FHA Loan Requirements
Whether you're a first-time homebuyer, moving to a new home, or want to refinance your existing conventional or FHA mortgage, the FHA loan program will let you purchase a home with a low down payment and flexible guidelines.
- The Facts About FHA Credit Requirements and FICO® Scores
- Do FHA Loan Requirements Apply to All Borrowers?
- Your FHA Loan Credit Qualifications
FHA Limits for Announced!
FHA loan limits were established to define how much you can borrow for a HUD-backed mortgage. Each state has different limits, so be sure to look up your state to understand what is available for your FHA home loan.
For , the FHA floor was set at $498,257 for single-family home loans. This minimum lending amount covers most U.S. counties. The FHA ceiling represents the maximum loan amount and is illustrated in the table below.
| FHA Limits (low cost areas) | |||
| Single | Duplex | Tri-plex | Four-plex |
|---|---|---|---|
| $498,257 | $637,950 | $771,125 | $958,350 |
Also for 2024, the FHA ceiling was set at $1,149,825 for single-family home loans. This represents the highest amount that a borrower can get through the FHA loan program. It applies to high cost areas in the United States and is illustrated in the table below.
| FHA Limits (high cost areas) | |||
| Single | Duplex | Tri-plex | Four-plex |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,149,825 | $1,472,250 | $1,779,525 | $2,211,600 |
Down Payment Grants for FHA Loans
Paying the upfront costs of buying a new home can be challenging. To help overcome this hurdle, many local and state agencies offer down payment assistance in the form of grants or second mortgages.
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FHA Loan Articles and Mortgage News
April 2, 2024 - There are lots of finance and mortgage-related publications. Some of these discuss FHA loan guidelines with varying degrees of accuracy. Here are some facts--and corrections--about FHA loans as published by others.
April 1, 2024 - The FHA’s new program launched in 2024 is called the FHA Payment Supplement and allows participating lenders more freedom to (temporarily) change the terms of the loan to reduce monthly payments without changing the home loan interest rate.
April 1, 2024 - When did you last check into your options to buy, build, or refinance using an FHA mortgage? In recent years, the FHA and HUD have modified the FHA single-family home loan program in ways that have benefited borrowers, both new house hunters and experienced borrowers.
March 30, 2024 - As the first quarter of 2024 ends, some market watchers are revising their home loan interest rate predictions for the remainder of the year. There are multiple reasons why mortgage loan interest rates may fall slower than some might like. One of those reasons? Fed lending policy.
March 28, 2024 - What home loan terms are important for first-time home buyers to know? The answers may surprise you. We aren’t talking about the basic definitions of escrow or loan limits. Instead, we are reviewing mortgage loan terms that are similar to others.
March 23, 2024 - Which FHA home loans require escrow? That’s a trick question since all FHA loans typically involve some form of escrow for different reasons. What do you need to know about escrow and when it’s needed for your FHA home loan?
March 22, 2024 - President Joe Biden has floated an idea that could make it much more affordable to buy a home, especially in the current interest rate environment which is still (at press time) trying to find its way to a recovery.
March 20, 2024 - Conventional loans are administered by the financial institutions they originate from, and because of that, the standardization found among those loans is typically caused by a combination of state and federal law, industry standards, and other variables.
March 17, 2024 - How do you know you are ready to buy a house with an FHA mortgage? By this we don’t mean that you have saved up your down payment, gotten your credit in order, and have a plan to manage your finances with the new mortgage payment.
March 14, 2024 - Some loan types allow you to pay 20% down to avoid mortgage insurance altogether. Other loan types may allow you to make a larger down payment and stop paying mortgage insurance after 11 years. Other loans have no program-required mortgage insurance guidelines at all.
Homebuyer Terminology
If you’re getting ready to shop around for mortgage options, it’s a good idea to brush up on some of the technical terms in our Mortgage Glossary. You’re going to be hearing a lot of them!
