Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
Every figure in this block comes from one guideline source built on HUD’s handbook and updates here when the rules change. These are purchase terms; refinance leverage and the seller-contribution limit are summarized under the ladders.
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
FHA mortgage insurance has two parts: 1.75% upfront, which is added to the loan, and an annual premium of 0.50%–0.55% on most thirty-year loans, charged monthly; the ladder below shows the schedule by loan size, leverage, and duration.
Housing and total debt, manual reference
Ratios are a ladder rather than a wall: 31/43 with nothing extra, more with one documented factor, and 40/50 with two. Borrowers below the maximum-financing score are held to the base ratios.
| 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.
This page describes program parameters, not an offer. The investment, the premiums, the score tiers, and the ratios are FHA guidelines and lender overlays, subject to change without notice and to full underwriting; the appraisal, the credit report, the property, and the county limit decide every file. No rate, payment, or cost is stated here; a licensed Lendmire loan officer provides them in writing. Lendmire is a mortgage broker, never the lender, licensed for consumer mortgage lending in sixteen states, and not affiliated with FHA, HUD, or the federal government. Lendmire, LLC, NMLS #2371349. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What an FHA loan is — and how the file is qualified.
The mechanics are the same on every Kent FHA file: the buyer brings the minimum investment, the decision score sets the leverage, the premiums insure the loan, and the ratios decide what payment the income supports. Here is how each one works.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program, or the statewide guide at FHA Loans in Washington.
The minimum required investment
HUD requires the buyer to invest a set share of the lesser of the price and the appraised value; the loan covers the rest. On a Kent purchase the investment can be the buyer’s own savings, a gift from a family member or another acceptable donor, or approved secondary financing, and closing costs are separate from it.
The decision score sets the leverage
FHA reads credit through the decision score, and the threshold for maximum financing is far below conventional norms. A thin file or a non-traditional credit history is not a bar: it is underwritten manually on rent, utilities, and other payment records, with the ratios held to the base table.
Two premiums: upfront and annual
The annual premium is where FHA and conventional diverge most: private mortgage insurance on a conventional loan cancels as equity grows, while the FHA annual premium on a full-leverage thirty-year loan lasts for the term. A Kent buyer who expects to refinance out of FHA later treats the premium as a bridge.
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.
Every input is yours to change in the calculator below: the Kent price, the down payment, the term, the rate, and the escrows. The minimum investment, the premiums, and the ratios come from the program; the payment is what follows from them.
Where Kent’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
Before the calculator, the context: how many Kent households own their homes, what those homes are worth on the latest estimate, and what households earn. Each figure shapes the size of a typical FHA purchase.
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 Kent neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
Six Kent neighborhoods, six FHA pictures: the cards below describe the housing stock, the price range, and the program question that comes up most in each.
Higher-value homes
On Kent’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. Kent counts a population near 136K within the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area.
Two-to-four-unit homes
The multi-unit Kent file is where FHA’s leverage does the most work: a small investment on a two- to four-unit property, the buyer in one unit, and the other units’ rent documented toward the ratios the way HUD allows. About 43% of Kent’s households rent — roughly 20,195 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
On newer construction in Kent the FHA appraisal is usually uneventful; the program questions are the county limit and whether the ratios carry the price once the upfront and annual premiums are added to the payment. Roughly 26,961 Kent households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 57% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Condominiums and townhomes
In Kent, 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Kent runs near $587,800 on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The Kent neighborhoods closest to the core hold the oldest housing stock, and the FHA appraisal reads condition as well as value there: peeling paint, aging roofs, and missing handrails bring required repairs, usually settled by the seller before closing. Median household income in Kent sits near $92,302 on the latest Census estimate.
Historic districts
A historic Kent home is eligible like any other, with the appraiser’s condition findings as the usual detour. Buyers and sellers who expect them settle the repairs in the contract rather than at the closing table. On a home at Kent’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $20,600 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Across Kent, the same questions settle every FHA loan: what the appraiser finds, whether the property meets HUD’s standards, whether the buyer will occupy it, where the decision score lands, and what the ratios support.
Four ways Kent buyers put an FHA loan to work.
Kent borrowers use FHA for a handful of reasons that repeat: the first purchase with a small investment, the purchase on a recovering credit profile, the refinance of an existing FHA loan, and the cash-out refinance on a home with equity.
Refinance an existing FHA loan
A Kent homeowner with an existing FHA loan can refinance it through the streamline program without an appraisal, with a limited credit review, and with a net tangible benefit required; the existing loan’s seasoning and payment history are what the lender checks.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
A Kent condominium is an FHA purchase when the project holds HUD approval or the unit qualifies for single-unit approval; the association’s dues enter the ratios, and the appraisal addresses the project as well as the unit.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
The multi-unit purchase is where FHA’s leverage does the most work: a Kent buyer brings the minimum investment on a two- to four-unit property, occupies one unit, and qualifies with the rent from the others counted as HUD allows.
Take cash out of a home with equity
The cash-out refinance replaces the Kent home’s first mortgage with a larger FHA loan and hands over the difference, after twelve months of occupancy and with the premiums applied to the new loan; the ratios and the payment history decide the file.
Estimate the FHA payment on a Kent price before requesting a quote.
The calculator applies HUD’s structure to a Kent 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.
Kent FHA payment estimate
The defaults are Kent 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 $590,000 price near Kent’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 Washington (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 a Kent buyer.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
A small minimum investment that a gift can cover, a forgiving decision score, ratios that stretch with compensating factors, and HUD insurance priced by schedule rather than by score. The annual premium on a full-leverage thirty-year loan lasts for the term; many borrowers refinance out of it later.
Where FHA charges by schedule, conventional charges by score. A Kent buyer with strong credit and a small down payment may find the private premium smaller and the payment lower; a buyer with a modest score will not. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
A Kent 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 a Kent scenario review.
What the lender looks at on a Kent FHA loan, and what you can gather before the review.
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.
The program’s percentages are only part of the answer; these are the details that decide what a Kent FHA file actually becomes once the appraisal and the credit report arrive.
Use these checks to keep the Kent file clean and fundable.
Run these before asking for a quote: know where the decision score lands, know how long the annual premium runs at your leverage, and know that the property and the price fit the program and the county limit.
- Confirm the score: a self-pulled score can land differently from the decision score.
- Know the premium: the exit from the premium is a refinance, not an equity threshold.
- Check the limit: limits change every year and differ by unit count.
The decision score decides the leverage
The score the program uses is the lender’s, not an app’s. A Kent file lands on maximum financing at the threshold shown in the snapshot, and the threshold is also where the compensating-factor ladder opens; below it the ratios are held to the base table.
How long the annual premium runs
On a thirty-year loan at full leverage the annual premium runs for the term; it ends after eleven years only when the loan started at or below ninety percent loan-to-value. A Kent buyer at the minimum investment carries it until a refinance or payoff, which is why many plan a refinance later.
The county loan limit
FHA caps the loan by county, and the cap changes each year. A Kent purchase above the county limit cannot close as an FHA loan at the program’s leverage; a larger investment brings the loan under the cap, or a conventional loan takes the file.
Occupancy and the non-occupying co-borrower
Occupancy is a promise the lender documents and HUD enforces. A Kent file with a non-occupying co-borrower keeps full leverage when the co-borrower is a family member and the home is a single unit; otherwise the leverage is reduced under HUD’s rule.
Seller contributions and the minimum investment
A Kent contract can shift most of the closing costs to the seller within the program’s limit, which leaves the buyer bringing the minimum investment and little else. The investment must be the buyer’s own or a gift; the contributions cover the rest.
From a Kent pre-approval to keys in hand.
An FHA file moves in a set order: pre-approval on the decision score and the ratios, the contract and the appraisal with HUD’s property standards, underwriting with any compensating factors documented, and closing with the premiums applied. The steps for a Kent buyer follow.
Pre-approval
The first conversation settles the shape: where the decision score lands, what the ratios support, whether a gift will cover the investment, and whether FHA is the right program next to conventional and VA for the Kent purchase.
Contract and appraisal
The appraisal is the FHA step that surprises buyers most: it reports on condition as well as value. Required repairs are negotiated with the seller, and a low value raises the investment; the Kent contract is adjusted or the file moves on.
Underwriting
The file is scored by HUD’s automated system or underwritten manually, with income, assets, credit, and any compensating factors documented. Seasoning after a credit event is confirmed from the discharge or transfer papers, and the ratios are measured on effective income.
Closing
Closing is where the premiums become real: the upfront premium is financed into the total loan and the annual premium is part of the payment from month one. The Kent buyer takes the keys and HUD insures the lender.
A brokerage that matches the program to the buyer.
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage licensed for consumer lending in sixteen states. On an FHA loan that means the program run against conventional and VA on the same numbers, the decision score and the premium schedule explained before the offer, and the terms in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Three programs, one set of numbers
FHA, conventional, and VA are run on the same Kent price, score, and income before a recommendation is made. The buyer sees the payment, the insurance, and the cash to close on each, and the choice is made on the figures rather than on habit.
The premium explained before the offer
No Kent buyer should learn at the closing table that the premium lasts for the term. The loan officer walks through the upfront premium, the annual premium, and the duration for the leverage chosen, and shows the conventional alternative on the same numbers.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
The parameters on this page are HUD’s and the wholesale overlays’; the terms for a specific Kent 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.
Kent FHA loan FAQs
What an FHA loan is, how much it takes to buy, what score it needs, what the mortgage insurance costs, and how the county limit works, answered for Kent buyers.
What is an FHA loan, and who is it for?
An FHA loan is the mortgage a Kent 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 Kent?
The minimum required investment shown in the snapshot, measured on the lesser of the purchase price and the appraised value. It can be the buyer’s own funds, an acceptable gift, or approved secondary financing, and closing costs are separate; a seller may contribute toward those up to the program’s limit.
What credit score do I need for an FHA loan?
The threshold in the snapshot, read as the lowest middle score among the borrowers. Below it HUD allows a reduced-leverage loan, but the programs Lendmire places FHA loans with begin at the threshold. A thin or non-traditional credit file can qualify under manual underwriting.
How does FHA mortgage insurance work, and how long do I pay it?
The upfront premium is added to the loan at closing; the annual premium is part of every payment. How long the annual premium lasts depends on the leverage at origination: eleven years when the loan starts at or below ninety percent of value, otherwise the life of the loan. The snapshot ladder shows the schedule.
What is the FHA loan limit in Kent?
There is a county limit, and it is the first thing confirmed on a Kent 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 debt-to-income ratio does FHA allow?
The reference pair in the snapshot with nothing extra, higher pairs with one or two documented factors, and a special pair for borrowers with no discretionary debt. Effective income is the base, and the lender documents it.
Can I combine an FHA loan with down payment help?
Yes. HUD allows approved secondary financing to fund the investment, and the Down Payment Assistance program page describes the options that pair with an FHA first lien in Washington.
Can I take cash out with an FHA refinance?
It is available after twelve months of ownership and occupancy, at the leverage shown in the snapshot, on a principal residence only. The new loan is an FHA loan with the full premium structure.
Is an FHA loan assumable?
FHA loans are assumable with lender approval of the new borrower. The feature costs nothing at origination and can matter years later when the home is sold.
Can I buy a duplex or fourplex with an FHA loan?
Yes. Occupy one unit, count the others’ rent as HUD allows, and expect a self-sufficiency test on three- and four-unit homes. The county limit is higher for more units.
A Kent FHA loan sized to the price, the score, and the ratios.
Ready when you are: a Kent review sizes the loan, settles the program, and delivers the written terms. Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend.
This guide covers Kent — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Washington, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Washington: Bellevue · Tacoma · Seattle · Vancouver · Spokane
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans