
By program: $0 for eligible VA and USDA borrowers; 3.5% for FHA at a 580+ score (10% below that), per HUD Handbook 4000.1; around 3% for conventional first-timer programs; 20% only if you want conventional with no mortgage insurance.
Read that list as a menu, not a ladder: the right amount is the one that fits your program and leaves your savings intact, not the biggest number you can scrape together. The program-level rules live in their own guides, the FHA down payment guide and the conventional down payment guide in depth, and the side-by-side decision in the hub's best-loan comparison.
Can you really buy with no money down?
Yes, through two specific doors: VA for eligible veterans, service members, and some surviving spouses ($0 (full entitlement), per VA.gov), and USDA in eligible rural areas. There is no general $0-down mortgage.
The attribution matters because the myth runs both directions: some buyers assume $0 down exists for everyone (it doesn't), others assume it's a trap (it isn't; VA in particular is the strongest program in lending). The honest footnote on every $0-down conversation: $0 down, not $0 to close; closing costs still apply. Seller credits, lender credits, and assistance can cover much of the closing-cost side, which is the cash item the zeros don't erase.
Can your down payment be a gift?
Usually yes: most programs accept documented gift funds from family for some or all of the down payment. The two universal requirements are a gift letter stating no repayment is expected, and a clean paper trail of the money's movement.
Where programs differ is the fine print: who counts as an eligible donor, when the funds must land in your account, and how they're sourced. Those rules belong to each loan program, FHA's live in the FHA guide, and verifying that your specific gift fits your specific loan is a five-minute job for me and an expensive surprise to skip. The practical advice: tell me about gift money early, and don't move it until the paper trail is planned.
How does your down payment change mortgage insurance?
Directly, and differently by program: conventional PMI shrinks as your down payment grows and disappears at 20%; FHA's premiums apply at every down payment, with low-down loans carrying MIP for the life of the loan, versus 11 years with 10% or more down, per HUD.
This is the mechanism that makes "how much down?" a real decision instead of arithmetic: the same dollars buy different insurance outcomes in different programs. VA sidesteps the question entirely, no monthly mortgage insurance at any down payment. The full numbers live where they belong: FHA MIP with its grid, and conventional PMI with its HPA cancellation rules.
Is putting more down always better?
No. More down lowers the payment and the insurance cost, but draining savings to do it leaves you a furnace repair away from trouble, and lenders themselves like seeing reserves after closing.
The trade-off I actually run with clients: each extra 1% down versus what that cash earns you as an emergency fund, as closing-cost cushion, or as the difference between buying now and waiting. Sometimes the bigger down payment wins. Often, especially for first-time buyers, the resilient move is the minimum down with intact savings, accepting the mortgage insurance as the price of staying liquid. The math is personal; the myth that more is always better is not.