Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
This snapshot carries the FHA purchase parameters: the minimum required investment, the decision score that opens maximum financing, the upfront and annual mortgage insurance, and the manual qualifying ratios, each read from Lendmire’s guideline source.
Up to 96.5% loan-to-value on a purchase
HUD sets the minimum required investment at 3.5% of the lesser of the price and the appraised value, which puts the purchase loan at up to 96.5% loan-to-value; the entire investment may come from an acceptable gift.
Decision score for maximum financing
A decision score of 580 or higher is eligible for maximum financing; HUD’s rules allow lower scores at reduced leverage, but the wholesale programs Lendmire places FHA loans with start at 580, so that is the working floor.
Plus 0.50%–0.55% a year on most thirty-year loans
Two premiums insure the loan: an upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan, usually financed, and an annual premium of 0.50%–0.55% on most thirty-year loans, paid monthly and lasting eleven years when the loan starts at or below ninety percent leverage, otherwise for the term.
Housing and total debt, manual reference
Housing and total debt ratios of 31/43 need no compensating factors; higher ratios are approvable with the factors in the ladder below, and files scored by HUD’s automated system follow the system’s finding rather than the manual table.
| 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 Scranton 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 Pennsylvania.
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. A Scranton 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
The decision score is the lowest of the borrowers’ middle scores. At the maximum-financing threshold and above, a Scranton buyer reaches the full purchase leverage; HUD allows lower scores at reduced leverage, but the wholesale programs behind these pages start at the threshold, so that is the practical floor.
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 Scranton buyer who expects to refinance out of FHA later treats the premium as a bridge.
Qualifying ratios and compensating factors
Two ratios decide the payment the file supports: the housing payment alone, and the housing payment plus every other monthly obligation, each as a share of effective income. The ladder in the snapshot shows the manual tiers; the calculator shows where a Scranton scenario lands.
The calculator applies this to a Scranton 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 Scranton’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
The Census figures below are the Scranton backdrop for an FHA loan: ownership, value, and income. They are context for sizing, not inputs to a credit decision, which rests on the appraisal and the file.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Values and incomes explain why two buyers at the same decision score can see very different files: one buys at the median and qualifies on the base ratios, the other stretches to a higher price and needs a compensating factor.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Scranton neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
Six Scranton neighborhoods, six FHA pictures: the cards below describe the housing stock, the price range, and the program question that comes up most in each.
Newer infill and recent construction
Infill rows and newer Scranton 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 Scranton sits near $50,739 on the latest Census estimate.
Historic districts
Older Scranton 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. On a home at Scranton’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $5,500 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Scranton duplexes and small multi-unit homes are FHA purchases at the same minimum investment as a house when the buyer occupies one unit. Rental income from the other units counts within HUD’s rules, and three- and four-unit homes face a self-sufficiency test on the rents. Scranton counts a population near 76K within the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA area.
Condominiums and townhomes
In Scranton, 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 Scranton runs near $158,100 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
The higher-value Scranton 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. About 50% of Scranton’s households rent — roughly 15,164 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Older Scranton 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 15,083 Scranton households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 50% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Whatever the neighborhood, the program rules are the same: the price is checked against the appraisal, the property against HUD’s minimum property requirements, the condominium against project approval, and the file against the decision score and the ratios. Second homes and investment property are outside the program.
Four ways Scranton buyers put an FHA loan to work.
Because FHA insures the lender, it fits the Scranton borrower who has the income for the payment but not the profile a conventional loan asks for. Four examples follow.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
The most common Scranton FHA file: a buyer with steady income, a modest down payment that may be a gift, and a decision score at or above the threshold for maximum financing. The seller can help with closing costs, and the ratios allow for a documented compensating factor.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
Condominiums are a common first purchase in Scranton, and FHA finances them in approved projects or through single-unit approval. The approval question is handled on the lender’s side; the buyer’s file is the same as for a house.
Refinance an existing FHA loan
An existing FHA loan in Scranton can be refinanced on its own record: the streamline path skips the appraisal and most of the documentation, and the rate-and-term path with an appraisal reaches higher leverage when cash to close or equity matters.
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 Scranton that buyer qualifies on the whole picture.
Estimate the FHA payment on a Scranton price before requesting a quote.
Use this to see what a Scranton FHA purchase costs each month at the program’s leverage: it applies the upfront premium to the base loan, the annual premium for the term and leverage, and the escrows, then measures the ratios against any income you enter. The rate is the weekly Freddie Mac average, editable, and not a quote.
Scranton FHA payment estimate
The defaults are Scranton 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 $160,000 price near Scranton’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 Pennsylvania (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.
