It could be tough to get a mortgage without making any down payment. But there are a few such options available to first-time home buyers.

Here are a few mortgage options you can try, to get mortgages at zero or low down payment:

VA Loan (No down payment)

This is a loan that is guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to purchase homes without any down payment. This loan is available to you only if you are a qualified veteran, an active military member or a member of National Guard or Reserves. You don’t even have to pay any mortgage insurance on this.

VA loans come with a funding fee (anywhere between 1.25 and 3.3 percent) that is usually adjusted within the loan amount. Nevertheless, there is an option to lower this funding fee by making a down payment.

Many private lenders offer VA mortgages across USA. A few such lenders may even get in touch with you directly by buying your details via mortgage leads. Nevertheless, do weigh your options before you say yes to any of these.

Navy Federal Mortgage (No down payment)

You can also get a loan from the Navy Federal Credit Union, which is the largest in assets and membership in the nation. Nevertheless, the condition is that the home should be your primary residence and you should be one of these:

• An active or a retired member of the military
• A civilian employee of the military or the U.S.Department of Defense
• A Family member of a military member who may have been deceased or rendered disabled during service.

This loan comes with 100 percent financing, which means you need to make no down payment. Also the funding fee here (1.75 percent) is much less than what you pay for a VA loan (Between 2.15 and 3.3 percent).

USDA Mortgage (No down payment)

The rural development mortgage guaranteed by the USDA is one of the very popular options among most home buyers. These are available to all U.S.Citizens as well as U.S non-citizen nationals, who wish to buy homes for primary residential purpose in eligible rural areas. Available at no down payment, such a loan can be used for buying single-family housing units and multi-family housing units, apart from farmland.

Before going for this option you need to check if the property you have seen comes under the eligible rural area and if you fulfill the household income criteria specified by the USDA program. These loans are meant for first-time home buyers.

Most banks offer USDA mortgages, without any requirement for mortgage insurance. Nevertheless, you may have to pay an upfront guarantee fee of 1 percent (often adjusted within the loan amount) and 0.35 percent annual guarantee fee.

Mortgage with private mortgage insurance (Low down payment)

If you are fine with paying up mortgage insurance, you can get your mortgage at a down payment that is as low as 3 percent. The amount that you pay as private mortgage insurance is much less than what you would pay in a FHA mortgage. However, the credit requirements are stricter in case of PMI.

One best thing about PMI is that you can cancel it once your mortgage balance reaches below 80% of your home value. However, this is not possible in case of FHA insurance. If you want to cancel it you will have to refinance your loan by going for a non-FHA loan.

FHA mortgage (Low down payment)

If you do not have a good credit history and want to go for a low-down payment mortgage, FHA loan is your only option. It is available at a minimal down payment of 3.5 percent. Nevertheless, you will have to pay an upfront premium of about 1.75 percent of the loan amount.

Guaranteed by the Federal Housing of Administration, FHA loans are available to those who have a FICO score of at least 580. If your score is below this, you can still get the loan provided you make a down payment of 10 percent.

It is important to understand the eligibility requirements of all the above options before taking your decision.

So next time a mortgage lender tries to contact you via mortgage leads, find out if he can offer you any of the above options.