Current FHA cash-out guidelines, updated from one source.
Read the block as HUD’s rulebook reduced to what decides a file. The base loan stops at the cap; the home must have been the borrower’s residence for the stated months before the case number; the premiums are fixed shares set by the handbook; the score floor and the ratio tiers are listed. The table beneath shows the annual premium for every leverage band and loan tier.
Of the adjusted value on a principal residence; 80% combined with any lien that stays
The base loan on an FHA cash-out may not exceed 80% of the adjusted value, and every lien on the home together may not exceed 80%. Payoffs and closing costs come out of the base loan first; the upfront premium is added afterward, so the total borrowed can sit just above the cap while the base loan cannot.
Owned and occupied as the principal residence before the case number is assigned
HUD counts twelve months of ownership and occupancy as a principal residence before the case number is assigned, and it reads the mortgage history for that year: every payment within the month due. Inherited homes occupied since the inheritance skip the wait; nothing skips the payment test.
Plus an annual premium, charged monthly, for eleven years at cash-out leverage
The insurance has an upfront half and a monthly half: 1.75% of the base loan once, usually financed, and 0.50% a year on most thirty-year cash-out loans, collected with the payment for eleven years. The table beneath the cards lists the rate for larger base loans and for shorter terms.
Ratios of 31/43 by reference, higher with compensating factors
Three score figures and two ratio pairs: HUD’s 500 floor, the 580 full-financing line, the 580 wholesale overlay; ratios of 31/43 by reference and 40/50 at the top tier. The score decides the cost of the loan as well as its availability.
| Base loan | Leverage | Annual premium | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV — the cash-out band | 0.50% | 11 years |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.50% | mortgage term |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.55% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV — the cash-out band | 0.70% | 11 years |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.70% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.75% | mortgage term |
The line-of-credit alternative: on a primary residence Lendmire’s HELOC program reaches 90% combined loan-to-value behind the existing first mortgage, with no FHA premium attached. For a stronger credit profile the conventional cash-out matches this leverage with no premium at it and one wholesale lane goes higher; eligible veterans can reach the full value, funding fee included, through VA cash-out. Every route is priced on the same numbers before anything is recommended.
FHA cash-out snapshot as of October 1, 2026 · base loan sized on the appraised value, upfront premium financed above it · FHA county mortgage limits apply, confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer and never printed here · taking cash out raises the balance and may extend the payoff · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Informational only. Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend, an offer of credit, an approval, or a quote. The parameters shown are HUD Handbook 4000.1 guidelines and wholesale lender overlays as of the date shown; they change without notice and apply only after full underwriting, including an FHA appraisal. The calculator’s rate is a published survey average, not a quote. Lendmire LLC, NMLS #2371349, is a mortgage broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages and is never the lender. This is not legal or tax advice.
What an FHA cash-out refinance is — and how the file is qualified.
Here is the program in the order it matters: the loan and the disbursement, the occupancy and payment-history rules, the insurance and its span, and the choice between FHA and its alternatives for a Virginia home.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA cash-out refinance program; the rules are HUD’s, in Handbook 4000.1.
One new FHA loan, cash at closing
An FHA cash-out is a brand-new insured first mortgage. The settlement agent pays off your current first lien, pays off any second lien that is not being resubordinated, pays the closing costs, and sends you what remains once the rescission period has run. The upfront premium is added to the balance at closing, which is why the total loan lands a little above HUD’s cap.
The occupancy rule and the payment history
To be eligible, at least one borrower must have owned the home and lived in it as a principal residence for the twelve months before the case number is assigned, and every mortgage payment on the property in that year must have been made within the month it was due. Inherit the home and live in it, and the twelve-month wait is waived; the payment-history rule never is.
Mortgage insurance, upfront and monthly
Treat the schedule beneath the snapshot as the insurance price list: one rate for standard base loans, a higher rate for larger ones, and a duration fixed by the starting leverage. The upfront premium sits on top of the capped base loan, so the total borrowed on a Virginia home exceeds the cap by exactly that share, and the payment carries the monthly premium for the stated years.
FHA cash-out or the alternatives
A borrower with a strong decision score usually does better on the conventional cash-out: identical leverage on a one-unit principal residence, no premium at that leverage, and a wholesale lane that lends higher. A home equity line keeps the first mortgage and prices only the new money. The FHA route earns its premium when the score, the ratio, or a recent credit event closes those doors.
The order matters. HUD caps the base loan before the premium is added, so the financed premium can push the total above the cap while the base loan stays under it; the cash is measured on the base loan, never on the total. Ask for less and the loan shrinks; ask for more and the calculator reports the ceiling.
Where Virginia’s equity sits — and how FHA cash-out fits.
Virginia is a set of markets rather than one: ownership, values, and incomes change from city to city, and every FHA cash-out in the state is sized against its own local appraisal. The Census figures below describe the state as a whole.
