FHA Loans: Requirements, Loan Limits And Rates (2024)

There are certain requirements borrowers must meet to qualify for an FHA loan, including:

The home you consider must be appraised by an FHA-approved appraiser.
You can only get a new FHA loan if the home you consider will be your primary residence, which means that it can’t be an investment property or second home.
You must occupy the property within 60 days of closing.
An inspection must occur, and the inspection must report whether minimum property standards are met.

There are a few more specific conditions to qualify, including a down payment amount, mortgage insurance, credit score, loan limits and income requirements. Mostly, the FHA requirements to qualify for a mortgage are the same for DACA recipients. We’ll explore these factors in more depth below.

FHA Loan Down Payments

Your down payment is a percentage of the purchase price of a home and is the amount you put down for that home. The minimum down payment you’re able to make on an FHA loan is directly linked to your credit score. Your credit score is a number ranging from 300 to 850 that’s used to indicate your creditworthiness.

An FHA loan requires a minimum 3.5% down payment for credit scores of 580 and higher. If you can make a 10% down payment, your credit score can be in the 500 – 579 range. Rocket Mortgage^® requires a minimum credit score of 580 for FHA loans. A mortgage calculator can help you estimate your monthly payments, and you can also see how your down payment amount affects them.

FHA Mortgage Insurance

You’ll pay a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) for all FHA loans. Mortgage insurance is put into place to protect the FHA against losses if you default on your loan.

How Long Do You Have To Pay Mortgage Insurance For An FHA Loan?

In most cases, you pay mortgage insurance for the life of an FHA loan (unless you made a down payment of at least 10%, in which case, MIP would be on the loan for the first 11 years). FHA loan mortgage insurance is assessed in a couple of different ways. First, an upfront mortgage premium is charged, which normally amounts to 1.75% of your base loan amount.

What Is The FHA MIP?

FHA borrowers also pay an annual mortgage insurance premium, which is based on the term (length) of your mortgage, your loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, your total mortgage amount and the size of your down payment. Annual MIP payments run approximately 0.15% – 0.75% of the base loan amount.

FHA Loans And Credit Score

There are a lot of factors that determine your credit score, including:

The type of credit you have (credit cards, loans, etc.)
Credit utilization, which is simply how much credit you use
Whether you pay your bills on time
The amount you owe on your credit cards
How much new and recent credit you’ve taken on

DTI Ratio And Your FHA Loan

If you have a higher score, you might be able to qualify with a higher debt-to-income ratio, or DTI. DTI refers to the percentage of your monthly gross income that goes toward paying debts. Your DTI is your total monthly debt payments divided by your monthly gross income (your monthly income before taxes). This figure is expressed as a percentage.

How To Calculate Your DTI Ratio

To determine your own DTI ratio, divide your debts (student loans, car loan, etc.) by your monthly gross income. For example, if your debts, which include your student loans and car loan, reach $2,000 per month and your income is $8,000 per month, your DTI is 25%.

The lower your DTI, the better off you’ll be. If you do happen to have a higher DTI, you could still qualify for an FHA loan if you have a higher credit score.

The FHA states that your monthly mortgage payment should be no more than 31% of your monthly gross income, and that your DTI should not exceed 43% of monthly gross income in certain circ*mstances if your loan is being manually underwritten. As noted above, if you have a higher credit score, you may be able to qualify with a higher DTI.

FHA Loan Limits

There’s a maximum limit to what you can borrow for an FHA loan, depending on the county the home is in.

According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the maximum FHA lending amount for high-cost areas (such as large metropolitan areas) is up to $1,089,300 for 2023 In lower-cost areas, the FHA limit is Loan limits are set based on county property values. These are the limits for one-unit properties. If you have multiple units, limits may be higher.

You can look up the FHA mortgage limits for one or more areas on the FHA mortgage limits page. The page also includes a median sale price value for each area. Those are the median price estimates used for loan limit determination, according to HUD.

FHA Interest Rates

FHA interest rates can be competitive compared to conventional mortgages. This is because the government-backing allows lenders to offer you a lower rate. The rate depends on several factors, including the prevailing interest rates, your income, credit score, the amount you plan to borrow, your down payment amount, DTI ratio and more.

FHA Income Requirements

Your eligibility for an FHA loan doesn't hinge on a particular income amount, but you must prove that you have a steady employment history. Your income must be verifiable by sharing pay stubs, W-2s, federal tax returns and bank statements with your lender. Your lender may ask for other examples of verification as well.