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
Conventional credit works on a slope rather than a cliff: the floor is 620 on the programs Lendmire places loans with, 620 on a manual fixed-rate file and 640 on a manual adjustable, and the score above that sets the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium. With more than one borrower the automated system reads the average of the median scores.
Required above 80% LTV; removed at 80% by request, 78% automatically
Mortgage insurance is required when the loan exceeds 80% loan-to-value, and it’s temporary: the borrower may ask for cancellation when the balance hits 80% of the original value, and the servicer must end it automatically at 78%. Fannie Mae reports premiums typically ran 0.58%–1.86% of the loan a year, set by the insurer on score and leverage.
With an automated approval; 36% to 45% on a manual file
Lenders compare total debt against gross income, with limits 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 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.
The difference between a conventional loan and a government loan is who stands behind it. No agency insures a conforming loan; a private insurer covers the top slice above the threshold, and the agencies buy the loan on their rules. That structure explains each of the four pieces below for a Terre Haute buyer.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program, or the statewide guide at Conventional Loans in Indiana; for the mortgage insurance cancellation rules, see the CFPB.
Leverage by occupancy and buyer
The down payment a Terre Haute buyer needs depends on three things: whether the home is a principal residence, a second home, or a rental; whether it is one unit or several; and whether the buyer counts as a first-time buyer. The snapshot table gives the answer for every combination the program allows.
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 Terre Haute buyer.
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 Terre Haute 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
Reserves are measured in months of the total housing payment and set by the finding, the occupancy, and the number of financed properties; a Terre Haute second-home or investment file carries more than a principal residence. Income needs a two-year history and a reasonable expectation of continuing.
The calculator runs this on a Terre Haute scenario and adds the piece most calculators skip: the month on the amortization schedule when the balance reaches the request and automatic-termination thresholds, so the payment after the insurance ends is visible beside the payment before.
Where Terre Haute buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Conventional loans are sized against a local market, and these are Terre Haute’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.
Read the figures as backdrop. 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 Terre Haute neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
Where Terre Haute buyers shop, and what the conforming file turns on in each place: the occupancy, the property type the appraiser sees, the project review it needs, and the price the ratio has to carry.
Higher-value homes
On Terre Haute’s higher-value homes, a conventional loan hits the conforming limit first. Buyers over it can bring a larger down payment to fit under it, use the high-balance range where the county has one, or choose the jumbo program. A loan officer confirms the current limit before the offer. Terre Haute is home to about 58K people.
Established close-in neighborhoods
An older Terre Haute 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. On a one-unit principal residence at Terre Haute’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $3,500 and the standard minimum to about $5,800 — 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.
Newer infill and recent construction
New rows and recent infill in Terre Haute 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. Median household income in Terre Haute sits near $43,126 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Owner occupancy of one unit sets the leverage on a Terre Haute 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. Roughly 12,120 Terre Haute households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 52% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Condominiums and townhomes
A Terre Haute condominium in an established project 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. About 48% of Terre Haute’s households rent — roughly 11,100 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Investor and second-home purchases
A second home in Terre Haute, 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 Terre Haute runs near $115,700 on the latest Census estimate.
Across all of Terre Haute, 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 Terre Haute buyers put a conforming loan to work.
A good use of a conventional loan is one its shape fits: a decent score, a down payment of any size from the minimum up, an occupancy the agencies allow, and a loan inside the conforming limit. Four common Terre Haute uses follow.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
The condominium file adds the project review to the house file. Once a Terre Haute project clears it, the first-time buyer’s minimum, the insurance rules, and the ratio ceiling are exactly what they would be on a single-family home.
Buy a second home
For the Terre Haute vacation or weekend home, the conforming loan is usually the only consumer route: FHA and VA finance principal residences only. The down payment is larger, the reserves are deeper, and the score prices the loan the same way it does on any conventional purchase.
Buy with twenty percent down and no insurance
Twenty percent down removes the insurance line from the payment on any conventional purchase in Terre Haute; between the minimum and twenty percent, the insurance applies for a while and then ends, and the calculator shows both payments.
Buy an investment property
The rental purchase is inside the conventional program at a lower leverage than a principal residence: a Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute price before requesting a quote.
The program’s own math on your Terre Haute 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.
Terre Haute conventional payment estimate
The defaults are a Terre Haute 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 $150,000 price (the lowest price the example uses, which sits above Terre Haute’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 Indiana (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.
The alternatives put the conventional loan’s cost in perspective: FHA charges a premium every month and an upfront premium at closing, VA charges a one-time fee, conventional charges a premium only until equity arrives. The comparison below is written for a Terre Haute buyer weighing all three.
Conventional, FHA, or VA.
Conventional fits the Terre Haute 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 asks for a small minimum investment that a gift can cover, accepts a forgiving decision score, and charges an upfront premium plus an annual premium that lasts for the term at full leverage. For a Terre Haute buyer with a modest score it usually wins; for a strong score the conventional premium is smaller and temporary. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
For an eligible veteran, service member, or surviving spouse, the VA loan drops the down payment and monthly insurance for a one-time funding fee that many disabled veterans do not pay. Where eligible, it usually beats conventional for a Terre Haute principal residence; conventional still wins the second home and rental. 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 Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute scenario review.
Gather these before a Terre Haute 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.
What moves a Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute file clean and fundable.
The list is short because the program is simple at its core: the insurance, the score, and the property decide most Terre Haute files before income is even opened.
- Plan the insurance: it cancels on request at the request threshold and automatically at the termination threshold.
- Confirm the score: the lender’s report sets the decision score; multiple borrowers use the average of the median scores.
- Mind the appraisal: value acceptance or a waiver, where offered, replaces the appraisal.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
The premium on a Terre Haute 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 decision score comes from the lender’s report, and with multiple borrowers the automated system uses the average of the median scores. On a Terre Haute 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.
The appraisal and value acceptance
A conventional appraisal values the Terre Haute home and reports on condition without a HUD or VA property standard; the home must be safe, sound, and marketable. The automated system sometimes offers value acceptance or an appraisal waiver, in which case no appraisal is ordered and the file closes on the system’s valuation.
Second homes, rentals, and financed-property limits
A Terre Haute household can hold several conventional loans at once, but each financed property adds reserves to the next file and the agencies cap the number of financed properties a borrower may have. Second homes and rentals are leveraged lower than a principal residence and priced for the occupancy.
Occupancy and its leverage
Each occupancy has its own leverage limit and loan-level adjustments: a principal residence occupied within sixty days of closing reaches the top of the table, a second home is lower, an investment property lower still. A Terre Haute buyer who states one occupancy and uses another has misrepresented the loan.
From a Terre Haute pre-approval to keys in hand.
Four steps: the pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. The Terre Haute version of each follows.
Pre-approval
A Terre Haute 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
The appraisal is a valuation first and a condition report second on a conventional file; a short value re-sizes the loan, and the Terre Haute 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
Closing is where the structure becomes a payment: principal and interest, the insurance while the loan is above the threshold, taxes and insurance. The Terre Haute buyer takes the keys, and the lender delivers the loan to the agency it was written for.
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 Terre Haute 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 premium and its exit are decided by the leverage and the score, and a buyer should know both before signing a contract. Lendmire states the structure for the Terre Haute purchase, shows the payment before and after cancellation, and explains the request and automatic thresholds.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
What this page shows are the agencies’ parameters and the wholesale overlays; what a specific Terre Haute 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.
Terre Haute conventional loan FAQs
The questions below come up on nearly every Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute?
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 a Terre Haute buyer above the floor still benefits from every tier gained.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
Above the threshold the insurance is part of the Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute?
The limit is the first thing confirmed on a Terre Haute 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.
What debt-to-income ratio does a conventional loan allow?
It depends on the underwriting path. The snapshot shows the automated maximum and the manual pair; enter income in the calculator to see where a Terre Haute scenario lands against the automated figure.
What are HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne?
They are the agencies’ affordable programs: the same conforming loan with the top leverage, lower insurance coverage, and in two cases an income limit. A Terre Haute buyer who qualifies usually pays less than on the standard conventional structure at the same leverage.
Can I buy a rental property with a conventional loan?
Yes, one to four units, at the investment leverage in the snapshot table, with the rental income counted toward qualifying under the agencies’ rules and reserves required for each financed property. The agencies also cap the number of financed properties one borrower may hold, and the loan is written under their investment-property rules rather than as an investor DSCR loan.
Can the seller pay my closing costs on a conventional loan?
Sellers and other interested parties may pay closing costs, prepaids, and other concessions up to the cap for the leverage. A Terre Haute contract structured inside the cap leaves the buyer bringing the down payment and little else.
Can I use a conventional loan to buy a condominium?
Condominiums are eligible in projects that pass the agencies’ review. Resort projects with rental operations, projects in litigation, and buildings with heavy commercial space are the ones that fail; many established Terre Haute projects pass.
A Terre Haute conforming loan, from the first numbers to the closing table.
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 Terre Haute — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Indiana, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Indiana: Bloomington · Nashville · Greenwood · Indianapolis · Lafayette · West Lafayette · Carmel · French Lick
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans