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Conventional

The default shape. Underwritten to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rules, with mortgage insurance that ends.

Who it is for

Someone with a reasonable credit profile and a down payment between 3% and 20%, buying at or below the conforming limit.

Decided at

  • Day one
  • 0–3 yr
  • 3–7 yr
  • 7–15 yr
  • 15–30 yr

What separates it from its nearest neighbour: It is the only low-down-payment programme where the mortgage insurance is guaranteed to stop on a schedule written into federal law.

The published rules

These are programme rules, not Plinth policy. Where a figure is reset each year — conforming limits, FHA county limits, the USDA fee, the VA fee table — the mechanism is described and the number is not, because a stale number on a lending page is worse than no number.

Loan size
At or below the conforming loan limit. The Federal Housing Finance Agency publishes a baseline limit each year and a higher ceiling for designated high-cost counties, so the number depends on the year and the county. Above it, the loan is a jumbo.
Down payment
As little as 3% on the standard low-down-payment products from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, 5% on most other conventional loans. Twenty per cent is what removes mortgage insurance from day one, not what is required.
Mortgage insurance
Private mortgage insurance is required above 80% loan-to-value. Under the Homeowners Protection Act, borrower-paid PMI on a primary residence must be cancelled on request at 80% of the original value, and terminated automatically at 78%, provided payments are current. This is why the settling band matters more than the rate sheet.
Credit
Lenders generally look for a score of 620 or better, and individual lenders apply their own overlays above the agency minimum. Pricing moves with score and loan-to-value together, not with score alone.
Property
Primary residences, second homes and investment properties are all possible, with different down payment and pricing rules for each.
A quiet street of modest single-storey homes on a clear autumn morning, with mature trees and parked cars.
The conforming limit is set county by county, so the same loan amount can be conventional on one street and jumbo on the next.

What it will not do

  • It has no special provision for a thin or non-traditional credit file. FHA is usually the more forgiving door there.
  • It does not beat VA on structure for an eligible veteran: VA has no monthly mortgage insurance at all.
  • Above the conforming limit it stops being available and the question becomes a jumbo question.

What to find out before you go further

  1. 01The conforming limit for the county you are buying in, this year.
  2. 02Whether your down payment puts you above or below 80% loan-to-value.
  3. 03Whether you qualify for one of the 3%-down products, which have income or first-time-buyer conditions.

No obligation, and no transmission

Ask about Conventional

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(816) 555-0147