Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
The figures below are the FHA program’s own parameters, read from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source and refreshed on this page as HUD’s rules and the wholesale overlays change: the minimum investment, the decision score for maximum financing, the mortgage insurance premiums, and the qualifying ratios.
Up to 96.5% loan-to-value on a purchase
A 3.5% minimum investment opens a purchase at up to 96.5% loan-to-value; the investment can be the buyer’s own funds, a gift from a family member or other acceptable donor, or approved secondary financing.
Decision score for maximum financing
The program opens at a 580 decision score for maximum financing; borrowers without a usable score are eligible under manual underwriting on non-traditional credit, and the ratios then follow the manual ladder below.
Plus 0.50%–0.55% a year on most thirty-year loans
The upfront premium is 1.75% of the base loan and is financed into the total; the annual premium runs 0.50%–0.55% on most thirty-year loans and ends after eleven years only when the loan started at or below ninety percent loan-to-value.
Housing and total debt, manual reference
The manual-underwriting reference ratios are 31/43 for housing and total debt; with documented compensating factors the ladder below stretches them, and automated underwriting commonly allows more than the manual reference.
| Decision score | Housing / total | Compensating factors |
|---|---|---|
| 500–579 or no credit score | 31% / 43% | not applicable — ratios may not exceed 31/43 (energy efficient homes 33/45) |
| 580 and above | 31% / 43% | no compensating factors required (energy efficient homes 33/45) |
| 580 and above | 37% / 47% | one of: verified and documented cash reserves; minimal increase in housing payment; residual income |
| 580 and above | 40% / 40% | no discretionary debt |
| 580 and above | 40% / 50% | two of: verified cash reserves; minimal increase in housing payment; significant additional income not reflected in effective income; residual income |
| Base loan | Leverage | Annual premium | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV | 0.50% | 11 years |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV | 0.50% | mortgage term |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 95% LTV | 0.55% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV | 0.70% | 11 years |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV | 0.70% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 95% LTV | 0.75% | mortgage term |
Refinances: rate-and-term to 97.75% loan-to-value on a home occupied for the past year; cash-out to 80% after twelve months of ownership and occupancy; streamline refinances of an existing FHA loan without an appraisal. Sellers and other interested parties may contribute up to 6% of the price toward closing costs; the entire minimum investment may be a gift.
Current FHA snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · owner-occupied principal residences, one to four units · county loan limits apply — ask a Lendmire loan officer for the limit where you are buying · FHA loans are assumable · Lendmire is not affiliated with FHA or HUD.
For informational purposes only. This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit, an offer, or a quote. Program parameters shown are FHA guidelines and wholesale lender overlays, are subject to change without notice, and every figure depends on the borrower, the property, the selected program, and full underwriting. The rate, the payment, and any costs for a specific loan are provided in writing by a licensed loan officer. County loan limits apply and are confirmed by a loan officer. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. Lendmire is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of FHA, HUD, or the federal government. Lendmire, LLC, NMLS #2371349. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What an FHA loan is — and how the file is qualified.
What makes FHA different from a conventional loan is the insurance: because HUD stands behind the lender, the program can accept a smaller investment, a lower score, and higher ratios than the agencies do. The cards below walk an El Paso buyer through the parts.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program, or the statewide guide at FHA Loans in Texas.
The minimum required investment
The minimum investment is the part of the price the loan does not cover, measured against the lower of price and value. An El Paso buyer can bring it from savings or from an acceptable gift, and a seller can contribute toward closing costs within HUD’s limit, which keeps the cash to close small.
The decision score sets the leverage
Credit does two jobs on an El Paso FHA file: the decision score decides the leverage, and the history decides the underwriting path. A recovered credit profile with seasoned events qualifies; recent housing lates and unseasoned events are the problems the program does not forgive.
Two premiums: upfront and annual
Mortgage insurance is the price of the leverage. HUD sets both premiums by schedule rather than by credit score, which is why an El Paso buyer with a modest score pays the same premium as one with a strong score; a conventional loan with private insurance prices the score, which is the comparison worth running.
Qualifying ratios and compensating factors
The ratios are a ladder: a base pair with nothing extra, a higher pair with one compensating factor, a pair for borrowers with no discretionary debt, and the top pair with two factors. Files scored by HUD’s automated system follow the system’s finding, which commonly allows more than the manual table.
The result is an estimate, not a decision: the appraisal may land below the contract price, the lender sets the rate at lock, and the ratios are measured on effective income. What does not change is the program structure the calculator reproduces.
Where El Paso’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
El Paso home values, the share of households that own, and household incomes set the stage for an FHA file: they decide the typical minimum investment and the typical payment. The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. A high median value means a larger minimum investment and a larger premium in dollars; a modest median value means a file that clears the county limit easily. Neither changes the program’s percentages, only what they amount to.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct El Paso neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
The six El Paso submarkets below show where FHA buyers shop and what a file there turns on: the property type the appraiser sees, the approval it needs, and the price the ratios have to carry.
Condominiums and townhomes
In El Paso, a condominium near the job is the first home many buyers can reach; the program pairs with it as long as the project clears HUD’s review or the unit qualifies on its own, and the file is otherwise the same as for a house. About 39% of El Paso’s households rent — roughly 96,177 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Older El Paso homes are well inside the program, with one recurring question: HUD’s minimum property requirements. A home that needs repairs to meet them closes after the repairs or through a repair escrow where permitted. Roughly 149,169 El Paso households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 61% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Small multi-unit homes are an El Paso specialty, and the program takes them with a higher county limit and HUD’s rules for counting the rent. The buyer’s occupancy of one unit is the condition that makes it an FHA file. On a home at El Paso’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $6,500 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Higher-value homes
On El Paso’s higher-value homes the FHA loan runs into the county limit before anything else. A buyer above it brings a larger investment to bring the loan under the cap, or moves to a conventional loan; the loan officer confirms the current limit before the offer. El Paso counts a population near 680K within the El Paso, TX area.
Historic districts
El Paso’s historic neighborhoods are where FHA appraisals most often return required repairs: older systems, lead-era paint, and deferred maintenance all touch HUD’s property standards. Repairs are completed before closing or escrowed where the program permits. Median household income in El Paso sits near $59,745 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
Infill rows and newer El Paso construction appraise cleanly under HUD’s standards, and the question there is price: a contract near the county limit needs the limit confirmed before the offer, and a larger investment where the price runs past it. The median owner-occupied home value in El Paso runs near $184,500 on the latest Census estimate.
The property drives the file as much as the credit: the program accepts houses, condominiums in approved projects, planned developments, manufactured homes meeting HUD rules, and owner-occupied homes of up to four units, while second homes and rentals are outside it.
Four ways El Paso buyers put an FHA loan to work.
A good use of FHA is one the program’s shape fits: a modest investment, a forgiving score, ratios with room to stretch, and insurance that makes the leverage possible. Four common El Paso uses follow.
Take cash out of a home with equity
Cash-out on FHA is a full refinance of the first mortgage at the program’s cash-out leverage after a year of ownership and occupancy. An El Paso owner weighs it against a home equity line, which keeps the existing first mortgage in place.
Refinance an existing FHA loan
The streamline refinance is the simplest shape in the program: no appraisal, no full credit review, a net tangible benefit, and the existing FHA loan’s payment history as the main test. Many El Paso owners use it when the market moves in their favor.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
For a first purchase in El Paso, FHA pairs a small investment with a forgiving score and a ratio ladder that stretches with compensating factors; the file closes on the appraisal, the income, and the decision score.
Buy on a recovering credit profile
FHA is the program for the buyer a conventional file turns away: a decision score below agency norms, a seasoned derogatory event, or a thin file underwritten on rent and utilities. In El Paso that buyer qualifies on the whole picture.
Estimate the FHA payment on an El Paso price before requesting a quote.
The calculator applies HUD’s structure to an El Paso scenario: enter the price and the down payment, pick the term, and it returns the base loan, the upfront premium financed, the total loan, principal and interest, the monthly premium for that leverage and loan size, taxes and insurance, and the ratios if you enter income. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac benchmark as a market reference, not a quote.