Statewide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. A higher median value puts more equity behind the cap; a higher balance against that value leaves less of it reachable. HUD’s percentages are fixed; the dollars they release follow the market.
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 equity is borrowed with FHA — market by market.
Six Virginia markets, six local guides. HUD’s program is the constant; the equity a typical home holds, the condition questions the local stock raises, and the county mortgage limit are the variables.
Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach’s owner base runs near 117,165, about 65% of households; in a metropolitan market of that scale the FHA cash-out is a routine file: a year in the house, HUD’s cap, the premium, the appraisal. Census context: median value near $382,500, median household income near $92,968, population near 456K.
Chesapeake
Roughly 69,615 Chesapeake households own (74% of the total), a good many with the modest scores and small down payments FHA was built for, which is why the insured cash-out carries a steady share of this metropolitan market’s equity lending. Census context: median value near $378,400, median household income near $95,373, population near 253K.
Arlington
Arlington’s owner base runs near 46,221, about 41% of households; in a metropolitan market of that scale the FHA cash-out is a routine file: a year in the house, HUD’s cap, the premium, the appraisal. Census context: median value near $895,000, median household income near $142,114, population near 236K.
Richmond
Roughly 45,407 Richmond households own (44% of the total), a good many with the modest scores and small down payments FHA was built for, which is why the insured cash-out carries a steady share of this metropolitan market’s equity lending. Census context: median value near $353,000, median household income near $64,587, population near 229K.
Norfolk
Norfolk’s owner base runs near 44,000, about 46% of households; in a metropolitan market of that scale the FHA cash-out is a routine file: a year in the house, HUD’s cap, the premium, the appraisal. Census context: median value near $289,900, median household income near $66,109, population near 234K.
Newport News
Newport News’ owner base runs near 36,655, about 48% of households; in a metropolitan market of that scale the FHA cash-out is a routine file: a year in the house, HUD’s cap, the premium, the appraisal. 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 sequence is the same: value, cap, occupancy, payment history, appraisal, premium, score, ratios. The county mortgage limit caps the base loan in each county, and above it the conventional or jumbo program takes the file.
Four ways Virginia homeowners put equity to work with FHA.
Virginia homeowners bring four reasons to an FHA cash-out more than any others, and each one changes a different part of the review: the ratio, the appraisal, the sequence, or the comparison with a line of credit.
Consolidate higher-cost debt into one insured payment
Retiring a stack of balances with one insured loan changes two things at once for a Virginia household: the monthly outlay falls, and the ratio HUD measures is computed after the payoffs leave the file. The home now secures what was unsecured, and the balance runs on a new full term, which is the part to weigh before signing.
Capitalize a business or an investment
Working capital drawn from a Virginia home arrives as one disbursement after rescission and is repaid on the mortgage, premium included, regardless of how the venture performs. Underwriting reads the owner’s personal income and credit, not the business plan, and HUD’s standard is often the one a self-employed file clears.
Fund a large expense or a reserve
Borrowing to hold a reserve means paying the premium and the interest on money that may sit unused, which is where a line drawn only when needed often wins. For a Virginia owner whose credit fits HUD but not the line program, the FHA cash-out is the instrument that is open, and the review says so plainly.
Leave a loan whose structure no longer fits
Some Virginia owners carry a loan they no longer understand or no longer want. The FHA cash-out replaces it with a fixed payment, a published premium schedule, and the equity in hand; whether it beats a conventional refinance depends on the decision score, and the review runs both.
Estimate the cash, the premium, and the new payment on a Virginia home before requesting a quote.
Three figures decide most of it, the value, the balance, and the cash wanted, and the rest is settings: the term, the escrows, income and debts for the ratio. The result shows the base ceiling, the maximum cash, the total loan, the payment with the premium inside it, and whether the ratio clears the reference. The rate is the current Freddie Mac survey average, not a quote.
Virginia FHA cash-out estimate
A Virginia example to start from. Enter your own figures to see your own ceiling, premium, and payment.
Editable benchmark: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an FHA cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $385,000 home value near Virginia’s median owner-occupied value, a $212,000 current balance, the FHA cap on a principal residence with the upfront premium financed, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
An illustration, not a Loan Estimate, an approval, a quote, or a commitment to lend. The rate shown is the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, used as a market reference; an FHA cash-out is priced by the lender at lock, and this is not an FHA cash-out refinance quote. HUD’s cap limits the base loan; the upfront premium is financed above it; the monthly premium for the first year follows the snapshot’s schedule. Cash available means the base loan the cap permits less the balances retired, before closing costs, which this calculator leaves out. The line figure applies the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are estimates you can edit. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same equity, three ways to borrow it.
A Virginia homeowner can reach the same equity three ways, and the differences are structural: an FHA cash-out insures the loan and accepts a wider credit profile; a conventional cash-out reaches the same leverage with no premium at that leverage for a stronger file; a home equity line sits behind the first mortgage and prices only the new money. The cards compare them.
FHA cash-out, conventional cash-out, or a HELOC.
The insured route: a lower decision score accepted, ratios that rise with documented strength, a year of occupancy required, two premiums as the price. It delivers the lump sum, the fixed payment, and the second lien folded in, for a Virginia owner the conventional programs would decline.
Where the score is solid, the conventional cash-out wins on cost: nothing added to the balance for insurance, nothing added to the payment for it, and a wholesale lane above the agency cap for the strongest files. Lendmire prices it beside the FHA route on the same value, balance, and cash for every Virginia review. See Lendmire’s conventional cash-out refinance program.
Keep the first mortgage, add a line. For a Virginia owner with a low-cost first lien and a modest or staged need, the line usually reaches the cash for less than any refinance; for an owner whose first mortgage should go, or whose credit fits HUD better than the line program, the FHA cash-out fits. See Lendmire’s home equity line of credit.
The credit profile decides first and the existing first mortgage decides second. A file the conventional programs accept takes the conventional route; a file they decline takes FHA; a first mortgage worth keeping points either one toward the line. A Virginia review settles it on the numbers rather than the labels. Veterans: see the VA cash-out program.
What to prepare for a Virginia scenario review.
The documents are the ordinary refinance set plus two that HUD’s rules add, the occupancy evidence and the year of mortgage history; here is what a Virginia FHA cash-out review draws on.
A general guide to preparing, not a complete checklist: the selected lender may ask for more, depending on the transaction, the property, the automated finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
A loan officer runs this list on every Virginia FHA cash-out before quoting anything, because each item can move the loan amount, the cost, or the timing.
Use these checks to keep the Virginia file clean and fundable.
Three checks decide most Virginia files: the occupancy year, the premium against the alternative, and the appraisal against expectation. Answer them first and the closing holds few surprises.
- Price the premium: The upfront premium is financed on top of the capped base loan; the monthly premium runs eleven years.
- Confirm the occupancy clock: Every mortgage payment in the prior year within the month due; no non-occupant co-borrower.
- Expect the waiting period: Funds disburse after the rescission period, never at signing, on an FHA cash-out.
The premium rides on the loan and inside the payment
Price the insurance as two numbers, not one: the share of the base loan added to the balance at closing, and the share of the balance collected every month for eleven years at cash-out leverage. On a Virginia home the calculator shows both, and the comparison with a conventional loan is only honest when both are in the figure.
Twelve months owned and occupied, with a clean payment history
Ownership and occupancy are counted together: the home must have been the borrower’s principal residence for the twelve months before the case number, shown by the deed and by records at the address, and every mortgage payment in that year must have been made within the month it was due. A Virginia owner who rented the home out during that year waits.
The rescission period before the money moves
Count the days before planning the money: the closing, then the federal rescission window, then the disbursement that pays the old loans and wires the cash to the Virginia owner. A deadline that falls inside the window is missed, so the closing is scheduled backward from the date the cash is needed.
The term starts over on the whole balance
A new thirty-year loan on the whole balance, premium included, moves the payoff date out and resets the principal share of each payment; a fifteen-year loan keeps the horizon and raises the payment, and the premium rate follows the term as the table shows. The Virginia review lays both out so the choice is deliberate.
Closing costs and the premium come out of the loan
Weigh the costs against the purpose. A Virginia owner after a modest sum may pay more to close an insured refinance than a line of credit would cost to open, and the line carries no premium; a larger sum spreads the same costs over more cash. The loan estimate itemizes everything after application and the closing disclosure finalizes it before signing.
From a Virginia scenario review to cash at closing.
Review, application and case number, appraisal and underwriting, closing and funding: four stages, in that order, and the first one decides whether the other three are worth starting on a Virginia file.
Scenario review
Bring the value, the balance, the cash wanted, the occupancy history, the score, and the income. A Lendmire loan officer applies HUD’s cap, finds the base ceiling and the cash after payoff and costs, adds the premiums, prices the conventional cash-out and the line of credit on the same numbers, and puts the terms in writing before anything is ordered.
Application and case number
Once the application is filed, the disclosures go out, the credit report is pulled, the case number is assigned, and the finding tells the lender what to verify. The Virginia borrower sees the condition list here: statements, occupancy evidence, payoffs, insurance, and whatever the finding raises.
FHA appraisal and underwriting
Here the figures become final. The appraiser sets the Virginia home’s value and lists any required repairs; the underwriter tests the file against the handbook and the lender’s overlays; each condition is issued, documented, and cleared ahead of the final approval; and the closing disclosure is drawn on the final loan with the premiums inside it.
Closing, rescission, and funding
At the closing table the Virginia owner signs the note and the security instrument and the costs are settled; the rescission window then runs, and when it closes the settlement agent pays the old loans, records the new one, and wires the cash. The first payment, premium included, is due at the start of the second month after funding.
A brokerage built around equity lending.
A broker’s worth on an insured cash-out is choice and candor. The FHA route, the conventional route, the wholesale lane above it, and the line of credit are all available in one place, compared on the owner’s own figures, with the fit written up and the misfits explained.
Every route, one review
No owner is steered toward the one product a lender happens to offer. Each route is run on the same value, balance, and cash, each is costed to open and to carry, and the one the numbers favor for the Virginia home is the one recommended. The owner chooses with the figures in hand, not with a pitch.
Placed across wholesale programs
HUD writes the rules; each wholesale lender adds its own overlays and its own cost. The Virginia file goes where the score, the leverage, and the property fit best, and the terms the owner receives come from that placement rather than from the only desk in the building.
Terms in writing, before any fee
Written terms come first and fees come after: the Virginia owner sees the base loan, the premiums, the cash after costs, the payment, and the ratios on a conservative value before the appraisal is ordered, so a plan that cannot close never costs an appraisal fee.
Trusted by homeowners & families alike.
Virginia FHA cash-out refinance FAQs
Before you apply in Virginia: how much, how soon, what the premium costs, and when the conventional route or a line of credit is the better instrument.
What is an FHA cash-out refinance, and who is it for?
A new insured loan for more than the old balance, the difference paid to you; HUD sets the cap and the occupancy rule, the appraisal sets the value, and the premiums are the price. Lendmire arranges it beside the conventional cash-out and the home equity line so a Virginia owner sees all three.
How much cash can I take out with an FHA refinance?
HUD limits the base loan to the share of the adjusted value shown in the snapshot, and the cash is what remains of that ceiling after the existing balance, any second lien being paid, and the closing costs. The upfront premium is financed on top of the base loan rather than deducted from the cash. The calculator above runs the numbers for a Virginia value and balance; the FHA appraisal has the last word on the value.
How long do I need to have lived in my home before an FHA cash-out?
A full year as the principal residence before the case number is assigned, with the mortgage paid within the month due throughout that year; inheritance waives the year for a home occupied since the inheritance. The lender controls the case number date, so a Virginia owner a few weeks short simply waits for it.
What does FHA mortgage insurance cost on a cash-out, and how long does it last?
Two premiums: an upfront premium that is a share of the base loan, financed into the balance in nearly every file, and an annual premium charged monthly on the outstanding balance at the rate the snapshot’s table sets for the leverage band and the base loan tier. A cash-out starts at or below the ninety percent band, so the monthly premium runs eleven years and stops. The calculator shows the first-year monthly premium on a Virginia home.
What credit score do I need for an FHA cash-out refinance?
The program accepts scores the conventional programs refuse, which is why many Virginia owners choose it. The lowest middle score is the decision score, the wholesale floor sits above HUD’s, and reserves, residual income, and payment history are weighed alongside it.
When do I actually get the money?
Never at the closing table. The window runs after signing and the disbursement follows it; payoffs and cash go out together, and the old lenders release their liens afterward.
Can I pay off a second mortgage or a HELOC with an FHA cash-out?
Paying off a post-purchase second lien makes the file a cash-out under HUD’s rules, so the base-loan cap governs the combined balances plus costs; a lien that will not fit can be resubordinated inside the combined ceiling or paid down first. Either way one insured first mortgage remains on the Virginia home.
What debt-to-income ratios does an FHA cash-out allow?
Reference ratios with compensating-factor tiers above them, as the snapshot shows. The premium is part of the payment the ratio measures, so on a Virginia home the FHA ratio is computed on the full payment, premium included.
Would a HELOC be better than an FHA cash-out?
Line when the first mortgage should stay; refinance when it should go. The line is cheaper to open, reprices only the draw, and carries no premium; the FHA refinance gives a fixed payment and a larger lump sum but reprices the whole balance and adds the premiums.
Are there restrictions on what I can use the cash for?
Any lawful purpose. Debts paid through the closing are documented so they can leave the ratio; everything else is simply disbursed after rescission. How the interest is treated for tax purposes depends on the use and on current law, which a tax adviser should confirm for a Virginia owner.
Equity in a Virginia home, insured by HUD and paid in cash.
Three questions open a Virginia FHA cash-out: what the home is worth, what is owed, and whether the file fits the conventional program instead. Lendmire answers them, places the file, and writes up the route that fits.
This guide covers Virginia — for the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA cash-out refinance program.
All Virginia city guides (6): Arlington · Chesapeake · Newport News · Norfolk · Richmond · Virginia Beach
Related programs: Cash-Out Refinance · FHA Loans · HELOC