A Scranton buyer choosing between FHA, conventional, and VA is choosing an insurance structure as much as a down payment. Here is how each one works and where it fits.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
FHA fits the Scranton 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 Scranton buyer whose score sits above the agency norms. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
A Scranton 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.
Where each one fits: FHA for the small investment and the forgiving score; conventional for the strong score that wants cancellable insurance; VA for the eligible borrower who can skip both the down payment and the insurance.
What to prepare for a Scranton scenario review.
What the lender looks at on a Scranton 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.
Here is what moves a Scranton file: the decision score, the premium schedule, the appraisal and the property standards, the project approval, the county limit, the ratios, and the seasoning after a credit event.
Use these checks to keep the Scranton file clean and fundable.
A clean Scranton file answers three questions in advance: what decision score, what premium schedule, and whether the property is inside HUD’s rules and the county limit.
- Confirm the score: the threshold in the snapshot opens maximum financing and the ratio ladder.
- Know the premium: the exit from the premium is a refinance, not an equity threshold.
- Mind the appraisal: required repairs are settled before closing or through an escrow where permitted.
The decision score decides the leverage
The decision score is the lowest middle score among the borrowers, read from the lender’s report; a self-pulled score can land differently. At or above the threshold a Scranton buyer reaches maximum financing; the wholesale programs behind these pages start there.
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 Scranton 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 Scranton 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.
Condominium project approval
A Scranton condominium is eligible when the project holds HUD approval or the unit qualifies for single-unit approval; a project that holds neither cannot close as an FHA loan. The question is answered early, before the appraisal, and the association’s dues enter the ratios.
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. A Scranton buyer should gather those dates before the review, because they decide whether the file can be written now or later.
From a Scranton pre-approval to keys in hand.
From the first conversation to keys in hand, a Scranton FHA purchase follows four steps. Here is what happens at each one.
Pre-approval
A Scranton pre-approval is a sizing exercise: the score, the income, the investment, and the county limit. The loan officer confirms eligibility against the program rules and puts the pre-approval in writing for the offer.
Contract and appraisal
With the contract signed, the lender orders an appraisal from an FHA Roster appraiser, who values the Scranton 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
An automated approval follows the system’s finding; a manual file follows the ratio ladder. Either way, the Scranton underwriter verifies the income, the assets, the credit history, and the property, and issues the approval with its conditions.
Closing
The Scranton 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 Scranton 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 Scranton 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 Scranton 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.
Scranton FHA loan FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Scranton 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 a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, part of HUD: the lender makes the loan, HUD insures it against loss, and in exchange the program sets a small minimum investment, a forgiving credit threshold, ratios that stretch with compensating factors, and mortgage insurance premiums that fund the insurance. It is for owner-occupied homes of one to four units.
How much do I need to put down on an FHA loan in Scranton?
The investment is the program’s minimum, applied to the lesser of price and appraised value. Putting down more lowers the premium’s duration: a loan that starts at or below ninety percent leverage sees the annual premium end after eleven years.
What credit score do I need for an FHA loan?
Maximum financing opens at the decision score shown in the snapshot, which is the lowest of the borrowers’ middle scores on the lender’s report. HUD’s rules allow lower scores at reduced leverage, but the wholesale programs behind these pages start at the threshold, so that is the working floor in Scranton.
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 Scranton?
Ask a loan officer for the county’s current limit; it changes yearly and by unit count. The limit caps the loan amount, so a Scranton purchase above it is still possible with a larger investment or on a conventional loan.
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.
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. A Scranton loan officer runs both on the same numbers and shows which costs less.
What happens after my Scranton offer is accepted?
The lender orders the FHA appraisal, checks the seller contributions against the limit, confirms any condominium approval and the county limit, and underwrites the file with the compensating factors documented. Closing applies the premiums and sets up the escrows; the timeline depends on the appraisal and the conditions, which a loan officer sets expectations for.
How does an FHA refinance work?
A streamline for an existing FHA loan, a rate-and-term refinance for a new FHA loan on an owner-occupied home, or a cash-out refinance after a year of occupancy. The snapshot shows the leverage on each, and a Scranton loan officer picks the path that fits.
Can I use an FHA loan to buy a condominium?
In an approved project or through single-unit approval. A Scranton buyer under contract on a condominium should have the lender check the status early, because a project with neither cannot close as an FHA loan.
FHA, conventional, or VA for Scranton: compared on your numbers.
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 Scranton — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Pennsylvania, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Pennsylvania: Bethlehem · Allentown · Philadelphia · Erie · Pittsburgh
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans