Conventional Loans
The most ordinary loan in America — quoted from the actual rulebook.
Every bank sells conventional loans, and almost every bank quietly staples its own rules on top. This page quotes the program itself: financing to 97% with an assistance second stacking to 105% combined, credit floors that start at 580 — not the 620 of bank folklore — two underwriting engines run on every file, and an investor grid that reaches 85% financing and ten financed properties.
Who this is built for
First-time buyers
The top of the grid was written for you: 97% financing requires a first-time buyer on the file, and an approved assistance second behind it can carry combined financing to 105%.
What you’d qualify forIncome needed to buyCompare against FHAHouseholds a big bank over-filtered
The printed floors are 580 — 600 above 80% financing — and thin credit can qualify through rent, utilities and other non-traditional history. The 620-and-up you were quoted was an overlay, not the rulebook.
After a credit eventBank statement loans1099 incomeSecond-home buyers and investors
A 90% grid for the getaway, 85% purchase financing on a one-unit rental, and up to ten financed properties on the books — further than most banks admit conventional goes.
DSCR investor loansMulti-family calculatorJumboAnyone comparing against FHA
Conventional mortgage insurance is a phase, not a sentence — it ends by law as equity builds. Whether that beats FHA’s premium structure depends on your score and leverage, and the side-by-side goes on paper before you choose.
The FHA pageVARun a prequalificationNot sure which of these is you? That is the normal starting point — ten minutes on a call sorts it faster than a week of reading.
Talk it throughTell me the file. I’ll tell you the ceiling.
One program’s printed conforming matrix, both agency engines behind it. Pick what fits — the answer updates.
Financing maximums from the same product summary quoted across this page; the note under each answer carries its conditions. An automated approval decides every file. Not all applicants will qualify.
The famous down-payment rule is folklore
A huge down payment? The program says otherwise — it finances up to 97% of the home.
The most expensive myth in home buying keeps renters renting for years they never needed to — waiting on a pile of cash the program never asked for. Three corrections, straight from the current rulebook:
And the least-known correction of all: conventional is not just an owner-occupant program. The same summary prints a second-home grid at 90%, an investment purchase rung at 85%, and room for ten financed properties — which is why the honest comparison for a rental file is conventional against DSCR, not DSCR by default.
| The ceiling is higher | 97% — 105% combined | One unit, conforming fixed, a first-time buyer on a purchase — and an approved Community Second stacks combined financing to 105%. |
| The floor is lower | 580 — and 600 above 80% | The 620-or-better most banks quote is their private overlay. The printed floors are 580, stepping to 600 above 80% financing. |
| Two engines, one application | DU and LPA, both run | Fannie’s and Freddie’s systems disagree in useful places — multi-unit ceilings, co-borrower rules. The file keeps the better verdict. |
Program parameters reflect one program’s current conforming product summary and change without notice. An automated approval is required; individual findings govern. Not all applicants will qualify.
How it actually works
One application, two rulebooks, and a checklist printed by the findings.
The file runs both engines
Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s automated systems read the same application — and their rulebooks disagree in useful places. The file closes under whichever verdict is stronger.
The findings print the checklist
The automated approval decides the exact documents — often fewer than folklore says. The list comes from the engine, not from a loan officer’s habit.
The floors are the printed ones
From 580 — 600 above 80% financing, where the mortgage-insurance companies set the line — with no overlay stack on top. What the program says is what the file gets.
Insurance is temporary by design — mostly
Above 80% financing, mortgage insurance rides along — monthly, a single premium at closing, split, or lender-paid. The borrower-paid versions fall away by law as the balance amortizes. Lender-paid does not: it trades cancellation for a lower payment, and stays for the life of the loan.
