Current conventional guidelines, updated from one source.
Treat these as the program’s fixed points rather than an offer: the minimum down payment for a first-time buyer and for everyone else, the credit floor behind these pages, the leverage at which mortgage insurance begins and the points at which it ends, and the ratio an automated approval allows.
First-time buyer; 5% standard; 97% loan-to-value at the top
A first-time buyer, meaning anyone without an ownership interest in a home during the prior three years, can put 3% down on a one-unit principal residence with a fixed rate, which is 97% loan-to-value; everyone else starts at 5% down, and the same 97% is open to lower-income buyers through HomeReady and Home Possible.
Priced on the score; no agency minimum with an automated approval
The wholesale programs behind these pages start at a 620 decision score. The agencies themselves set no minimum for an automated approval and ask for 620 on a manually underwritten fixed-rate loan and 640 on an adjustable; the score prices the loan and the insurance more than it gates them.
Required above 80% LTV; removed at 80% by request, 78% automatically
Mortgage insurance is required when the loan runs above 80% loan-to-value, and it is temporary: the borrower may ask for cancellation when the balance reaches 80% of the original value, and the servicer must end it automatically at 78%. Fannie Mae reports premiums typically ran 0.58%–1.86% of the loan a year, priced by the insurer on the score and the leverage.
With an automated approval; 36% to 45% on a manual file
An automated approval allows a total debt-to-income ratio up to 50%; a manually underwritten file is held to 36%, or 45% when the credit score and reserves meet the agencies’ matrix. The ratio is measured on the total housing payment plus every other monthly obligation against gross income.
| Purpose | Occupancy and program | Maximum LTV |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, first-time buyer (fixed rate) | 97% |
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, standard | 95% |
| Purchase | HomeReady / Home Possible (income limits apply) | 97% |
| Purchase | Two- to four-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Purchase | Second home | 90% |
| Purchase | Investment property, one unit | 85% |
| Purchase | Investment property, two to four units | 75% |
| Refinance | Limited cash-out (rate-and-term), one-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, one-unit principal residence | 80% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, two to four units, second home or investment | 75% |
| Combined LTV | Maximum contribution |
|---|---|
| above 90 percent | 3% of the sales price |
| 75.01 to 90 percent | 6% of the sales price |
| 75 percent or less | 9% of the sales price |
| investment property (any) | 2% of the sales price |
| Event | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy | four years from discharge or dismissal (two years with documented extenuating circumstances) |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | two years from discharge; four years from dismissal (two with extenuating circumstances) |
| Multiple bankruptcy filings | five years when more than one filing within the past seven years |
| Foreclosure | seven years (three with extenuating circumstances, then limited to a principal residence or second home at 90 percent LTV, purchase or limited cash-out) |
| Deed-in-lieu, short sale or mortgage charge-off | four years (two with extenuating circumstances) |
Mortgage insurance: Fannie Mae reports that private mortgage insurance typically ranged from 0.58%–1.86% of the loan amount a year; the premium on a specific loan is priced by the insurer on the score, the leverage, and the coverage, and is never quoted here. Gifts from relatives may fund the entire down payment on a one-unit principal residence. HomeReady and Home Possible lend to 97% with income at or below 80% of the area median; HomeOne lends to the same leverage with a first-time buyer and no income limit.
Current conventional snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · principal residences occupied within sixty days, second homes, and one- to four-unit investment properties · conforming limits apply by county and are confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer · above the limit, see the jumbo program · no prepayment penalty · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Informational only; not a commitment to lend, an approval, or a quote. Every figure on this page is a program parameter read from Lendmire’s guideline source, built on the agencies’ published guides, and may change without notice; eligibility, the loan amount, the insurance, and the ratios depend on the credit profile, the property, the occupancy, and underwriting. The mortgage insurance estimate is editable and not a premium quote. Lendmire is a mortgage broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. NMLS #2371349.
What a conventional loan is — and how the file is qualified.
Four rules shape a Virginia conventional file: leverage by occupancy and buyer, credit scoring that prices rather than gates, mortgage insurance that cancels, and ratios set by the automated finding. Each is explained below with the reason behind it.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program; for the mortgage insurance cancellation rules, see the CFPB.
Leverage by occupancy and buyer
The agencies lend most on a home the borrower lives in and less as the occupancy changes: a one-unit principal residence reaches the top leverage, with the first-time buyer’s minimum the lowest down payment in the program; two- to four-unit homes, second homes, and investment properties step down from there, as the table in the snapshot shows for a Virginia buyer.
Credit scores and automated underwriting
Conventional credit is priced more than it is gated. The agencies set no minimum score for a loan their automated system approves, the wholesale programs set a floor, and above the floor the score sets the loan-level price adjustments and the mortgage insurance premium. A Virginia buyer with a stronger score pays less on both lines.
Mortgage insurance that cancels
Twenty percent down means no mortgage insurance at all, and anything less means insurance for a while. The calculator on this page shows the Virginia payment with the estimated premium and the payment after it ends, along with the month on the amortization schedule when the request and automatic thresholds arrive.
Ratios, reserves, and the DU finding
The automated finding is the hinge of a conventional file: it reads the income, the assets, the credit, and the property, allows a total debt ratio up to the automated maximum, and names the reserves the file must show. A Virginia underwriter then verifies what the finding assumed.
A lender runs the same math on a Virginia file with one difference: the insurer’s actual premium replaces the estimate. The estimate here starts at the low end of the published range and is editable, because the real figure depends on the score and the leverage.
Where Virginia buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Virginia is many markets, not one: ownership, home values, and incomes shift from city to city, and every conforming loan written in the state is sized against its own local numbers. The statewide figures below come from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Statewide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Higher values mean a larger down payment in dollars and a larger insurance premium; lower values mean a payment that leaves more room under the ratio ceiling. The percentages do not move; what they amount to does.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Where Virginia’s buyers borrow — market by market.
Six Virginia markets, six local guides. What stays constant is the agencies’ structure; what changes is the price a low-down-payment loan has to carry, the county limit, and the property types the appraiser sees most.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach carries one of the largest owner-household counts in Lendmire’s Virginia footprint, near 117,165, about 65% of households; in a metropolitan market of that depth, conforming loans finance the bulk of purchases and refinances. Census context: median value near $382,500, median household income near $92,968, population near 456K.
Chesapeake
Near 69,615 Chesapeake households own (74% of the total), and most of them borrowed conventionally: in a metropolitan market this size the conforming loan is the default instrument for purchase, refinance, and cash-out. Census context: median value near $378,400, median household income near $95,373, population near 253K.
Arlington
With owner households around 46,221, about 41% of households, Arlington is a metropolitan market where the conventional loan does most of the work, from first purchases at the low down payment to second homes and investment property. Census context: median value near $895,000, median household income near $142,114, population near 236K.
Richmond
Near 45,407 Richmond households own (44% of the total), and most of them borrowed conventionally: in a metropolitan market this size the conforming loan is the default instrument for purchase, refinance, and cash-out. Census context: median value near $353,000, median household income near $64,587, population near 229K.
Norfolk
With owner households around 44,000, about 46% of households, Norfolk is a metropolitan market where the conventional loan does most of the work, from first purchases at the low down payment to second homes and investment property. Census context: median value near $289,900, median household income near $66,109, population near 234K.
Newport News
With owner households around 36,655, about 48% of households, Newport News is a metropolitan market where the conventional loan does most of the work, from first purchases at the low down payment to second homes and investment property. Census context: median value near $260,600, median household income near $69,634, population near 184K.
From the largest Virginia market to the smallest, the file is qualified the same way: score, leverage, appraisal, insurance threshold, ratio, occupancy. The conforming limit sets the ceiling on the loan amount in each county, and above it the jumbo program takes over.
Four ways Virginia buyers put a conforming loan to work.
Virginia borrowers use conforming loans for reasons that repeat: the first purchase at the first-time-buyer minimum, the purchase with twenty percent down and no insurance, the second home or rental no government program will finance, and the refinance or cash-out on a home with equity.
Buy a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
For a Virginia first purchase, the conventional route pairs the agencies’ lowest down payment with insurance that cancels and no upfront premium; the file is qualified on the score, the ratio, the reserves, and the automated finding, and a family gift may fund the whole down payment.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
The condominium file adds the project review to the house file. Once a Virginia project clears it, the first-time buyer’s minimum, the insurance rules, and the ratio ceiling are exactly what they would be on a single-family home.
Buy an investment property
The rental purchase is inside the conventional program at a lower leverage than a principal residence: a Virginia buyer uses the agencies’ rules for counting rental income, shows reserves for every property financed, and accepts loan-level adjustments that reflect the occupancy.
Refinance or take cash out
Refinancing on a conventional loan follows the same leverage table as buying: rate-and-term to the higher limit, cash-out to the lower one. A Virginia owner who has carried mortgage insurance may also use the refinance to leave it behind once the new loan sits at or below the threshold.
Estimate the payment on a Virginia price before requesting a quote.
This is what a Virginia conventional purchase costs each month at the leverage you choose, with the insurance shown as a separate line and then removed: the calculator finds the month on the schedule when the balance reaches the request threshold and the automatic one, and shows the payment on each side. The rate shown is the weekly Freddie Mac average, editable, and not a quote.
Virginia conventional payment estimate
Seeded at Virginia’s median value with the first-time buyer’s minimum down; every field updates the result as you type.
Editable benchmark: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a conventional loan quote.
Estimate seeded at the low end of Fannie Mae’s published range (0.58%–1.86% a year); the insurer prices the actual premium on the score and the leverage. Applies only above 80% loan-to-value.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $385,000 price near Virginia’s median owner-occupied home value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, mortgage insurance at the low end of Fannie Mae’s published range, property taxes and insurance estimated for Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a conventional loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. The mortgage insurance figure is an editable estimate seeded from Fannie Mae’s published typical range, not a premium quote; the insurer prices the actual premium, and the cancellation month assumes scheduled payments with no extra principal and no change in value. Taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included. Conforming loan limits apply by county. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same buyer, three very different closings.
Most buyers can close the same purchase three ways, and the structures differ more than the labels suggest: conventional with insurance that cancels, FHA with a small investment and premiums for the life of the loan at full leverage, or VA with nothing down and no insurance for the eligible veteran.
Conventional, FHA, or VA.
Conventional fits the Virginia buyer with a solid score: the premium is smaller than FHA’s for strong credit and it ends, there is no upfront premium, and twenty percent down removes insurance altogether. A modest score or a thin file is where FHA competes.
Where conventional prices the score, FHA prices by schedule. FHA fits the buyer whose score would be priced heavily on a conventional loan, or who needs the ratio ladder’s room; it rarely wins for a Virginia buyer with strong credit and a down payment above the minimum. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
VA beats conventional on the principal residence for nearly every eligible borrower; conventional beats VA on everything VA does not touch: second homes, rentals, and buyers without the certificate. The two often sit side by side in one Virginia household. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Choose by profile: a strong score and any down payment point to conventional; a modest score and a small down payment point to FHA; eligibility with full entitlement points to VA. A Virginia loan officer runs all three on the same numbers before recommending one. Above the conforming limit, see the jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for a Virginia scenario review.
The paperwork is the standard mortgage set, with the automated finding deciding how much of it the file actually needs; here is what a Virginia scenario review typically draws on.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the automated underwriting finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
A handful of details decide whether a Virginia conventional file closes as planned, closes at a different cost, or stalls. These are the ones that come up most.
Use these checks to keep the Virginia file clean and fundable.
The list is short because the program is: the insurance, the score, and the property decide most Virginia files before income is even opened.
- Plan the insurance: twenty percent down carries no insurance at all.
- Confirm the score: the score sets the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium more than it gates the loan.
- Know the seasoning: documented extenuating circumstances can shorten several periods.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
Cancellation on request needs a good payment history, no subordinate liens, and no decline in value; automatic termination needs only that the loan be current. A Virginia owner whose home has gained value may also ask the servicer to recognize the current value under its own rules, which is a servicer decision rather than a program right.
The score sets the cost
The decision score is read from the lender’s report, and with more than one borrower the automated system uses the average of the median scores. On a Virginia conventional file the score rarely ends eligibility, but it sets the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium, so a difference of a few points can change the monthly cost.
Waiting periods after a credit event
A documented hardship beyond the borrower’s control, such as a job loss or a medical event, can shorten several of the waiting periods, and the shortened foreclosure period limits the leverage and the occupancy. A Virginia file inside a waiting period is written later, not now.
Ratios, reserves, and the finding
Enter income in the calculator to see where a Virginia scenario lands against the automated maximum; the finding, the score, and the reserves decide the rest, and the ratio drops on its own once the insurance cancels, because the premium leaves the housing payment.
Second homes, rentals, and financed-property limits
Buying a second home or a rental in Virginia on a conventional loan means qualifying on the full payments of every property owned, documenting the rents the agencies allow, and showing reserves for each. The leverage table gives the down payment for each occupancy.
From a Virginia pre-approval to keys in hand.
Underneath, the Virginia process is any mortgage process; what makes it conventional is the automated finding, the project review where it applies, the leverage by occupancy, and the insurance threshold. Each step below says what happens and what the buyer does.
Pre-approval
Start with the score, the income, the down payment, and the occupancy. A Lendmire loan officer runs the automated system, confirms the leverage and the insurance for the down payment chosen, checks the loan against the conforming limit, compares the structure with FHA and VA on the same numbers, and provides the terms in writing.
Contract and appraisal
The appraisal is a valuation first and a condition report second on a conventional file; a short value re-sizes the loan, and the Virginia contract is adjusted or released under its contingency. Where the system offers value acceptance, the step collapses to the system’s figure.
Underwriting
Underwriting on a Virginia conventional file is a verification of the finding: the documents behind the income and assets, the source of the down payment, the project review, and the insurance commitment for the leverage. Conditions are cleared and the approval is issued with its terms.
Closing
The Virginia closing applies the program’s structure: the insurance premium in the payment while it applies, the escrow account, and no upfront premium. The buyer moves in within sixty days on a principal residence, and the servicer tracks the balance toward the cancellation thresholds.
A brokerage that prices the whole market.
A single lender prices a conventional loan one way; a brokerage with several wholesale programs prices it several ways and shows a Virginia buyer which one costs less on the same score and leverage, with the insurance quoted by the insurer rather than guessed.
Several programs, one set of numbers
A lender with one rate sheet sells that sheet; a brokerage with several can say which fits. For a Virginia buyer with a strong score that is usually a conventional loan on the program whose cost is lowest for that file; for a modest score it may be FHA, and the arithmetic decides.
The insurance explained before the offer
No Virginia buyer should learn at the closing table what the insurance costs or how long it lasts. The loan officer walks through the premium for the leverage chosen, the month the thresholds arrive on scheduled payments, and the alternative of a larger down payment.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
What this page shows are the agencies’ parameters and the wholesale overlays; what a specific Virginia loan gets is a written set of terms from a licensed loan officer after the review. Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Virginia conventional loan FAQs
What a conventional loan is, how much it takes to buy, what score it needs, how the mortgage insurance works and ends, and how the conforming limit works, answered for Virginia buyers.
What is a conventional loan, and who is it for?
Conventional means conforming: a loan inside the conforming limit, qualified by an automated underwriting system against the agencies’ rules. A Virginia buyer applies through a lender or broker, the lender follows the guides, and the agency buys the loan.
How much do I need to put down on a conventional loan in Virginia?
A small share of the price for a first-time buyer, a little more for a repeat buyer, and twenty percent to skip the insurance. On a Virginia home at the median value the market section shows what the minimums come to in dollars.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
A conventional loan prices credit rather than simply gating it. The practical floor is the wholesale overlay in the snapshot; the agencies’ own minimum applies only to manual underwriting. Above the floor, the premium and the loan-level adjustments fall as the score rises.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
It is temporary insurance for the lender, paid by the borrower while the loan sits above the threshold. On a Virginia loan with scheduled payments the calculator shows the month the balance reaches the request point and the automatic one; extra principal or a rise in value, recognized by the servicer, can bring the request point sooner.
What is the conforming loan limit in Virginia?
Conforming limits are set each year by the FHFA, by county and by unit count, with higher limits in high-cost areas, which is why this page does not quote a figure. A Lendmire loan officer confirms the current limit for the county where you are buying; a loan above it needs a larger down payment to fit under the limit or moves to the jumbo program.
What happens after my Virginia offer is accepted?
Appraisal first, then underwriting, then conditions, then closing. The appraisal or the value acceptance sets the value; the underwriter verifies what the finding assumed; the closing funds the loan at the leverage chosen and starts a payment with the insurance line if one applies.
What does the appraisal check on a conventional loan?
Value against the contract price, and condition against the lender’s standard of safe, sound, and marketable. Older Virginia homes draw condition notes more often; most are settled before closing.
Can I get a conventional loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
The agencies season credit events rather than barring them, with the periods shown in the snapshot. Gather the discharge, dismissal, or transfer dates before the review, because they decide whether the file can be written now.
What debt-to-income ratio does a conventional loan allow?
It depends on the underwriting path. The snapshot shows the automated maximum and the manual pair; enter income in the calculator to see where a Virginia scenario lands against the automated figure.
What are HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne?
Agency programs that open the top conventional leverage to buyers who meet their conditions: HomeReady from Fannie Mae and Home Possible from Freddie Mac for borrowers with income at or below the area-median threshold in the snapshot, with reduced insurance coverage and a homeownership course; HomeOne from Freddie Mac for first-time buyers with no income limit. Each is a conventional loan with its own rules on top.
Buy in Virginia with a low down payment and insurance that ends.
A Virginia conventional purchase starts with three questions: the score, the down payment, and the occupancy. Lendmire answers them, prices the programs, and writes up the one that fits.
This guide covers Virginia — for the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
All Virginia city guides (6): Arlington · Chesapeake · Newport News · Norfolk · Richmond · Virginia Beach
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans