Current conventional guidelines, updated from one source.
One guideline source feeds every number here, and the page updates when the source does. These are purchase and refinance parameters; the leverage table underneath covers occupancy by occupancy, and the status lines cover insurance, gifts, and the first-time-buyer programs.
First-time buyer; 5% standard; 97% loan-to-value at the top
A first-time buyer, meaning anyone without an ownership interest in a home during the prior three years, can put 3% down on a one-unit principal residence with a fixed rate, which is 97% loan-to-value; everyone else starts at 5% down, and the same 97% is open to lower-income buyers through HomeReady and Home Possible.
Priced on the score; no agency minimum with an automated approval
620 is the working floor, a wholesale overlay rather than an agency rule, since Fannie Mae requires no minimum score for a loan the automated system approves and 620 only on a manual fixed-rate file. Above the floor, each step up in score lowers the cost of the loan and of the insurance.
Required above 80% LTV; removed at 80% by request, 78% automatically
The insurance line in a conventional payment is a bridge, not a fixture: required above 80% loan-to-value, cancellable at 80% on request and 78% by law, and priced by the insurer on the score inside Fannie Mae’s published 0.58%–1.86% range. Twenty percent down skips it entirely.
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.
Not a commitment to lend, not an offer of credit, not a quote. The figures shown are current conforming program parameters and wholesale overlays that change without notice and apply only after full underwriting of the borrower and the property; the mortgage insurance range is Fannie Mae’s published typical range and the premium on any loan is set by the insurer. Conforming loan limits apply by county. Lendmire is a mortgage broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages, never the lender. NMLS #2371349.
What a conventional loan is — and how the file is qualified.
Every Norfolk 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 Virginia; for the mortgage insurance cancellation rules, see the CFPB.
Leverage by occupancy and buyer
The agencies lend most on a home the borrower lives in and less as the occupancy changes: a one-unit principal residence reaches the top leverage, with the first-time buyer’s minimum the lowest down payment in the program; two- to four-unit homes, second homes, and investment properties step down from there, as the table in the snapshot shows for a Norfolk buyer.
Credit scores and automated underwriting
The automated system, DU on the Fannie Mae side and LPA on the Freddie Mac side, reads the whole credit file rather than a single number: the score, the depth of history, the recent events, and the seasoning after any derogatory event. The score it uses with more than one borrower is the average of the median scores.
Mortgage insurance that cancels
Twenty percent down means no mortgage insurance at all, and anything less means insurance for a while. The calculator on this page shows the Norfolk payment with the estimated premium and the payment after it ends, along with the month on the amortization schedule when the request and automatic thresholds arrive.
Ratios, reserves, and the DU finding
The automated finding is the hinge of a conventional file: it reads the income, the assets, the credit, and the property, allows a total debt ratio up to the automated maximum, and names the reserves the file must show. A Norfolk underwriter then verifies what the finding assumed.
Every input below is yours: the Norfolk 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 Norfolk buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
The leverage limits are percentages; the market turns them into dollars. The Census figures below describe Norfolk’s ownership, home values, and household income, the backdrop every conforming loan here is sized against.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Read the figures as ranges, not predictions. The lender appraises one home, documents one income, and lets the automated system read one credit file.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Norfolk neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
A Norfolk condominium, a decades-old family house, and a lakefront second home are three different conventional files: different project reviews, different leverage, different reserves. The six submarkets below show the range.
Established close-in neighborhoods
An older Norfolk house is a routine conventional purchase; the appraisal is lighter on condition than a government appraisal, which is one reason buyers of older homes often choose this program. The value against the contract price is the usual question. Median household income in Norfolk sits near $66,109 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums and townhomes
A Norfolk condominium near the job is a conventional file with the project review added. Established projects usually pass; new or investor-heavy ones draw questions, and a project that fails goes to a portfolio lender on different terms. Norfolk counts a population near 234K within the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area.
Newer infill and recent construction
A newer Norfolk 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 Norfolk’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $8,700 and the standard minimum to about $14,500 — before closing costs, and before the mortgage insurance that comes with either.
Two-to-four-unit homes
The owner-occupied multi-unit Norfolk 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 44,000 Norfolk households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 46% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Investor and second-home purchases
A second home in Norfolk, occupied part of the year and never run as a rental business, is a conventional file at the second-home leverage with deeper reserves and part of the down payment from the buyer’s own funds. About 54% of Norfolk’s households rent — roughly 50,965 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
The higher-value Norfolk 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Norfolk runs near $289,900 on the latest Census estimate.
Across all of Norfolk, 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 Norfolk buyers put a conforming loan to work.
The conventional loan is one of the broadest mortgage programs there is: it buys a first home with a small down payment, a move-up home with cancellable insurance, a second home, and a rental, and it refinances all of them. These are the four uses that bring Norfolk borrowers to it most.
Buy with twenty percent down and no insurance
Twenty percent down removes the insurance line from the payment on any conventional purchase in Norfolk; between the minimum and twenty percent, the insurance applies for a while and then ends, and the calculator shows both payments.
Buy a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
A Norfolk buyer who has not owned a home in three years qualifies for the program’s smallest down payment on a one-unit principal residence with a fixed rate; the down payment can be a gift from a relative, the seller can pay closing costs within the cap, and the insurance cancels as equity grows.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
A Norfolk condominium is a conventional purchase when the project passes the agencies’ review: owner-occupancy mix, budget and reserves, litigation, commercial space, and ownership concentration. The dues enter the ratio, and the leverage follows the occupancy as it would on a house.
Buy an investment property
The rental purchase is inside the conventional program at a lower leverage than a principal residence: a Norfolk buyer uses the agencies’ rules for counting rental income, shows reserves for every property financed, and accepts loan-level adjustments that reflect the occupancy.
Estimate the payment on a Norfolk price before requesting a quote.
Enter a Norfolk 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.
Norfolk conventional payment estimate
Defaults describe Norfolk, not your purchase: put in 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 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 $290,000 price near Norfolk’s 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 Virginia (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 Norfolk 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.
Conventional fits the Norfolk buyer with a solid score: the premium is smaller than FHA’s for strong credit and it ends, there is no upfront premium, and twenty percent down removes insurance altogether. A modest score or a thin file is where FHA competes.
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 Norfolk buyer with strong credit and a down payment above the minimum. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
A Norfolk 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.
The decision is rarely close once the profile is known. Conventional tends to win the strong score and every non-primary occupancy, FHA the modest score, and VA nearly any eligible principal residence. The comparison is run on the actual numbers, in writing. Above the conforming limit, see the jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for a Norfolk scenario review.
Gather these before a Norfolk 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.
Check these before leaning on any number for Norfolk: the mortgage insurance structure and when it ends, the score and what it costs, the appraisal, the condominium review, the conforming limit, the ratio and reserves, and the occupancy.
Use these checks to keep the Norfolk file clean and fundable.
Three things to settle before a Norfolk review: how the mortgage insurance will be structured and when it ends, where the decision score lands and what it prices, and whether the property has any agency question attached.
- Plan the insurance: twenty percent down carries no insurance at all.
- Confirm the score: the score sets the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium more than it gates the loan.
- Mind the appraisal: a short value is paid in cash, renegotiated, or released under the contingency.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
The premium on a Norfolk loan can be paid monthly, by the lender in exchange for a different price, as a single premium at closing, or split; the monthly structure cancels under the federal rules, and the others are priced by the lender. The calculator shows the monthly structure and the month the thresholds arrive on scheduled payments.
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 Norfolk 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.
The appraisal and value acceptance
Two outcomes matter on a Norfolk appraisal: the value, which caps the loan, and the condition, which the lender must find acceptable. A waiver or value acceptance, where the automated system offers one, removes both questions and the appraisal fee at once, and the file closes on the system’s valuation.
Ratios, reserves, and the finding
The automated finding decides how much of the ratio ceiling a Norfolk file actually gets: a strong score and reserves earn the room, a thin profile earns less. The reserves are measured in months of the total housing payment and must be documented, not promised.
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 Norfolk buyer who states one occupancy and uses another has misrepresented the loan.
From a Norfolk pre-approval to keys in hand.
Four steps: the pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. The Norfolk version of each follows.
Pre-approval
Start with the score, the income, the down payment, and the occupancy. A Lendmire loan officer runs the automated system, confirms the leverage and the insurance for the down payment chosen, checks the loan against the conforming limit, compares the structure with FHA and VA on the same numbers, and provides the terms in writing.
Contract and appraisal
The appraisal is a valuation first and a condition report second on a conventional file; a short value re-sizes the loan, and the Norfolk contract is adjusted or released under its contingency. Where the system offers value acceptance, the step collapses to the system’s figure.
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 Norfolk 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.
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage licensed for consumer lending in sixteen states, and on a conventional loan that buys three things: the file priced across several wholesale programs rather than one, the insurance structure and its exit explained before an offer is written, and the terms in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Several programs, one set of numbers
Before any recommendation, the Norfolk file is priced across the wholesale programs Lendmire works with and run against FHA and VA on the same price, score, and down payment. The buyer sees the payment, the insurance line, and the cash to close for each, and the choice follows the figures.
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 Norfolk buyer at the price in hand.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
What this page shows are the agencies’ parameters and the wholesale overlays; what a specific Norfolk loan gets is a written set of terms from a licensed loan officer after the review. Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Norfolk conventional loan FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Norfolk buyers ask most about conventional loans, in the order they usually ask them.
What is a conventional loan, and who is it for?
A conventional loan is the mortgage a Norfolk buyer with good credit should compare first: a low down payment for the first-time buyer, insurance that cancels, no upfront premium, and the breadth to finance a second home or a rental under the same rules.
How much do I need to put down on a conventional loan in Norfolk?
The snapshot shows the minimums: one for the first-time buyer, one for everyone else, both on a principal residence. The calculator applies either to a Norfolk price, and the leverage table gives the figure for second homes and investment property.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
The practical answer is the floor in the snapshot, and the useful answer is that every tier above it lowers the cost. A Norfolk buyer with a modest score should run FHA beside conventional, because FHA prices its insurance by schedule rather than by score.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
Three dates matter: the month the balance reaches the request threshold, when the borrower can ask the servicer to drop the premium with a good payment history; the month it reaches the termination threshold, when the servicer must drop it; and the midpoint of the term, the final backstop. Twenty percent down means none of this applies.
What is the conforming loan limit in Norfolk?
Conforming limits are set each year by the FHFA, by county and by unit count, with higher limits in high-cost areas, which is why this page does not quote a figure. A Lendmire loan officer confirms the current limit for the county where you are buying; a loan above it needs a larger down payment to fit under the limit or moves to the jumbo program.
Can I get a conventional loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Yes, with seasoning. The waits run longer than the government programs’ as a rule, which is why a Norfolk buyer inside one often starts on FHA or VA and refinances into conventional later.
What are HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne?
Agency programs that open the top conventional leverage to buyers who meet their conditions: HomeReady from Fannie Mae and Home Possible from Freddie Mac for borrowers with income at or below the area-median threshold in the snapshot, with reduced insurance coverage and a homeownership course; HomeOne from Freddie Mac for first-time buyers with no income limit. Each is a conventional loan with its own rules on top.
Is a conventional loan assumable?
Not the fixed-rate loan. Some conventional ARMs permit assumption, and the note says which. A Norfolk owner thinking about selling into a higher-rate market should know the loan does not transfer.
Can I take cash out with a conventional refinance?
Yes, at the leverage in the snapshot for the occupancy, after the seasoning period. The cash-out loan carries its own loan-level adjustments, and the loan-to-value decides whether mortgage insurance applies to the new loan.
What does the appraisal check on a conventional loan?
Value against the contract price, and condition against the lender’s standard of safe, sound, and marketable. Older Norfolk homes draw condition notes more often; most are settled before closing.
A Norfolk conventional loan sized to the price, the score, and the leverage.
Put your Norfolk figures into the calculator, then ask for a review. The leverage, the insurance structure, the cost tier, and the conforming limit are confirmed against the agencies’ rules, and a licensed loan officer provides the terms in writing.
This guide covers Norfolk — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Virginia, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Virginia: Virginia Beach · Chesapeake · Newport News · Richmond · Arlington
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans