Conventional is the workhorse of American mortgages. No government agency in the middle. Risk-priced PMI that cancels. 3% down through Conv 97 — or up to 20% if you have it.
What brings you here today?
Conventional isn't a single product. It covers most American buyers with a credit profile above 620. The variations matter — which one fits depends on your down payment, your score, and the property type.
The default Conventional borrower. 700+ FICO, putting at least 5% down on a primary home. PMI is reasonable, cancels in 5–9 years, and you'll have no upfront mortgage insurance fee.
Fannie Mae's answer to FHA. 3% down, 620+ FICO, no upfront MIP. HomeReady adds reduced PMI for buyers at or below 80% AMI. PMI still cancels at 80% LTV — unlike FHA's lifetime MIP.
The classic Conventional play. 20% down, no PMI ever. Lower payment, faster equity build, simpler underwriting. If you have the cash and a solid FICO, this is the cleanest path to homeownership.
The only mainstream loan that handles non-primary properties. 10% down on a second home, 15–25% on investment. Rate adds 0.25–0.75% over primary pricing. Rental income can help you qualify.
Same $400K home. Same 720 FICO. Same 6.625% rate. The only variable is the loan program. Watch what happens to mortgage insurance over the life of the loan.
Conventional 5% down vs FHA 3.5% down. Conventional has more down, but FHA has more mortgage insurance — far more.
Conventional PMI is risk-priced. The same loan with a 760 FICO costs a fraction of what it costs at 640.Most calculators ignore this. We don't.
A standard Conventional purchase closes in 25–40 days. The bottleneck is almost always documents — not lender turn-time.
60-second short app. We pull credit, ask for income docs (W-2s, paystubs, tax returns), and run automated underwriting.
Conditional approval letter. Use it to make offers. Includes loan amount, rate quote, program (Conv 97, standard, HomeReady).
Offer accepted. Send us the contract and we lock your rate. Order appraisal + title.
Full review. Income, assets, appraisal, title. Typically 10–20 days from contract. We surface conditions early.
Clear-to-close. Sign at title. Funds wire. Keys hit your hand. Most buyers close in 25–40 days total.
Every loan is a trade. Conventional's strengths are real — and so are its weaknesses, especially for buyers with credit scores below 700.
These are real archetypes from our recent files. Numbers rounded; details composited to protect privacy. The pattern, not the names, is what matters.
Selling their starter; rolling equity into a $625K home in suburban Austin. 760 FICO, 20% down ($125K). Conventional 30-year, 6.500%. No PMI, no upfront fee. Clean file, closed in 26 days.
High school teacher, $58K income (under 80% AMI in his metro). 705 FICO, 3% down ($9,450) on a $315K starter. HomeReady reduced PMI rate, no upfront MIP. Closed in 31 days.
Empty-nesters financing a $475K mountain cabin in Colorado. 740 FICO, 25% down. Second-home Conventional, 30-year, 6.875% (+0.25% premium over primary). No PMI. Closed in 28 days.
Eight questions, in plain English. If yours isn't here, call us — there's no quiz.
Conventional's minimum is 620 FICO. But credit score doesn't just determine whether you qualify — it determines your PMI rate.
At 620–659, PMI runs around 1.40% annually. At 760+, it drops to roughly 0.30%. On a $400K loan, that's the difference between $467/mo and $100/mo in PMI. Same loan, same down payment — your score is the variable.
If you're below 700 with less than 20% down, FHA is often cheaper, even though FHA is "the lower-credit option." Run both. Don't assume.
Three cancellation triggers under federal law (HPA):
By request at 80% LTV — once your balance reaches 80% of the original purchase price, you can ask the servicer to remove PMI. They'll often require a current appraisal.
Automatic at 78% LTV — the servicer must drop PMI automatically when your balance hits 78%, based on the original amortization schedule.
Midpoint at month 180 — on a 30-year loan, even if your LTV hasn't reached 78%, PMI cancels at the halfway point.
This is the structural advantage over FHA, where MIP can run for the life of the loan.
Yes — through two specific programs:
Conventional 97 (Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac): 3% down for first-time buyers (no income limit). Requires 620+ FICO.
HomeReady / Home Possible: 3% down with reduced PMI for borrowers at or below 80% area median income. Available to repeat buyers too.
The catch on 3% down: you'll have PMI until you reach 80% LTV. With minimal equity, that often takes 6–9 years. But it gets you into the home now, with a fixed payment, and PMI does eventually go away.
Rough rule: 700+ FICO and 5%+ down → Conventional usually wins. Below 700 or with limited reserves → FHA is often cheaper.
Why: Conventional PMI is risk-priced. At 620 FICO, PMI runs ~1.40%. FHA's annual MIP is a flat 0.55% regardless of credit. The lower-credit borrower gets penalized harder on Conventional than FHA.
The other factor is upfront cost. FHA charges 1.75% upfront MIP (financed in). Conventional has no upfront fee. So at the same down payment, your Conventional loan amount is smaller from day one.
Run both. We'll quote both.
Standard conforming limit: $832,750 for a single-family home in most U.S. counties (set by FHFA, effective Jan 2026).
High-cost areas: up to $1,249,125 in expensive metros (parts of California, NYC, DC, Hawaii). Check your specific county — the limit varies by FIPS code.
Above the conforming limit, you're in jumbo territory — different underwriting, often 10–20% down, stricter reserves. We do jumbo loans too. Just a different product.
Yes — Conventional is the only mainstream option for non-primary residences. FHA, VA, and USDA are all primary-occupancy only.
Second home: 10% min down, must be 50+ miles from primary, occupied by you part of the year. Rate is typically +0.25% over primary.
Investment property: 15–25% min down depending on units. Rate adds +0.50% to +0.75%. Rental income can be used to qualify (75% of gross rents).
If you're buying anything other than a primary, Conventional is the answer.
Conventional has stricter waiting periods than FHA:
Chapter 7 BK: 4 years from discharge (FHA: 2 years).
Chapter 13 BK: 2 years from discharge, 4 years from dismissal.
Foreclosure: 7 years (FHA: 3 years).
Short sale or deed-in-lieu: 4 years.
Extenuating circumstances (job loss, medical) can shorten these by 1–2 years with documentation. If you're close to a Conventional waiting period but not quite there, FHA may be the right bridge.
People use these interchangeably, but they're not the same.
Conventional = any loan not backed by a government agency (FHA, VA, USDA). Includes both conforming and jumbo.
Conforming = a Conventional loan that meets Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac standards, including the loan limit ($832,750 standard for 2026).
Most Conventional loans are conforming. The ones that exceed the limit are called jumbo. Different product, different pricing, but still "Conventional" in the broadest sense.
No quiz. No score-shopping. We'll quote Conventional alongside FHA so you see the side-by-side. The right loan is the one with the lowest 5-year cost — not the lowest rate.