Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
Read these as program parameters, not an offer: the minimum investment, the credit score for maximum financing, the mortgage insurance premiums, and the ratios, all from one guideline source that this page refreshes from.
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
Eligibility for the full 96.5% leverage starts at a 580 decision score; the score is read as the lowest middle score among the borrowers, and the file is qualified on the whole picture rather than the score alone.
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
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.
Program guidelines only, not an offer of credit. The minimum investment, decision-score tiers, mortgage insurance premiums, qualifying ratios, and refinance leverage on this page are FHA parameters and lender overlays subject to change without notice and to full underwriting of the borrower and the property. Nothing here states a rate, a payment, a cost, or a loan limit; those are provided in writing by a licensed Lendmire loan officer. Licensed for consumer mortgage lending in sixteen states. Lendmire is 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.
An FHA file in San Antonio is built from four pieces: the minimum required investment, the decision score, the mortgage insurance, and the qualifying ratios. Each has a rule, and each rule has a reason, which the cards below explain.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program, or the statewide guide at FHA Loans in Texas.
The minimum required investment
Unlike a conventional down payment, the FHA minimum investment can come entirely from an acceptable gift, which is why a San Antonio first purchase can close with help from family. The investment is fixed by HUD; what varies is where it comes from.
The decision score sets the leverage
The score threshold opens maximum financing, but the file is read as a whole: payment history, seasoning after any bankruptcy or foreclosure, and the reasons behind a derogatory event. A San Antonio buyer with a recovered profile is the program’s intended borrower.
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 San Antonio buyer who expects to refinance out of FHA later treats the premium as a bridge.
Qualifying ratios and compensating factors
Effective income is the income the lender can document as stable and likely to continue, and the ratios are measured against it. A San Antonio buyer with a modest score is held to the base ratios; above the maximum-financing score the compensating factors open the higher tiers.
The calculator applies this to a San Antonio scenario: enter the price and the down payment, pick the term, and the upfront premium, the annual premium for that leverage and loan size, and the escrows build the payment. Enter income to see the ratios.
Where San Antonio’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
An FHA purchase is only as large as the income supports and the county limit allows, and both are set by the San Antonio market. These Census figures sketch the market that frames every file.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Household income matters for the ratios, value for the investment and the premium, and the county limit for the ceiling; the Census tells you the market, the file tells you the loan.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct San Antonio neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
San Antonio is not one FHA picture. The neighborhoods below hold different housing stock, different price points, and different property questions, and each shapes how an FHA file is built there.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Older San Antonio 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. The median owner-occupied home value in San Antonio runs near $235,700 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums and townhomes
A San Antonio townhome or condominium is a routine FHA file once the project question is answered. Approved projects and single-unit approvals both work; a project with neither sends the buyer to a conventional loan. On a home at San Antonio’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $8,200 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Small multi-unit homes are a San Antonio 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. About 48% of San Antonio’s households rent — roughly 265,201 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Historic districts
Older San Antonio homes being restored carry two questions on an FHA file: the condition the appraiser finds today, and whether the work needed to meet HUD’s standards can be done before closing or through an escrow. Roughly 289,380 San Antonio households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 52% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Newer infill and recent construction
Infill rows and newer San Antonio 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. Median household income in San Antonio sits near $65,056 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
The higher-value San Antonio file is a limit question, not an eligibility question. The county limit caps the loan amount, and the buyer either adds investment to fit under it or chooses the conventional route for the whole purchase. San Antonio counts a population near 1.48M within the San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX area.
Each submarket has a typical property story, but the appraisal is the one that counts. HUD’s property standards, the occupancy rule, and the ratio ladder are the same on every San Antonio file.
Four ways San Antonio buyers put an FHA loan to work.
Because FHA insures the lender, it fits the San Antonio borrower who has the income for the payment but not the profile a conventional loan asks for. Four examples follow.
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 San Antonio that buyer qualifies on the whole picture.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
A San Antonio buyer with the income for the payment but not the cash for a conventional down payment uses FHA to purchase with the minimum investment and keeps the rest of the savings for moving costs and reserves.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
An FHA condominium file in San Antonio adds one step to the house file: the project review. Approved projects and single-unit approvals both work, dues count in the ratios, and the minimum investment and premiums are unchanged.
Take cash out of a home with equity
The cash-out refinance replaces the San Antonio 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 San Antonio price before requesting a quote.
Estimate the payment before you ask for a quote: the San Antonio price, the down payment, the term, the rate, and the escrows are the inputs, and the minimum investment and the premium schedule come from the same guideline source as the snapshot. The result is an estimate, and the rate shown is a published market benchmark, not an FHA offer.
San Antonio FHA payment estimate
The defaults are San Antonio 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 $235,000 price near San Antonio’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 a San Antonio buyer.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
The program’s strengths are the investment, the score, and the ratios; its cost is the insurance structure. A San Antonio buyer with a modest score and a small down payment usually pays less each month on FHA than on conventional with private insurance.
Where FHA charges by schedule, conventional charges by score. A San Antonio 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.
VA undercuts FHA for the eligible borrower on the recurring costs: no investment, no monthly premium, no upfront premium, with a one-time funding fee in their place. The questions are eligibility, entitlement, and whether the home meets VA’s property standards. 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 San Antonio scenario review.
An FHA file is documented more fully than a streamline refinance; the items below are what a San Antonio 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 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 San Antonio: the decision score, the mortgage insurance structure, the appraisal, the property approval, the county limit, and the ratios.
Use these checks to keep the San Antonio 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: 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.
- Mind the appraisal: the appraisal checks condition against HUD’s standards, not only value.
The decision score decides the leverage
The score the program uses is the lender’s, not an app’s. A San Antonio 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 San Antonio buyer at the minimum investment carries it until a refinance or payoff, which is why many plan a refinance later.
The appraisal and HUD’s property standards
The appraiser on a San Antonio FHA file is on HUD’s roster and reports on condition as well as value. Required repairs are common on older homes and are usually settled by the seller before closing; where they cannot be, the file may not close as an FHA loan.
The county loan limit
FHA caps the loan by county, and the cap changes each year. A San Antonio 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.
Two- to four-unit homes and rental income
The multi-unit San Antonio purchase is an FHA specialty, with two things to plan: the buyer must occupy one unit, and the rental income from the others is documented and counted the way HUD allows, which is less than the full rent.
From a San Antonio pre-approval to keys in hand.
Four steps, each with an FHA rule inside it: the pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. Here is the San Antonio path.
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
With the contract signed, the lender orders an appraisal from an FHA Roster appraiser, who values the San Antonio home and checks it against HUD’s property standards. Seller contributions are checked against the program’s limit, and any condominium project approval is confirmed.
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
The San Antonio 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.
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
A single-program lender recommends its program; a brokerage recommends the one that fits. For a San Antonio buyer with a modest score that is usually FHA, with a strong score often conventional, with eligibility almost always VA.
The premium explained before the offer
The FHA annual premium’s duration is decided at origination, and a buyer should know it before signing a contract. Lendmire states it plainly for the San Antonio leverage chosen and explains the refinance path that usually ends it.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
The parameters on this page are HUD’s and the wholesale overlays’; the terms for a specific San Antonio 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.
San Antonio 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 San Antonio buyers.
What is an FHA loan, and who is it for?
An FHA loan is the mortgage a San Antonio 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 San Antonio?
The snapshot shows the minimum investment, and the calculator applies it to your San Antonio price. It does not have to be your own money; an acceptable gift covers all of it, and closing costs can be shifted to the seller within HUD’s limit.
What credit score do I need for an FHA loan?
FHA’s threshold is well below conventional norms, and the snapshot shows it. A San Antonio 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?
Two parts, both in the snapshot: the upfront premium on the base loan and the annual premium on most thirty-year loans. The duration is the detail to know before the contract: eleven years at or below ninety percent leverage, the loan term above it.
What is the FHA loan limit in San Antonio?
County limits apply, differ by unit count, and move annually; the current figure for the county is confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer at pre-approval. These pages state the program’s structure rather than a number that changes every year.
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.
Is an FHA loan assumable?
It is. A future buyer who qualifies can take over the loan with the lender’s approval, which can make a San Antonio home more attractive to sell when rates have moved up.
Can I buy a duplex or fourplex with an FHA loan?
FHA finances owner-occupied two- to four-unit homes. A San Antonio buyer lives in one unit, the rent from the others counts within HUD’s rules, and larger properties must pass a rent-to-payment test.
What does an FHA appraisal check?
Value against the contract price, and condition against HUD’s minimum property requirements. Repairs the appraiser requires are completed before closing or escrowed where the program permits.
Can I get an FHA loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Yes, once the event is seasoned under HUD’s rules: a bankruptcy counts from discharge, a foreclosure or deed-in-lieu from the transfer of title, a short sale from its closing, each with its own waiting period and exceptions for documented extenuating circumstances. Clean recent housing history matters as much as the seasoning.
FHA, conventional, or VA for San Antonio: compared on your numbers.
Enter your San Antonio figures in the calculator, then request a review. The minimum investment, the premiums, the ratios, and the county limit are confirmed against the program rules, and the terms come in writing from a licensed loan officer.
This guide covers San Antonio — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Texas, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Texas: Austin · Houston · Fort Worth · Dallas · El Paso
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans