Current conventional guidelines, updated from one source.
The block below is the conforming rulebook reduced to the figures that decide a file, read from Lendmire’s single guideline source and refreshed on this page when the agencies or the wholesale overlays change: the down payment by buyer, the credit floor, the mortgage insurance threshold and its cancellation points, and the ratio maximums.
First-time buyer; 5% standard; 97% loan-to-value at the top
3% down is the first-time buyer’s entry point and 5% the standard one, both on a one-unit principal residence; second homes, two- to four-unit homes, and investment properties carry their own leverage limits, listed in the table below.
Priced on the score; no agency minimum with an automated approval
The wholesale programs behind these pages start at a 620 decision score. The agencies themselves set no minimum for an automated approval and ask for 620 on a manually underwritten fixed-rate loan and 640 on an adjustable; the score prices the loan and the insurance more than it gates them.
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
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.
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.
Four rules shape a McLean conventional file: leverage by occupancy and buyer, credit scoring that prices rather than gates, mortgage insurance that cancels, and ratios set by the underwriting path. Each is explained below with the reason behind it.
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
Leverage on a McLean conventional loan is a table rather than a single number: purchase against refinance, principal residence against second home against rental, one unit against several. Each cell has its own maximum, a cash-out refinance sits below the purchase ceiling for the same occupancy, and the snapshot shows the whole table.
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 McLean 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 McLean 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 McLean 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 McLean buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Start with the market, then the file. The McLean 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.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Higher values mean a larger down payment in dollars and a larger insurance premium; lower values mean a payment that leaves more room under the ratio ceiling. The percentages do not move; what they amount to does.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct McLean neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
A McLean condominium, a decades-old family house, and a second home are three different conventional files: different project reviews, different leverage, different reserves. The six submarkets below show the range.
Condominiums and townhomes
Much of McLean’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 14% of McLean’s households rent — roughly 2,390 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The McLean 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 McLean sits near $250,001 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
The higher-value McLean 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. On a one-unit principal residence at McLean’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $42,400 and the standard minimum to about $70,600 — 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
On recent construction in McLean the appraisal is usually uneventful and the arithmetic decides: whether the loan fits under the conforming limit, and whether the ratio carries the price once the insurance is added at the leverage chosen. McLean is home to about 50K people and sits within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area.
Two-to-four-unit homes
McLean duplexes and small apartment houses are conventional purchases at the multi-unit leverage in the snapshot when the buyer occupies one unit, with rent from the other units counted toward qualifying under the agencies’ rules. Roughly 14,757 McLean households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 86% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Investor and second-home purchases
McLean 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. The median owner-occupied home value in McLean runs near $1,412,700 on the latest Census estimate.
The rules do not change with the street. Every McLean file is checked the same way: price against the appraisal, property against the agencies’ standards, condominium against the project review, occupancy against its leverage limit, and borrower against the score, the ratios, and the reserves the finding requires.
Four ways McLean 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 McLean borrowers to it most.
Buy a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
A McLean 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
Condominiums are a common first purchase in McLean, and a warrantable project is financed like a house with the dues in the ratio; a project that fails the review is outside the conforming program and goes to a portfolio lender instead.
Buy with twenty percent down and no insurance
Twenty percent down removes the insurance line from the payment on any conventional purchase in McLean; 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
Investment property on a conforming loan is a common entry point for McLean 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 a McLean price before requesting a quote.
Before you ask for a quote, size the payment yourself: the McLean 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.
McLean conventional payment estimate
Seeded with a McLean price and the first-time buyer’s minimum down; every field updates the result as you type.
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 $750,000 price (the highest price the example uses, which sits below McLean’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.
The score, the down payment available, VA eligibility, and the expected length of the loan decide which program wins. Here are the three, one next to the other.
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 McLean buyer with a strong score usually pays less each month here than on FHA.
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. A McLean 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 McLean 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 McLean file is priced on all three before one is recommended. Above the conforming limit, see the jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for a McLean scenario review.
The paperwork is the standard mortgage set, with the automated finding deciding how much of it the file actually needs; here is what a McLean scenario review typically draws on.
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.
A handful of details decide whether a McLean conventional file closes as planned, closes at a different cost, or stalls. These are the ones that come up most.
Use these checks to keep the McLean file clean and fundable.
Three things to settle before a McLean 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 lender’s report sets the decision score; multiple borrowers use the average of the median scores.
- Know the seasoning: a documented hardship must be beyond the borrower’s control.
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. A McLean 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 score does two jobs on a McLean 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.
Waiting periods after a credit event
A documented hardship beyond the borrower’s control, such as a job loss or a medical event, can shorten several of the waiting periods, and the shortened foreclosure period limits the leverage and the occupancy. A McLean file inside a waiting period is written later, not now.
Ratios, reserves, and the finding
Enter income in the calculator to see where a McLean scenario lands against the automated maximum; the finding, the score, and the reserves decide the rest, and the ratio drops on its own once the insurance cancels, because the premium leaves the housing payment.
Warrantable or not
Project review is the one property question that can take a McLean 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.
From a McLean pre-approval to keys in hand.
Four steps: the pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. The McLean version of each follows.
Pre-approval
A McLean 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 McLean contract is adjusted or released under its contingency. Where the system offers value acceptance, the step collapses to the system’s figure.
Underwriting
Underwriting on a McLean conventional file verifies the finding: the documents behind income and assets, the source of the down payment, the project review, and the insurance commitment for the leverage. Conditions are cleared and the approval is issued with its terms.
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 McLean buyer takes the keys, and the lender delivers the loan to the agency it was written for.
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
The comparison printed on this page is run for real on every McLean 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 McLean purchase, shows the payment before and after cancellation, and explains the request and automatic thresholds.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Lendmire carries the license for the state the McLean 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.
McLean conventional loan FAQs
The questions below come up on nearly every McLean 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 a mortgage written to the rules of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so the lender can sell it to them after closing; no government agency insures it, and a private insurer covers the top slice above the leverage threshold. It fits the McLean buyer with a solid score, any down payment from the program minimum up, and any occupancy the agencies allow, including second homes and rentals.
How much do I need to put down on a conventional loan in McLean?
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 McLean price, and the leverage table gives the figure for second homes and investment property.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
A conventional loan prices credit rather than simply gating it. The practical floor is the wholesale overlay in the snapshot; the agencies’ own minimum applies only to manual underwriting. Above the floor, the premium and the loan-level adjustments fall as the score rises.
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 McLean?
Ask a loan officer for the county’s current limit; it changes yearly and by unit count. Above it, a McLean purchase is still possible with a larger down payment on a conforming loan or on a jumbo loan.
How does a conventional refinance work?
A conventional refinance has its own rows in the leverage table, below the purchase rows. The limited cash-out version changes the loan’s terms; the cash-out version borrows against equity and generally needs the mortgage it pays off to be twelve months old and six months on title first.
Can I buy a second home with a conventional loan?
It is the usual route to a McLean second home, since FHA and VA finance principal residences only. Expect a larger down payment than on a principal residence, deeper reserves, and adjustments for the occupancy.
Can I get a conventional loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Each event has its own period counted from a specific date, and the lender confirms it from the documents. Clean credit since the event and a rebuilt score carry weight once the period has run.
What happens after my McLean offer is accepted?
Appraisal first, then underwriting, then conditions, then closing. The appraisal or the value acceptance sets the value; the underwriter verifies what the finding assumed; the closing funds the loan at the leverage chosen and starts a payment with the insurance line if one applies.
Can I take cash out with a conventional refinance?
A conventional cash-out refinance replaces the first mortgage with a larger loan at the cash-out leverage and hands over the difference. A McLean owner with a low-balance first mortgage usually compares a second lien first.
The McLean conforming file, priced across the market and explained plainly.
Put your McLean 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 McLean — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Virginia, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Virginia: Arlington · Reston · Alexandria · Winchester · Luray · Massanutten · Charlottesville · Harrisonburg
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans