Current conventional guidelines, updated from one source.
Treat these as the program’s fixed points rather than an offer: the minimum down payment for a first-time buyer and for everyone else, the credit floor behind these pages, the leverage at which mortgage insurance begins and the points at which it ends, and the ratio an automated approval allows.
First-time buyer; 5% standard; 97% loan-to-value at the top
The agencies set the floor at 3% down for a first-time buyer and 5% for a repeat buyer, on a principal residence; the whole down payment may be a gift from a relative on a one-unit home, and twenty percent down removes mortgage insurance from the payment entirely.
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
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
An automated approval allows a total debt-to-income ratio up to 50%; a manually underwritten file is held to 36%, or 45% when credit score and reserves meet the agencies’ matrix. The ratio divides total housing payment plus other monthly obligations by gross income.
| 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.
For informational purposes only. This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit, an offer, or a quote. Program parameters shown are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines and wholesale lender overlays, are subject to change without notice, and every figure depends on the borrower, the property, the occupancy, the automated underwriting finding, and full underwriting. Mortgage insurance figures are published typical ranges and editable estimates, not premium quotes. Conforming loan limits apply by county. Lendmire is a mortgage 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 Alpharetta 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 Georgia; 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 an Alpharetta 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 Alpharetta 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. An Alpharetta underwriter then verifies what the finding assumed.
None of this is a decision. The appraisal can come in under the price, the rate is set at lock, the premium is set by the insurer, and the automated finding sets the reserves. What stays fixed is the structure the calculator reproduces: price, down payment, leverage, insurance, payment.
Where Alpharetta buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Start with the market, then the file. The Alpharetta figures below set the backdrop for a conventional purchase: who owns, what homes are worth on the latest estimate, and what households earn, which together decide what a first-time buyer’s down payment and payment look like locally.
Market context only. 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 Alpharetta neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
One program, several Alpharetta submarkets: the cards below describe the housing stock, the price range, and the conventional question that comes up most often in each.
Condominiums and townhomes
Townhomes in Alpharetta 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. Roughly 16,295 Alpharetta households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 65% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The Alpharetta 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. Median household income in Alpharetta sits near $147,612 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
New rows and recent infill in Alpharetta 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. Alpharetta is home to about 67K people and sits within the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA area.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Owner occupancy of one unit sets the leverage on an Alpharetta multi-unit conventional loan; without it, the property is an investment purchase at the lower investment leverage. The appraisal reads every unit and the rents. About 35% of Alpharetta’s households rent — roughly 8,737 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
A high-value Alpharetta 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 Alpharetta’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $19,500 and the standard minimum to about $32,400 — 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.
Investor and second-home purchases
A second home in Alpharetta, 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Alpharetta runs near $649,000 on the latest Census estimate.
Each Alpharetta submarket has its own property story, and the appraisal and the project review are where that story is told. The leverage limits, the cancellation rules, and the automated finding are the constants.
Four ways Alpharetta 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 Alpharetta borrowers to it most.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
An Alpharetta 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 a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
An Alpharetta 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 second home
A second home in Alpharetta 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.
Buy an investment property
Investment property on a conforming loan is a common entry point for Alpharetta landlords: one to four units, a down payment set by the leverage table, rental income counted under the agencies’ rules, and a cap on how many financed properties one borrower may hold.
Estimate the payment on an Alpharetta price before requesting a quote.
Before you ask for a quote, size the payment yourself: the Alpharetta price, the down payment, the term, the benchmark rate, the insurance estimate, and the escrows go in, and the thresholds and the ratio ceiling come from the same guideline source as the block above. The result is an estimate, the rate is a published market average, and the insurance figure is an editable estimate inside Fannie Mae’s published range.
Alpharetta conventional payment estimate
The defaults are an Alpharetta starting point, not your purchase: put in the real price, the real down payment, and the real escrows.
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 $650,000 price near Alpharetta’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 Georgia (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.
Most buyers can close the same purchase three ways, and the structures differ more than the labels suggest: conventional with insurance that cancels, FHA with a small investment and premiums for the life of the loan at full leverage, or VA with nothing down and no insurance for the eligible veteran.
Conventional, FHA, or VA.
Conventional fits the Alpharetta buyer with a solid score: the premium is smaller than FHA’s for strong credit and it ends, the monthly structure carries no upfront premium, and twenty percent down removes insurance altogether. A modest score or a thin file is where FHA competes.
FHA’s leverage is high and its credit standard is forgiving, but its insurance is priced by schedule rather than by score and does not cancel on a full-leverage thirty-year loan. An Alpharetta buyer comparing the two sees the premium line stay on FHA and disappear on conventional. 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 Alpharetta household. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Conventional for the solid score, the move-up buyer, the second home, and the rental; FHA for the modest score and the small investment; VA for the eligible borrower buying a principal residence. The Alpharetta file is priced on all three before one is recommended. Above the conforming limit, see the jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for an Alpharetta scenario review.
What a lender reads on an Alpharetta conventional loan, and what you can have ready before anyone asks.
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.
What moves an Alpharetta file most often: the insurance and its cancellation, the score and the cost it sets, the appraisal, the condominium review, the conforming limit, the ratio and the reserves, the occupancy rule, and the seasoning after a credit event.
Use these checks to keep the Alpharetta file clean and fundable.
An Alpharetta 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 score sets the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium more than it gates the loan.
- Check the project: the project must pass the agencies’ review to be warrantable.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
Cancellation on request needs a good payment history, no subordinate liens, and no decline in value; automatic termination needs only that the loan be current. An Alpharetta owner whose home has gained value may also ask the servicer to recognize the current value under its own rules, which is a servicer decision rather than a program right.
The score sets the cost
The decision score comes from the lender’s report, and with multiple borrowers the automated system uses the average of the median scores. On an Alpharetta conventional file the score rarely ends eligibility, but it sets the loan-level adjustments and insurance premium, so a few points can change monthly cost.
Warrantable or not
Project review is the one property question that can take an Alpharetta 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.
Waiting periods after a credit event
The agencies season credit events rather than barring them: each bankruptcy chapter, a foreclosure, a deed-in-lieu, and a short sale carry their own period, shortened by documented extenuating circumstances. The snapshot table shows each one for an Alpharetta buyer planning the timing.
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 an Alpharetta buyer with other financed properties carries more of them.
From an Alpharetta pre-approval to keys in hand.
Four steps: the pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. The Alpharetta version of each follows.
Pre-approval
An Alpharetta 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: 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
The Alpharetta closing applies the program’s structure: the insurance premium in the payment while it applies, the escrow account, and no upfront premium on the monthly structure. 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 Alpharetta 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 an Alpharetta buyer at the price in hand.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Lendmire carries the license for the state the Alpharetta 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.
Alpharetta 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 Alpharetta buyers.
What is a conventional loan, and who is it for?
The general-purpose mortgage: conforming to the agencies’ guides, priced on the credit score, insured privately only while the leverage is above the threshold. It is the program most Alpharetta buyers compare first and, of the three compared here, the one that reaches a second home or an investment property.
How much do I need to put down on a conventional loan in Alpharetta?
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. A loan officer turns the percentages into dollars on the price you choose.
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 an Alpharetta buyer above the floor still benefits from every tier gained.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
It is temporary insurance for the lender, paid by the borrower while the loan sits above the threshold. On an Alpharetta loan with scheduled payments the calculator shows the month the balance reaches the request point and the automatic one; extra principal or a rise in value, recognized by the servicer, can bring the request point sooner.
What is the conforming loan limit in Alpharetta?
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 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.
Can the seller pay my closing costs on a conventional loan?
The seller may give up to the share of the price in the snapshot table for the combined loan-to-value. Anything above it lowers the price used to size the loan, and the seller may not fund the down payment.
Can I take cash out with a conventional refinance?
It is available at the cash-out leverage shown in the snapshot, with the occupancy setting the limit and the score setting the price. An Alpharetta owner weighs it against a home equity line on the same numbers.
What debt-to-income ratio does a conventional loan allow?
The automated maximum is in the snapshot, and the finding is what grants it. A strong score and documented reserves earn the full room; a thinner profile earns less, and a manual file is held to the lower ratios.
What are HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne?
Affordable conventional lending in three flavors: two income-limited programs and one first-time-buyer program. The Alpharetta buyer who fits one gets the lowest conventional down payment with a lighter insurance requirement.
Run the Alpharetta conventional numbers, then get the terms in writing.
Put your Alpharetta 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 Alpharetta — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Georgia, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Georgia: Johns Creek · Roswell · Dunwoody · Sandy Springs · Brookhaven · Marietta · Smyrna · Atlanta
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans