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
First-time buyers (no ownership interest in a home in the past three years) can put 3% down on a one-unit principal residence with a fixed rate, at 97% LTV. Others start at 5% down. HomeReady and Home Possible give lower-income buyers the same 97%.
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
The total ratio runs to 50% with an automated approval, with the finding itself deciding how much of that room a particular file gets; manual files are read at 36%, or 45% with the matrix’s credit and reserve criteria met.
| 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 3, 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.
This page describes program parameters, not an offer. The down payment minimums, the credit floor, the insurance thresholds, and the ratios are agency guidelines and lender overlays, subject to change without notice and to full underwriting; the appraisal, the credit report, the property, the occupancy, and the conforming limit decide every file. Lendmire is a broker, not a lender. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. NMLS #2371349.
What a conventional loan is — and how the file is qualified.
Nearly every Hollywood conventional file is read by an automated underwriting system against the agencies’ guides, and the few written by hand follow the manual columns of the same rules. The system does not change the rules below; it applies them: the 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 Florida; 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 Hollywood buyer.
Credit scores and automated underwriting
The automated system reads the score and the credit events together, and a derogatory event does not end eligibility; it starts a clock. Bankruptcies, foreclosures, short sales, and deed-in-lieu transfers each carry a waiting period in the agencies’ guides, shortened by documented extenuating circumstances, and the snapshot shows each one for a Hollywood buyer.
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 Hollywood 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 Hollywood 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 Hollywood buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Conventional loans are sized against a local market, and these are Hollywood’s numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau: how many households own, what a typical home is worth, and what households earn. Together they set the scale of a typical down payment, loan, and insurance premium.
These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. Income sets the ratio, value sets the loan and the premium, and the down payment sets the leverage. The Census describes the first two for the market; the file supplies all three for the borrower.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Hollywood neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
One program, several Hollywood submarkets: the cards below describe the housing stock, the price range, and the conventional question that comes up most often in each.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The Hollywood blocks nearest the core carry the oldest houses, and a conventional appraisal reads them for value first and condition second: no HUD or VA property standard, but the home must be safe, sound, and marketable, and a failing roof or system still draws a condition note. Hollywood is home to about 155K people.
Investor and second-home purchases
Hollywood rentals and pied-à-terre purchases run on conventional loans because FHA and VA finance principal residences only. Conventional terms include investment and second-home leverage in the snapshot, reserves for each financed property, and adjustments for the occupancy. Median household income in Hollywood sits near $67,203 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
New rows and recent infill in Hollywood tend to appraise cleanly, so the loan amount is the question: a contract near the conforming limit is checked against the county figure before the offer, and a loan above it needs a larger down payment or the jumbo program. The median owner-occupied home value in Hollywood runs near $410,600 on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums and townhomes
Much of Hollywood’s entry-level stock is attached housing, and a conventional loan finances it whenever the project is warrantable under the agencies’ review. The dues go into the ratio, and the first-time buyer’s minimum applies as it would on a house. About 41% of Hollywood’s households rent — roughly 25,245 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
A high-value Hollywood purchase can still be a conforming loan when the loan amount fits under the county limit, and a high-cost county’s higher range extends that reach; above it, the jumbo program takes the file with its own leverage and reserves. On a one-unit principal residence at Hollywood’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $12,300 and the standard minimum to about $20,500 — before closing costs, and before the mortgage insurance that comes with either; a second home, a multi-unit home, or a rental starts higher, as the leverage table shows.
Two-to-four-unit homes
The owner-occupied multi-unit Hollywood 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 36,164 Hollywood households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 59% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Neighborhood sets the price, the property type, and often the occupancy; the agencies set the rest. The leverage table, the insurance thresholds, the ratio ceiling, and the waiting periods apply identically on every Hollywood file.
Four ways Hollywood 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. The cards below are the uses that bring Hollywood borrowers to it most.
Refinance or take cash out
A Hollywood owner can refinance a conventional loan two ways: a limited cash-out refinance to the rate-and-term leverage in the snapshot, or a cash-out refinance to the lower cash-out leverage after the seasoning period, on a principal residence, second home, or rental at each occupancy’s own limit.
Buy with twenty percent down and no insurance
The move-up Hollywood buyer selling one home and bringing twenty percent to the next usually lands here: no mortgage insurance, the strongest cost tier the score earns, and a loan the automated system reviews with the equity brought forward counted in the file.
Buy a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
For a Hollywood first purchase, the conventional route pairs the agencies’ lowest down payment with insurance that cancels and, on the monthly structure, no upfront premium; the file is qualified on the score, the ratio, the reserves, and the automated finding, and a family gift may fund the whole down payment.
Buy an investment property
A Hollywood investor buying one to four units on a conventional loan puts down what the leverage table shows for investment property, documents agency-allowed rent toward qualifying, and holds reserves the finding requires per financed property. It is an individual agency loan under investment-property rules, not an investor DSCR loan.
Estimate the payment on a Hollywood price before requesting a quote.
The program’s own math on your Hollywood inputs: price less the down payment, amortized at the benchmark, with the insurance estimate added while the leverage is above the threshold and the escrows added throughout. The actual rate, premium, payment, and costs come in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Hollywood conventional payment estimate
Use the Hollywood defaults as a starting point and change the price, the down payment, the buyer type, the term, the insurance estimate, and the escrows to fit.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 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 $410,000 price near Hollywood’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 Florida (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 Hollywood 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 Hollywood 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 room FHA’s ratio tiers allow; it rarely wins for a Hollywood buyer with strong credit and a down payment above the minimum. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
VA beats conventional on the principal residence for nearly every eligible borrower; conventional beats VA on everything VA does not touch: second homes, rentals, and buyers without the certificate. The two often sit side by side in one Hollywood household. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
The decision is rarely close once the profile is known. Conventional tends to win for a strong score and for every non-primary occupancy, FHA for a modest score, and VA for 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 Hollywood scenario review.
Gather these before a Hollywood 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 Hollywood: 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 Hollywood file clean and fundable.
A Hollywood 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: twenty percent down carries no insurance at all.
- Confirm the score: a self-pulled score can differ from the decision score.
- Structure the contract: contributions are capped by the combined loan-to-value, as the snapshot shows.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
The premium on a Hollywood loan can be paid monthly, paid by the lender in exchange for a different price, paid as a single premium at closing, or split. The monthly structure cancels under the federal rules, and the others are set by the lender. The calculator shows the monthly structure and the month the thresholds arrive on scheduled payments.
The score sets the cost
The score does two jobs on a Hollywood file: it feeds the automated assessment alongside the rest of the credit file, and it sets the cost of the loan and the insurance. A buyer close to a cost tier sometimes gains more from a short wait and a paid-down balance than from any other change.
Seller contributions and the down payment
Two rules shape the Hollywood contract: the contribution cap, which falls as the leverage rises, and the source rules for the down payment, which allow a full gift on a one-unit principal residence and require a share of the buyer’s own funds on second homes and multi-unit homes above the threshold.
Warrantable or not
Project review is the one property question that can take a Hollywood condominium out of the program entirely. The lender collects the association’s questionnaire, budget, and insurance before the appraisal, and a buyer under contract should ask early how the project reads.
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 Hollywood buyer with other financed properties carries more of them.
From a Hollywood pre-approval to keys in hand.
Underneath, the Hollywood process is any mortgage process; what makes it conventional is the automated finding, the project review where it applies, the leverage by occupancy, and the insurance threshold. Each step below says what happens and what the buyer does.
Pre-approval
The first conversation settles the shape: whether the buyer counts as a first-time buyer, what leverage the occupancy allows, how much insurance the down payment carries, and whether conventional is the right program next to FHA and VA for the Hollywood purchase.
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 Hollywood 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: income, assets and reserves, credit and any seasoning, occupancy, and the property. A manual file follows the lower ratio pair instead. Conditions are issued, documented, and cleared before final approval.
Closing
At closing the loan funds at the chosen leverage, mortgage insurance starts with the first payment if the loan is above the threshold, and escrows for taxes and insurance are set up. A Hollywood buyer signs the note and security instrument, occupies the home within the occupancy window, and the agency buys the loan.
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
A lender with one rate sheet sells that sheet; a brokerage with several can say which fits. For a Hollywood buyer with a strong score that is usually a conventional loan on the program whose cost is lowest for that file; for a modest score it may be FHA, and the arithmetic decides.
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 Hollywood 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 Hollywood 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.
Hollywood conventional loan FAQs
The questions below come up on nearly every Hollywood conventional conversation. The answers are general; the figures in the snapshot above are the program’s current parameters.
What is a conventional loan, and who is it for?
A conventional loan is the mortgage a Hollywood 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 Hollywood?
Less than most people expect on a principal residence, and it can be a gift from family. The trade for a small down payment is mortgage insurance, which cancels as the balance falls; the calculator shows the Hollywood payment with it and without it.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
The wholesale programs behind these pages start at the floor shown in the snapshot. Fannie Mae itself sets no minimum score for a loan its automated system approves and a minimum only for manually underwritten loans; what the score mostly does is set the price of the loan and the mortgage insurance, so a Hollywood buyer above the floor still benefits from every tier gained.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
The premium is a percentage of the loan a year, divided into the monthly payment, and it is set by the insurer on the score and the leverage rather than by a government schedule. It cancels: by request at the request threshold, automatically at the termination threshold, and no later than the midpoint of the term.
What is the conforming loan limit in Hollywood?
The limit is the first thing confirmed on a Hollywood file near the top of the market. These pages state the program’s structure rather than a number that changes every year; the current figure comes from a loan officer.
How does a conventional refinance work?
It depends on the goal: you can change the rate or term with a limited cash-out refinance, or borrow against equity with a cash-out refinance. Each has its own leverage, and a Hollywood loan officer compares either with a home equity line before recommending one.
What does the appraisal check on a conventional loan?
It confirms what the home is worth and that it is acceptable collateral. Waivers and value acceptance, where the system offers them, replace the appraisal and its fee; otherwise a licensed appraiser values the home on comparable sales.
Can I take cash out with a conventional refinance?
Cash-out is a full refinance at the snapshot’s cash-out leverage, available on a principal residence, a second home, or a rental at each one’s limit. Twelve months on the mortgage being paid off, note date to note date, and six months on title is the general seasoning rule, with exceptions for delayed financing and inheritance.
Can I use a conventional loan to buy a condominium?
Yes, with one extra step: the project review. Warrantable projects close on the ordinary file; the first-time buyer’s minimum, the insurance rules, and the ratio ceiling are unchanged.
What are HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne?
Affordable conventional lending in three flavors: two income-limited programs and one first-time-buyer program. The Hollywood buyer who fits one gets the lowest conventional down payment with a lighter insurance requirement.
A Hollywood conventional loan sized to the price, the score, and the leverage.
Begin with a scenario review: the price, the down payment, the score, the income, and the occupancy. A licensed Lendmire loan officer prices the file across the wholesale programs, runs it beside FHA and VA, and puts the terms in writing.
This guide covers Hollywood — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Florida, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Florida: Miami Gardens · Fort Lauderdale · Davie · Plantation · North Miami · Lauderhill · Pembroke Pines · Sunrise
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans