Current conventional guidelines, updated from one source.
Four cards and three tables carry every figure a conventional file turns on, drawn from one source built on the agencies’ published guides: down payment, credit, mortgage insurance, ratios, then the leverage by occupancy, the seller-contribution caps, and the waiting periods after a credit event.
First-time buyer; 5% standard; 97% loan-to-value at the top
On a principal residence the down payment starts at 3% for a first-time buyer and 5% otherwise, the top leverage being 97% loan-to-value. Second homes and investment properties ask for more, as the leverage table shows, and the price of any leverage above 80% is mortgage insurance.
Priced on the score; no agency minimum with an automated approval
A 620 decision score opens the program on the wholesale side; the agencies set no minimum for an automated approval and 620 to 640 for manual underwriting by loan type. The strongest effect of the score is on cost, through loan-level adjustments and the mortgage insurance premium.
Required above 80% LTV; removed at 80% by request, 78% automatically
Private mortgage insurance applies above 80% loan-to-value, costs within a published range of 0.58%–1.86% a year depending on the score and the leverage, and ends: by request at 80% of the original value, automatically at 78%, and no later than the midpoint of the term.
With an automated approval; 36% to 45% on a manual file
Total debt against gross income, up to 50% on an automated approval and 36% to 45% on a manual file. The housing payment counted includes the mortgage insurance while it applies, which is why cancellation changes the ratio as well as the payment.
| Purpose | Occupancy and program | Maximum LTV |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, first-time buyer (fixed rate) | 97% |
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, standard | 95% |
| Purchase | HomeReady / Home Possible (income limits apply) | 97% |
| Purchase | Two- to four-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Purchase | Second home | 90% |
| Purchase | Investment property, one unit | 85% |
| Purchase | Investment property, two to four units | 75% |
| Refinance | Limited cash-out (rate-and-term), one-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, one-unit principal residence | 80% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, two to four units, second home or investment | 75% |
| Combined LTV | Maximum contribution |
|---|---|
| above 90 percent | 3% of the sales price |
| 75.01 to 90 percent | 6% of the sales price |
| 75 percent or less | 9% of the sales price |
| investment property (any) | 2% of the sales price |
| Event | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy | four years from discharge or dismissal (two years with documented extenuating circumstances) |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | two years from discharge; four years from dismissal (two with extenuating circumstances) |
| Multiple bankruptcy filings | five years when more than one filing within the past seven years |
| Foreclosure | seven years (three with extenuating circumstances, then limited to a principal residence or second home at 90 percent LTV, purchase or limited cash-out) |
| Deed-in-lieu, short sale or mortgage charge-off | four years (two with extenuating circumstances) |
Mortgage insurance: Fannie Mae reports that private mortgage insurance typically ranged from 0.58%–1.86% of the loan amount a year; the premium on a specific loan is priced by the insurer on the score, the leverage, and the coverage, and is never quoted here. Gifts from relatives may fund the entire down payment on a one-unit principal residence. HomeReady and Home Possible lend to 97% with income at or below 80% of the area median; HomeOne lends to the same leverage with a first-time buyer and no income limit.
Current conventional snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · principal residences occupied within sixty days, second homes, and one- to four-unit investment properties · conforming limits apply by county and are confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer · above the limit, see the jumbo program · no prepayment penalty · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Informational only; not a commitment to lend, an approval, or a quote. Every figure on this page is a program parameter read from Lendmire’s guideline source, built on the agencies’ published guides, and may change without notice; eligibility, the loan amount, the insurance, and the ratios depend on the credit profile, the property, the occupancy, and underwriting. The mortgage insurance estimate is editable and not a premium quote. Lendmire is a mortgage broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. NMLS #2371349.
What a conventional loan is — and how the file is qualified.
Every Great Falls conventional file is read by an automated underwriting system against the agencies’ guides. The system does not change the rules below; it applies them: how much leverage the occupancy allows, how the score is read, when mortgage insurance attaches and ends, and what the ratios and reserves must show.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program, or the statewide guide at Conventional Loans in Montana; for the mortgage insurance cancellation rules, see the CFPB.
Leverage by occupancy and buyer
Who the buyer is matters as much as what the home is. A first-time buyer, meaning no ownership interest in a home for three years, qualifies for the smallest down payment on a principal residence; a repeat buyer starts a little higher; and HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne open the top leverage to buyers who meet their conditions.
Credit scores and automated underwriting
What the score does on a Great Falls conventional file is set the cost. A lower score raises the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium; a higher score lowers both. Manual underwriting, used when the automated system cannot approve the file, carries its own minimum score and tighter ratios.
Mortgage insurance that cancels
Insurance structures vary: borrower-paid monthly is the default, and lender-paid, single-premium, and split-premium versions exist, each built into the loan differently. The published typical range in the snapshot is Fannie Mae’s, and the actual premium for a Great Falls file comes from the insurer at lock, never from this page.
Ratios, reserves, and the DU finding
Total debt-to-income is the ratio that counts: the full housing payment, insurance included, plus every monthly obligation, against gross income. Automated approvals reach the higher ceiling in the snapshot; manual files are held to the lower pair, with the higher of the two needing the matrix’s credit and reserve criteria.
Every input below is yours: the Great Falls price, the down payment, the buyer type, the term, the rate, the insurance estimate, and the escrows. The thresholds and the ratio ceiling come from the program; the payment, the insurance, and the cancellation month follow from the arithmetic.
Where Great Falls buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Three Census figures frame a Great Falls conventional file. Ownership says how much of the market the program reaches, the median value says what a low-down-payment loan typically comes to, and household income says what ratio that payment produces.
Read the figures as backdrop. Higher values mean a larger down payment in dollars and a larger insurance premium; lower values mean a payment that leaves more room under the ratio ceiling. The percentages do not move; what they amount to does.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Great Falls neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
Six Great Falls neighborhoods, six versions of the same program: the cards below describe the housing stock, the price range, and the conventional question that comes up most often in each.
Investor and second-home purchases
Great Falls rentals and pied-à-terre purchases run on conventional loans because FHA and VA finance principal residences only: the investment and second-home leverage in the snapshot, reserves for each financed property, and adjustments for the occupancy. Great Falls counts a population near 60K within the Great Falls, MT area.
Higher-value homes
The higher-value Great Falls file is a limit question, not an eligibility question. The conforming limit caps the loan amount, and the buyer either adds down payment to fit under it or chooses the jumbo route for the whole purchase. Median household income in Great Falls sits near $63,373 on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Renovated and unrenovated homes sit side by side in Great Falls’ established neighborhoods, and the appraisal values each on comparable sales. The leverage, the insurance, and the ratio do not change with the age of the house. The median owner-occupied home value in Great Falls runs near $257,000 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums and townhomes
Townhomes in Great Falls finance like houses when they are fee simple and like condominiums when they are organized as one; the lender settles which before the appraisal, and the leverage follows the occupancy either way. About 34% of Great Falls’ households rent — roughly 8,940 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
A newer Great Falls home rarely draws condition notes; the file turns on the limit and the ratio at the higher price, with the insurance premium added to the payment where the leverage runs above the threshold. On a home at Great Falls’ median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $7,700 and the standard minimum to about $12,800 — before closing costs, and before the mortgage insurance that comes with either.
Two-to-four-unit homes
The owner-occupied multi-unit Great Falls file is a conventional specialty with its own leverage, its own rent-counting rules, and its own reserve requirement. The buyer in one unit qualifies on the combined picture. Roughly 17,439 Great Falls households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 66% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Across all of Great Falls, five questions settle a conventional loan: what the appraisal supports, whether the property passes the agencies’ review, how the home will be occupied, what the score costs, and what the ratio and reserves allow.
Four ways Great Falls buyers put a conforming loan to work.
Because the agencies buy loans on principal residences, second homes, and investment property alike, the conventional loan is a program a Great Falls household can use for every home it owns. Four examples follow.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
Condominiums are a common first purchase in Great Falls, and a warrantable project is financed like a house with the dues in the ratio; a project that fails the review is outside the conforming program and goes to a portfolio lender instead.
Buy with twenty percent down and no insurance
Twenty percent down removes the insurance line from the payment on any conventional purchase in Great Falls; between the minimum and twenty percent, the insurance applies for a while and then ends, and the calculator shows both payments.
Refinance or take cash out
Refinancing on a conventional loan follows the same leverage table as buying: rate-and-term to the higher limit, cash-out to the lower one. A Great Falls owner who has carried mortgage insurance may also use the refinance to leave it behind once the new loan sits at or below the threshold.
Buy a second home
A second home in Great Falls is a conventional file with its own leverage and reserve rules: more down than a principal residence, the payment on the existing home counted in the ratio, and a property the owner occupies part of the year rather than rents full time.
Estimate the payment on a Great Falls price before requesting a quote.
Enter a Great Falls price, the down payment, and the buyer type, choose a term, and the calculator returns the loan and its loan-to-value, principal and interest, the estimated mortgage insurance while the loan is above the threshold, taxes and insurance, the payment after the insurance ends, and the ratio if you enter income. It also shows the month the balance reaches the cancellation thresholds. The rate field holds the weekly Freddie Mac benchmark as a market reference, never a quote.
Great Falls conventional payment estimate
The starting figures are a typical Great Falls price at the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment. Replace them with yours.
Editable benchmark: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a conventional loan quote.
Estimate seeded at the low end of Fannie Mae’s published range (0.58%–1.86% a year); the insurer prices the actual premium on the score and the leverage. Applies only above 80% loan-to-value.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $255,000 price near Great Falls’ median owner-occupied home value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, mortgage insurance at the low end of Fannie Mae’s published range, property taxes and insurance estimated for Montana (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 a conventional loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. The mortgage insurance figure is an editable estimate seeded from Fannie Mae’s published typical range, not a premium quote; the insurer prices the actual premium, and the cancellation month assumes scheduled payments with no extra principal and no change in value. Taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included. Conforming loan limits apply by county. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same buyer, three very different closings.
Choosing among conventional, FHA, and VA in Great Falls is really choosing an insurance structure and a credit standard at the same time. Each is laid out below with the buyer it fits.
Conventional, FHA, or VA.
The program’s strengths are the cancellable insurance, the breadth of occupancies, and a cost structure that rewards a strong score; its weakness is the same structure applied to a weak one. A Great Falls buyer with a strong score usually pays less each month here than on FHA.
Where conventional prices the score, FHA prices by schedule. FHA fits the buyer whose score would be priced heavily on a conventional loan, or who needs the ratio ladder’s room; it rarely wins for a Great Falls buyer with strong credit and a down payment above the minimum. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
A Great Falls buyer with VA eligibility and full entitlement rarely needs a conventional loan for a principal residence: nothing down, no insurance, and residual-income underwriting. Conventional is the route for that same veteran’s second home or investment property, which VA does not finance. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Choose by profile: a strong score and any down payment point to conventional; a modest score and a small down payment point to FHA; eligibility with full entitlement points to VA. A Great Falls loan officer runs all three on the same numbers before recommending one. Above the conforming limit, see the jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for a Great Falls scenario review.
Gather these before a Great Falls review: the ordinary mortgage documents, plus the pieces that settle the first-time-buyer question and the occupancy.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the automated underwriting finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
The percentages tell only part of the story. What a Great Falls conventional loan actually becomes depends on the score, the appraisal, the project review, and the automated finding, and these are the details that move it.
Use these checks to keep the Great Falls file clean and fundable.
A Great Falls file that is ready to review has already answered three questions: what leverage and therefore what insurance, what score and therefore what price, and whether the home is inside the agencies’ rules.
- Plan the insurance: the premium is priced on the score and the leverage inside the published range.
- Confirm the score: the lender’s report sets the decision score; multiple borrowers use the average of the median scores.
- Match the occupancy: second homes and investment property carry their own leverage and reserves.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
Above eighty percent loan-to-value the premium is priced by the insurer on the score and the leverage, inside the published range shown in the guidelines above, and it ends: by request when the balance reaches eighty percent of the original value, automatically at seventy-eight percent, and no later than the midpoint of the term. A Great Falls buyer should know the premium and the exit before signing.
The score sets the cost
The decision score is read from the lender’s report, and with more than one borrower the automated system uses the average of the median scores. On a Great Falls conventional file the score rarely ends eligibility, but it sets the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium, so a difference of a few points can change the monthly cost.
Occupancy and its leverage
Each occupancy has its own leverage limit and its own loan-level adjustments: a principal residence occupied within sixty days of closing reaches the top of the table, a second home sits lower, and an investment property lower still. A Great Falls buyer who states one occupancy and uses another has misrepresented the loan.
Ratios, reserves, and the finding
The total ratio counts the full housing payment, insurance included, plus every other obligation, against gross income, up to the automated ceiling in the snapshot; a manual file is held to the lower pair. The finding also sets the reserves, and a Great Falls buyer with other financed properties carries more of them.
The appraisal and value acceptance
When the value comes in under the contract price on a Great Falls file, the loan is sized on the lower figure: the buyer brings the difference, the price is renegotiated, or the contract is released under its appraisal contingency. Condition findings are rarer than on government loans but still appear on older homes.
From a Great Falls pre-approval to keys in hand.
From the first conversation to the closing table, a Great Falls conventional purchase takes four steps, and each one carries an agency rule inside it.
Pre-approval
A Great Falls pre-approval is a sizing exercise run through the automated system: the score, the income, the assets, the occupancy, and the price. The finding sets the ratio room and the reserves, and the loan officer puts the pre-approval in writing for the offer.
Contract and appraisal
With the contract signed, the lender orders the appraisal, or accepts the value the automated system offers where a waiver applies. Seller contributions are checked against the cap for the leverage, and a condominium’s project documents are collected for review before the file moves on.
Underwriting
The underwriter verifies what the automated finding assumed: the income, the assets and reserves, the credit and any seasoning, the occupancy, and the property. A manual file follows the lower ratio pair instead. Conditions are issued, documented, and cleared before the approval is final.
Closing
The Great Falls closing applies the program’s structure: the insurance premium in the payment while it applies, the escrow account, and no upfront premium. The buyer moves in within sixty days on a principal residence, and the servicer tracks the balance toward the cancellation thresholds.
A brokerage that prices the whole market.
The case for a brokerage on a conventional loan is candor with numbers: the same file priced across programs, the insurance premium and its cancellation month stated outright, the leverage checked against the occupancy, and the terms in writing.
Several programs, one set of numbers
The comparison printed on this page is run for real on every Great Falls file: conventional with the insurer’s actual premium beside FHA with its premiums beside VA where eligibility exists, and the written terms follow from it.
The insurance explained before the offer
The insurance is the program’s cost and the cancellation rules are its advantage, and Lendmire explains both first rather than last: how much the premium is, which structure fits, and when it ends for a Great Falls buyer at the price in hand.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Lendmire carries the license for the state the Great Falls home is in, delivers the disclosures a consumer mortgage requires, and commits the terms to paper. The program figures on this page are read from one guideline source built on the agencies’ published guides.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Great Falls conventional loan FAQs
What a conventional loan is, how much it takes to buy, what score it needs, how the mortgage insurance works and ends, and how the conforming limit works, answered for Great Falls buyers.
What is a conventional loan, and who is it for?
Think of it as the mortgage without a federal guaranty or insurance: the agencies set the rules, a private insurer covers the high-leverage slice, and the score sets the price. Principal residences, second homes, and one- to four-unit rentals are all inside it.
How much do I need to put down on a conventional loan in Great Falls?
A small share of the price for a first-time buyer, a little more for a repeat buyer, and twenty percent to skip the insurance. On a Great Falls home at the median value the market section shows what the minimums come to in dollars.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
The floor in the snapshot opens the program; the score above it sets the cost. With more than one borrower the automated system uses the average of the median scores, and a Great Falls buyer close to a cost tier may gain from a short wait and a paid-down balance.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
Above the threshold the insurance is part of the Great Falls payment; below it, there is none. Fannie Mae publishes the typical annual range shown in the snapshot, the insurer prices the actual premium, and the federal cancellation rules end it as equity arrives.
What is the conforming loan limit in Great Falls?
Ask a loan officer for the county’s current limit; it changes yearly and by unit count. Above it, a Great Falls purchase is still possible with a larger down payment on a conforming loan or on a jumbo loan.
Should I choose a conventional loan or FHA?
It depends on the score, the down payment, and how long you will keep the loan. Conventional prices the insurance on the score and cancels it; FHA prices by schedule and keeps it for the term at full leverage. A strong score usually pays less on conventional; a modest score usually pays less on FHA. A Great Falls loan officer runs both in writing.
Is a conventional loan assumable?
Generally not. Conventional fixed-rate loans contain a due-on-sale clause, so a buyer cannot take over the loan the way a buyer can assume an FHA or VA loan; some adjustable-rate loans allow assumption after the initial period. A Great Falls seller with a low-rate conventional loan sells the home, not the loan.
What debt-to-income ratio does a conventional loan allow?
The automated ceiling in the snapshot is the most a conventional file can carry, and the finding decides how much of it a particular Great Falls file gets based on the score, the reserves, and the rest of the profile. Manual files are read at the lower pair.
What happens after my Great Falls offer is accepted?
Your Great Falls contract goes to the lender, the appraisal is ordered or waived, and underwriting follows. The usual detours are a value under the price or a condition on an older home; a loan officer keeps the timeline honest.
Can I buy a rental property with a conventional loan?
Investment property is inside the conventional program at a lower leverage than a principal residence. A Great Falls buyer documents the rents, shows reserves for every property financed, and accepts loan-level adjustments for the occupancy.
A Great Falls conventional loan sized to the price, the score, and the leverage.
When you are ready, a Great Falls review sizes the loan, settles the program and the insurance structure, and produces written terms. Nothing on this page commits anyone to lend.
This guide covers Great Falls — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Montana, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Montana: Helena · Bozeman · Missoula · Whitefish · Billings
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans