The most common way to skip a down payment is through government programs. While these are "no money down," they do have credit requirements.

While these options exist, they come with trade-offs that you should discuss with a professional at Chase Bank or Rocket Mortgage :

FHA loans are the "gold standard" for bad credit, but they typically require 3.5% down. To get to "no money down," you have to pair an FHA loan with assistance.

: For homes in designated rural or suburban areas, the USDA offers 0% down financing. Like VA loans, you typically need a score around 640 for automated approval, but manual underwriting may be available for lower scores if you have compensating factors. 2. The FHA Workaround (Down Payment Assistance)

: Loans like VA and USDA often have up-front guarantee fees that get rolled into your total loan balance.