Utah
What mortgage options can I help with in Utah?
The direct answer
I help Utah buyers and homeowners with purchases, refinances and home equity lines, with access to wholesale pricing. I arrange the loan; the lender funds it. What's available for a given home depends on the property, your credit and your income.
I'm Zach von der Linden (NMLS 1652805), a mortgage broker with West Capital Lending, based in San Clemente. I work with homeowners in California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona; license details are on the disclosures page.
Zach von der Linden, mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending · NMLS 1652805
Wholesale pricing · California, Utah, Oregon and Arizona
5.0 across 66 reviews on Experience.com (read on 2026-09-24) · Text reaches Zach directly · Last updated 2026-10-19
Buying or borrowing in Utah? Text me what you have in mind.
No credit pull happens from a conversation. Texts go to Zach's cell.
Start with your situation in Utah
- Can Utah's first-time buyer program help me buy a new home?
- What is Utah's new FirstHome Conventional loan, and do I qualify?
- Can I get a hard money loan in Utah?
- Can I count basement apartment rent when I buy a house in Utah?
- Why won't my condo qualify for financing?
- Can I get a loan to buy land or build a house?
- Can I use a HELOC for a down payment?
Buying and need a letter? Get pre-approved.
Can you help me buy or refinance a home in Utah?
Yes. I explain the programs available for your situation and the structure before you decide how to proceed. I put the financing together and place the loan with a lender. If you're keeping your current mortgage and only need cash, a home equity line may fit better than a refinance, and I look at both.
What should Utah first-time buyers know about state assistance?
Utah Housing runs a first-time homebuyer assistance program for newly built homes that haven't been lived in, used with a Utah Housing first mortgage through one of its participating lenders. Utah Housing says funds are available until depleted, so check the current program terms before you build an offer around it. The Utah first-time buyer assistance page walks through the details.
Utah Housing's FirstHome Conventional is a conventional first mortgage for first-time buyers under its income and purchase price limits. I arrange it through a Utah Housing participating lender, which closes the loan. The FirstHome Conventional page covers who qualifies and what the program includes.
A doctor, nurse, attorney, CPA or teacher? Do doctors, teachers and nurses get special mortgages? sorts the professional programs I offer and the Utah Housing assistance they can sit alongside.
What should I check before buying a Utah condo?
Condo financing depends on both you and the HOA. The Utah Department of Commerce says Utah law requires a reserve analysis at least every six years, reviewed and updated if necessary at least every three years, and a reserve line item in the annual budget, but sets no statutory minimum contribution; a higher amount in the declaration controls.
Mortgage investors apply their own project standards, so meeting state law doesn't automatically mean the condo passes loan review. The condo financing problems page covers what lenders look at.
Can you help with a Utah hard money or private loan?
Yes, for an investment property or another business-purpose loan: a purchase and renovation, an auction buy, a loan that is coming due, land, or a stalled project. I place these with a group of private investors I work with, and approval depends on the property, the plan and the investor's requirements. The Utah hard money page walks through the situations it fits and what gets reviewed. A loan on a home you live in gets a separate review.
Recent Utah files I closed
In September 2026 I closed a second-lien home equity line of $215,000 in Midway, and in February 2026 first mortgages of $125,000 in St George, $150,000 in Sandy and $495,000 in West Valley City. One closed file is not a promise that another property qualifies; every file is decided on its own.
Questions people ask next
Can you help me buy a home in Utah?
Yes. I arrange the purchase loan and explain the structure before you decide. What's available for a given home depends on the property, your credit and your income.
Can I get a HELOC on my Utah home?
Possibly. I arrange home equity lines, and whether one fits depends on your equity, your file and the property. Text me what you need the money for and I'll tell you what to check first.
Can you help me refinance in Utah?
Yes. I start with what you're trying to accomplish, because a refinance replaces your first mortgage and a HELOC leaves it alone.
Does the Utah first-time buyer assistance work on an existing home?
No. Utah Housing's program is for newly constructed homes that haven't been lived in, used with a Utah Housing first mortgage through a participating lender.
Does Utah law set a minimum condo reserve contribution?
No. The Utah Department of Commerce says there is no statutory minimum; the reserve line item is based on the association's reserve analysis, and a higher amount in the declaration controls. Lenders apply their own project standards on top of that.
Can you arrange a hard money loan on a Utah investment property?
Yes. For Utah hard money I place the loan with a group of private investors I work with, and approval depends on the property, the plan and the investor's requirements. The Utah hard money page covers the situations it fits. A loan on a home you live in gets a separate review.
Can I count basement apartment rent when I buy a house in Utah?
Yes. Fannie Mae and FHA count rent from one accessory unit on a one-unit home you live in, with limits, when the appraiser can call the unit legal and rentable. Utah law makes an internal unit a permitted use in residential zones, but that alone does not make the rent count. The basement apartment page covers both rulebooks.
Sources and checked dates
Sources: Utah Housing Corporation, First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program (New Construction) (checked 2026-10-07) · Utah Housing Corporation, First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program FAQ (checked 2026-10-07) · Utah Housing Corporation, Memorandum: FirstHome Conventional (September 16, 2026) (checked 2026-10-19) · Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 (checked 2026-10-19) · Utah Department of Commerce, Condominium Budgets (checked 2026-10-07) · Supplied by Zach, September 9, 2026 (checked 2026-09-09).
Show each claim on this page, what it depends on, and the date it was checked (6)
| What we say, and what it depends on | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Utah Housing Corporation: Utah Senate Bill 240 (2023) created the First-time Homebuyers Assistance Program, allocated by Utah Housing, to help first-time homebuyers purchase a newly constructed but not yet inhabited home. "Up to $20,000 in Program funds can be borrowed for the home. Purchase Price not to exceed $450,000. Funds are available until depleted. First-time homebuyers must qualify for a Utah Housing Mortgage, with a Utah Housing Participating Lender." | Utah Housing Corporation, First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program (New Construction) | 2026-10-07 |
| Utah Housing's First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program FAQ (updated 7/16/26): program funds "are currently available and will be as long as funds are available," with a running tally on Utah Housing's website; the program loan carries no monthly payment and is secured by a recorded deed of trust; up to $20,000 may be used for down payment, closing costs and/or a permanent interest rate buydown on the qualifying mortgage; a Utah Housing Participating Lender must be used and any Utah Housing first mortgage program may be used with it; a reservation may be submitted after credit qualification and before a property is identified, for an initial 90 days with possible extensions; the maximum purchase price is $450,000 and limits may be adjusted by location or home type; income limits follow the Utah Housing loan program; recipients must have been Utah residents for the previous twelve months; eligible types include detached homes, owner-occupied two-unit dwellings, condominiums and townhomes; first-time homebuyer follows the three-year non-ownership test with a single-parent exception; on a sale or refinance the recipient repays the lesser of the assistance received or a share of the home equity as the program defines it. | Utah Housing Corporation, First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program FAQ | 2026-10-07 |
| Utah Housing Corporation memorandum to its Participating Lenders, "Introducing the New FirstHome Conventional Program" (September 16, 2026): "A powerful new path to affordable homeownership launches October 19, 2026!" Utah Housing's "new conventional bond mortgage option expands the trusted FirstHome Mortgage Program." It lists flexible mortgage insurance ("Choose monthly PMI or single- and split-premium options"), reduced mortgage insurance options for eligible borrowers below an area median income threshold, and "No upfront mortgage insurance premium or funding fee," and says "The new program will use the same income and purchase price limits as FirstHome." | Utah Housing Corporation, Memorandum: FirstHome Conventional (September 16, 2026) | 2026-10-19 |
| I arrange Utah Housing financing, including FirstHome Conventional, through a Utah Housing participating lender. I am the broker; the participating lender closes the loan. | Confirmed by Zach, October 2026 | 2026-10-19 |
| Utah Department of Commerce, HOA Ombudsman guidance on condominium budgets: unless the declaration provides otherwise, Utah Code 57-8-7.5 requires the management committee to have a reserve analysis conducted at least every six years and reviewed and updated, if necessary, at least every three years; the annual budget must include a reserve fund line item based on the reserve analysis; "There is no statutory minimum; if the declaration requires a higher amount, it controls." | Utah Department of Commerce, Condominium Budgets | 2026-10-07 |
| Zach reports placing loans through more than one wholesale lender and program via his broker channel: the standard home equity line described on this site, plus conventional, government, bank statement and investment-property options. Individual lender names are kept off the public pages until the executed broker agreement for each is on file (California 10 CCR 2848(a)(3)). | Supplied by Zach, September 9, 2026 | 2026-09-09 |
Written for and accountable to: Zach von der Linden, Mortgage broker and Branch Manager, West Capital Lending.
Last updated 2026-10-19.
Verify him: NMLS Consumer Access, ID 1652805 · 66 reviews on Experience.com.
Sources for product claims are listed on this page, with the date each was checked.
Text Zach about buying in Utah
Tell me what you're buying or what you need from your home's equity. I'll tell you plainly what to check first.
No credit pull happens from a conversation. Texts go to Zach's cell.