El Paso FHA payment estimate
The defaults are El Paso context, not your file: enter the real price, the real down payment, and the real escrows.
Editable benchmark: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an FHA loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $185,000 price near El Paso’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA loan is realistic in most counties), the FHA minimum investment as the down payment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Texas (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 an FHA loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. FHA mortgage insurance follows HUD’s published schedule for the term, leverage and loan size entered; taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included; county loan limits are not checked here. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. Lendmire is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of FHA, HUD, or the federal government.
Same buyer, three very different closings.
Before deciding on FHA, it helps to see what it is not: not the only low-down-payment route, not the only forgiving-credit route, and not the cheapest insurance for a strong profile. The comparison below puts the three next to each other for an El Paso buyer.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
FHA fits the El Paso buyer whose profile a conventional file would turn away or price heavily: the leverage is high, the score threshold is low, and the premiums do not rise with a weaker score. The cost is insurance that stays for the term at full leverage.
Conventional financing asks for a higher score and prices it, in exchange for insurance that can be cancelled and no upfront premium. The comparison is worth running for any El Paso buyer whose score sits above the agency norms. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
An El Paso buyer with VA eligibility rarely needs FHA: the VA loan carries no down payment and no monthly insurance, and the funding fee is the only program cost. FHA is the fallback where entitlement is used up or the property does not fit. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
The decision is rarely close once the profile is known. FHA tends to fit the modest score, conventional the strong score with equity to come, and VA nearly any file with eligibility. The comparison is run on the actual numbers, in writing.
What to prepare for an El Paso scenario review.
Most of this is standard mortgage documentation; have these ready for an El Paso review all the same.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the credit profile, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
Before relying on a number, check the items that change it most in El Paso: the decision score, the mortgage insurance structure, the appraisal, the property approval, the county limit, and the ratios.
Use these checks to keep the El Paso file clean and fundable.
The checklist is short because the program is specific: the score, the premiums, and the property decide most El Paso files before income is even reviewed.
- Confirm the score: the lender’s report sets the decision score, the lowest middle score among the borrowers.
- Know the premium: ten percent down or more ends it after eleven years.
- Know the seasoning: each credit event has its own waiting period counted from a specific date.
The decision score decides the leverage
Two borrowers, two sets of scores, one decision score: the lowest of the middle scores. An El Paso couple with one weak file is read on that file, which is why the score is confirmed from the lender’s report before anything is sized or any offer is written.
How long the annual premium runs
Unlike private mortgage insurance, the FHA annual premium does not cancel as the home gains value. On an El Paso full-leverage loan the exit is a refinance; the calculator shows the premium’s rate and duration for the leverage entered.
Seasoning after a credit event
Seasoning is counted from a specific date on each event, and the lender confirms it from the discharge or transfer documents. An El Paso buyer should gather those dates before the review, because they decide whether the file can be written now or later.
The county loan limit
Limits differ by county and by unit count, and they move every year, which is why these pages do not quote them. Before writing an offer on an El Paso home near the ceiling, a Lendmire loan officer confirms the current limit for that county.
Condominium project approval
Condominiums are common in El Paso and many projects qualify, but FHA requires either an approved project or a single-unit approval; the association’s finances, the owner-occupancy mix, and litigation all bear on it.
From an El Paso pre-approval to keys in hand.
The El Paso process is a standard mortgage process with FHA’s checks layered on: the decision score, the property standards, the project approval where it applies, and the premium schedule. Here is what happens at each step and what the buyer does.
Pre-approval
Start with the decision score, the income, and the down payment. A Lendmire loan officer confirms the leverage, the ratios, and the county limit, runs the FHA structure against conventional and VA on the same numbers, and provides the terms in writing.
Contract and appraisal
The El Paso contract sets the price and the contributions; the appraisal sets the value and the condition. Both feed the loan amount, and the lender confirms the county limit and the project approval before underwriting begins.
