04/28/2026
Buying a home in Southern Utah? The market here moves fast, and getting the right financing in place is what separates the people who get the house from the ones who miss it.
Whether you're relocating from out of state, buying your first home, building new construction, or running your own business, there are loan options made for your situation. Not a one-size-fits-all bank product. Not a program that works great for someone else but not for you.
Here's what's available right now for buyers in the St. George and Cedar City markets.
👉 New construction + builder incentives
Builders in Southern Utah are actively offering rate buydowns, closing cost credits, and other incentives to move inventory, and a lender who knows how to work those incentives into your financing can save you serious money. The key is having a pre-approval in hand that a builder will actually respect, and knowing how to structure the deal so you capture every dollar on the table.
Buying a new construction home with an ADU (accessory dwelling unit) on the lot? That rental income can potentially be used to help you qualify. More and more buyers in this market are using ADU income as a qualifying factor, which opens the door to homes that might have seemed out of reach on paper. This is a nuance most lenders don't know how to handle. Scott Buehler does!
👉 First-time homebuyers
If this is your first home purchase, the process can feel like drinking from a firehose. Down payment requirements, credit thresholds, debt-to-income ratios, closing costs... it adds up fast.
The good news is that there are programs built specifically to help first-time buyers get in the door with less money down and more manageable terms. FHA loans with low down payment requirements, down payment assistance programs, and competitive conventional options are all on the table. The right lender walks you through each one honestly, so you're not oversold into a loan that costs you more than it should over time.
If you've been renting and telling yourself you can't afford to buy, it's worth having a real conversation before you write it off. You might be closer than you think.
👉 Self-employed buyers
Running your own business is one of the most common reasons buyers get told "no" by traditional lenders, and it's one of the most frustrating because your actual financial picture is often a lot stronger than two years of tax returns make it look.
If you write off a significant portion of your income, your adjusted gross income on paper might not reflect what you actually earn or spend. Traditional lenders look at that number and stop. A mortgage lender with access to broker a full range of loan products doesn't have to stop there.
There are loan structures designed specifically for self-employed borrowers that take a more complete view of your finances, and getting matched with the right one can be the difference between owning and renting indefinitely.
👉 Non-traditional financing options
Not everyone fits the W-2, 20%-down, perfect-credit mold. That's fine. Most people don't.
Bank statement loans let lenders qualify you based on your actual cash flow rather than your tax return. This is huge for contractors, business owners, gig workers, and anyone whose income looks irregular on paper but is real and consistent in practice.
Beyond that, a true mortgage broker has access to dozens of lenders and programs, not just the in-house products a single bank can offer. That means more flexibility on credit scores, debt-to-income ratios, down payment amounts, and property types. If one door closes, there are others worth checking.
Southern Utah is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and that growth isn't slowing down. Washington County and Iron County are adding residents, jobs, and new construction at a pace that most markets aren't seeing. Getting into a home here now, at the right terms, with the right loan, is a decision that tends to look really smart in hindsight.
Whatever your situation, the first step is a conversation.
Scott Buehler
Senior Mortgage Lender
(435) 590-1019
Guild Mortgage
NMLS 1794818
Equal Housing Opportunity
Moving or buying a home in Southern Utah? Use Scott Buehler as your mortgage lender to get pre-approved fast in Cedar City, St George, Washington, Hurricane, Ivins and Enoch Utah.