The grids, as printed
One program’s current matrix — pick the occupancy:
| The file | Maximum financing | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| One unit — purchase or rate-and-term | 97% | Conforming fixed rate; adjustable structures hold at 95% |
| Two units — purchase or rate-and-term | 95% | County-elevated balances step to 85% |
| Three–four units — purchase or rate-and-term | 95% | County-elevated: 75% on one engine, 80% on the other — a divergence worth running |
| One unit — cash-out | 80% | From 580 |
| Two–four units — cash-out | 75% | From 580 |
The gate is an automated approval — DU Approve/Eligible or LPA Accept — and there is deliberately no manual path on this product; ratios run to whatever the findings support rather than a fixed ceiling. The floors: 580 at or below 80% financing, 600 above it — that step is set by the mortgage-insurance companies, not the program. The 97% band carries its own conditions: at least one first-time homebuyer on a purchase, an agency-owned loan on a rate-and-term, fixed rate only. And the loan size runs small as well as large — the minimum is $25,000, which matters more often than people expect.
| The file | Maximum financing | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Second home — purchase or rate-and-term | 90% | From 580; cash-out holds at 75% |
| The file | Maximum financing | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Investment, one unit — purchase | 85% | 680 above 80% financing; 580 at or below it |
| Investment, two–four units — purchase | 75% | From 580 |
| Investment — refinances | 75% | Rate-and-term at any unit count; cash-out steps to 70% on two–four units |
The portfolio math is the quiet headline: a primary residence carries no financed-property limit at all, and second homes and investments can sit on a book of up to ten financed properties — the old score overlay for the seventh through tenth was removed from the summary this spring. Non-occupant co-borrowers can carry income up to 95% financing, though one engine refuses them on a primary cash-out — another divergence the two-engine run settles. Manufactured homes run their own grid to 95% on a primary purchase, and the contract itself can do real work: seller contributions run up to 9% of the price at conservative leverage, 6% and 3% as leverage rises, 2% on investment files, and approved buyer-assistance programs are permitted on top.
Score or story below these floors? FHA reads credit differently →
Representative of one program’s Conventional Conforming and High Balance product summary, v26.6, published 06/25/2026, applying Fannie Mae (DU) and Freddie Mac (LPA) program rules. Financing above 95% requires a conforming fixed-rate loan with at least one first-time homebuyer on purchase transactions or an agency-owned loan on rate-and-term refinances; county-elevated (high-balance) and non-occupant co-borrower files are excluded from that band. Maximum 105% combined financing requires an eligible Community Second or Affordable Second. The 85% investment rung requires a 680 credit score above 80% financing. Single-wide manufactured homes require a 700 credit score and are limited to primary purchase and rate-and-term transactions. Mortgage insurance is required above 80% financing. Loan-size bands, credit minimums and ratio rules are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Never combine maximums from different rows. Not all applicants will qualify.
The boundaries that decide these files
Look up your county’s current limit at the FHFA — they publish it, and it changes every year.
What you actually hand over
Income, per the findings
W-2s and pay stubs for employees, returns for the self-employed — but the automated findings print the exact list, and it is often shorter than folklore says.
Assets with a paper trail
Recent statements for whatever the closing consumes, letters for family gifts, program papers if an assistance second rides along. Sourced beats large.
Credit — traditional or built
A score from 580, or a non-traditional file assembled from rent, utilities and insurance history under the agency guides.
The ordinary rest
Identification, the contract, insurance on the property. The engine’s checklist is finite — and a clean file here moves as fast as anything in lending.
Want the exact list for your file before you ever apply? Build your document checklist — the list changes with your answers, printable and yours to keep.
Where it wins — and the honest trade-offs
Told straight, because this page is useless otherwise.
Above 80% financing, mortgage insurance rides along — and then it ends, by law, as your equity builds. FHA’s version usually stays for the life of the loan.
Agency pricing runs on a printed grid — the stronger the file, the better the deal. No haggling, no mystery, no overlay stack.
Second homes, rentals up to four units, up to ten financed properties — the part of the map most banks never show you.
No upfront government insurance premium, lighter property-condition rules than government programs, and a document list printed by the findings — often shorter than folklore says.
Without an Approve/Eligible or Accept, this product is closed — that is the trade for its speed and price. The right answer is a different program read honestly, and this site holds several.
A 580 approval and a 760 approval are both real, but agency pricing moves with score and leverage on a printed grid. The floor gets you in the door; the quote still reflects the file.
Borrower-paid MI is real money until it exits. Sometimes FHA’s premium structure beats it, sometimes it loses badly — the crossover depends on score and leverage, and I show it on paper.
The income-limited programs behind this product — HomeReady, Home Possible — carry their own limits and breaks that depend on address and income. They get quoted per file rather than advertised as a blanket.
Run the ordinary math
Ten minutes with the actual grids — your score, your leverage, both engines, and the FHA side-by-side if it is close. The most common loan in America deserves better than folklore. Two more worth an evening before you sign anything: what a seller credit is actually worth spent three different ways, and how the loan really pays down — the full schedule, what extra principal actually changes, and when the mortgage insurance falls away.
Questions people actually ask
Open the full Q&A — boundaries, limits, and the fine points ▾
+How much of the price will a conventional loan actually carry?
Up to 97% on a one-unit primary — conforming fixed, with at least one first-time buyer on a purchase — and an approved Community Second behind it can take combined financing to 105%. Above 80%, borrower-paid mortgage insurance rides along until it ends by law.
What you’d need at closingIncome needed to buyAbove the county limit
+My bank quoted a 620 minimum. Is that the rule?
It is that bank’s overlay. The program floors here are printed: 580 at or below 80% financing, 600 above it — the step the mortgage-insurance companies set. Pricing still moves with the score, so the floor and the best deal are different questions — both get answered on paper.
+Fannie or Freddie — do I have to pick?
No — that is the point. The same application runs both engines, and their rulebooks disagree in useful places: multi-unit ceilings on county-elevated files, non-occupant co-borrower rules on refinances. The file closes under whichever verdict is stronger.
+Can an investor really use conventional?
Yes — 85% purchase financing on a one-unit rental with a 680 score, 75% on two-to-four units, up to ten financed properties on the books. The honest comparison is against DSCR: conventional wants your income documented and prices better; DSCR reads the rent instead. Run both.
+Is conventional better than FHA?
Sometimes, and the deciding variables are score and leverage. Conventional insurance cancels as equity builds; FHA’s premium structure runs longer but its pricing forgives lower scores more. There is a crossover point, it is different for every file, and the side-by-side takes ten minutes.
+I barely have a credit history. Is conventional out?
Not automatically — non-traditional credit is permitted under the agency guides, built from rent, utilities and insurance history. The automated engine still judges the whole file, so the answer is a real prequalification, not a guess either way.
+Can I avoid the mortgage insurance?
Three routes inside this program, and they are genuinely different from each other. Put more down — at or below 80% financing it never starts. Pay it once, at closing — a single premium is quoted as a one-time figure instead of a monthly line, so the payment is lower, but the money is spent whether you keep the loan two years or twenty. Or let the lender pay it — lender-paid insurance removes the monthly line and the cost is priced into the loan instead. The catch worth knowing before you choose it: lender-paid cannot be canceled. Borrower-paid ends by law as the balance amortizes; lender-paid stays for the life of the loan. Which one wins depends on how long you keep it, and that is arithmetic I will show you rather than assert. There is also a fourth route that sits outside this program entirely: several portfolio and non-QM products carry no mortgage insurance at all, including some that finance past 90%. They document differently and price differently — worth comparing rather than assuming.
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Loan programs, explained honestly
The program described is offered through a third-party program, is subject to lender approval and automated underwriting approval, and changes without notice. Figures reflect that program’s Conventional Conforming and High Balance product summary, v26.6, published 06/25/2026, applying Fannie Mae (DU) and Freddie Mac (LPA) program rules; individual automated findings govern every file. Financing above 95% is limited to conforming fixed-rate loans with at least one first-time homebuyer on purchase transactions or an agency-owned loan on rate-and-term refinances. Maximum combined financing of 105% requires an eligible Community Second or Affordable Second. Private mortgage insurance is required above 80% financing and is borrower-paid on this product. Credit-score floors vary with financing level, occupancy and property type as described above. Loan limits are set annually by federal regulators and vary by county. Loan-size bands, credit minimums and ratio rules are separate limits shown only in combinations that appear together in the source. Not all applicants or properties will qualify. This is not a commitment to lend. Equal Housing Opportunity.