Underwriting
An automated approval follows the system’s finding; a manual file follows the ratio ladder. Either way, the El Paso underwriter verifies the income, the assets, the credit history, and the property, and issues the approval with its conditions.
Closing
The El Paso closing applies the program’s structure: the financed upfront premium, the monthly annual premium, and the escrow account. The buyer moves in within two months and keeps the home as a principal residence for at least a year.
A brokerage that matches the program to the buyer.
A brokerage sees several wholesale programs and all three government and agency routes; a single lender sees its own. For an El Paso buyer that difference shows up in which program is recommended, because Lendmire runs them side by side and says which one costs less.
Three programs, one set of numbers
The comparison on this page is run for real on every El Paso file: the FHA structure next to conventional with private insurance and, where eligibility exists, VA. The written terms follow the comparison.
The premium explained before the offer
The insurance structure is the program’s cost, and Lendmire treats it as the first thing to explain rather than the last: how much, how long, and when a refinance would remove it for an El Paso buyer.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
The parameters on this page are HUD’s and the wholesale overlays’; the terms for a specific El Paso loan come from a licensed loan officer, in writing, after the review. Lendmire is a broker, never the lender, and not affiliated with the federal government.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
El Paso FHA loan FAQs
Plain answers to the questions El Paso buyers ask most about FHA loans, in the order they usually ask them.
What is an FHA loan, and who is it for?
An FHA loan is the mortgage an El Paso first-time buyer should compare first: insured by HUD, offered through lenders, written to a small minimum investment and a forgiving credit standard, and priced with mortgage insurance rather than a credit-based premium.
How much do I need to put down on an FHA loan in El Paso?
HUD sets the minimum investment as a small share of the price or value, whichever is lower; the snapshot and the calculator show it on an El Paso price. The whole investment can be a gift from a family member or another acceptable donor.
What credit score do I need for an FHA loan?
FHA’s threshold is well below conventional norms, and the snapshot shows it. An El Paso buyer at or above it reaches maximum financing; the lender’s report decides the decision score, and recent housing lates matter more than an old event that has seasoned.
How does FHA mortgage insurance work, and how long do I pay it?
FHA insurance is priced by schedule, not by credit score, which is why a modest score pays the same premium as a strong one. The exit from the annual premium on a full-leverage loan is a refinance once equity and credit allow; the calculator shows the premium’s rate and duration for your El Paso leverage.
What is the FHA loan limit in El Paso?
There is a county limit, and it is the first thing confirmed on an El Paso file near the top of the market. The loan officer provides the current figure; above it the options are a larger investment or a conventional loan.
What happens after my El Paso offer is accepted?
Four things in order: the appraisal and property check, the project approval where it applies, the underwriting with any compensating factors documented, and the closing with the premiums applied. A loan officer sets the schedule for your file.
Should I choose FHA or a conventional loan?
It depends on the decision score, the down payment, and how long you will keep the loan. FHA prices its insurance by schedule, so a modest score pays the same premium as a strong one; conventional prices the score, so a strong score pays a small, cancellable premium. An El Paso loan officer runs both on the same numbers and shows which costs less.
What does an FHA appraisal check?
It checks what the home is worth and whether it is safe, sound, and secure under HUD’s rules. Older El Paso homes draw required repairs more often; most are settled before closing.
Can I use an FHA loan to buy a condominium?
An FHA condominium file adds the project question to the house file. Confirm the approval path before paying for the appraisal; the rest of the file is standard.
Do I have to live in the home to use an FHA loan?
FHA insures owner-occupied homes only. Occupancy is documented at closing and expected to last at least a year; a non-occupying co-borrower is allowed, but someone on the loan has to live in the El Paso home.
An El Paso FHA loan sized to the price, the score, and the ratios.
Start with a scenario review: the price, the down payment, the decision score, and the income. A licensed Lendmire loan officer runs FHA against conventional and VA on the same numbers and provides the terms in writing.
This guide covers El Paso — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Texas, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Texas: San Antonio · Austin · Fort Worth · Dallas · Houston
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans