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
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
Private mortgage insurance applies above 80% loan-to-value, costs within a published range of 0.58%–1.86% a year depending on the score and the leverage, and ends: by request at 80% of the original value, automatically at 78%, and no later than the midpoint of the term.
With an automated approval; 36% to 45% on a manual file
Total debt against gross income, up to 50% on an automated approval and 36% to 45% on a manual file. The housing payment counted includes the mortgage insurance while it applies, which is why cancellation changes the ratio as well as the payment.
| Purpose | Occupancy and program | Maximum LTV |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, first-time buyer (fixed rate) | 97% |
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, standard | 95% |
| Purchase | HomeReady / Home Possible (income limits apply) | 97% |
| Purchase | Two- to four-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Purchase | Second home | 90% |
| Purchase | Investment property, one unit | 85% |
| Purchase | Investment property, two to four units | 75% |
| Refinance | Limited cash-out (rate-and-term), one-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, one-unit principal residence | 80% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, two to four units, second home or investment | 75% |
| Combined LTV | Maximum contribution |
|---|---|
| above 90 percent | 3% of the sales price |
| 75.01 to 90 percent | 6% of the sales price |
| 75 percent or less | 9% of the sales price |
| investment property (any) | 2% of the sales price |
| Event | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy | four years from discharge or dismissal (two years with documented extenuating circumstances) |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | two years from discharge; four years from dismissal (two with extenuating circumstances) |
| Multiple bankruptcy filings | five years when more than one filing within the past seven years |
| Foreclosure | seven years (three with extenuating circumstances, then limited to a principal residence or second home at 90 percent LTV, purchase or limited cash-out) |
| Deed-in-lieu, short sale or mortgage charge-off | four years (two with extenuating circumstances) |
Mortgage insurance: Fannie Mae reports that private mortgage insurance typically ranged from 0.58%–1.86% of the loan amount a year; the premium on a specific loan is priced by the insurer on the score, the leverage, and the coverage, and is never quoted here. Gifts from relatives may fund the entire down payment on a one-unit principal residence. HomeReady and Home Possible lend to 97% with income at or below 80% of the area median; HomeOne lends to the same leverage with a first-time buyer and no income limit.
Current conventional snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · principal residences occupied within sixty days, second homes, and one- to four-unit investment properties · conforming limits apply by county and are confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer · above the limit, see the jumbo program · no prepayment penalty · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
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 Chesapeake buyer.
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
Who the buyer is matters as much as what the home is. A first-time buyer, meaning no ownership interest in a home for three years, qualifies for the smallest down payment on a principal residence; a repeat buyer starts a little higher; and HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne open the top leverage to buyers who meet their conditions.
Credit scores and automated underwriting
Conventional credit is priced more than it is gated. The agencies set no minimum score for a loan their automated system approves, the wholesale programs set a floor, and above the floor the score sets the loan-level price adjustments and the mortgage insurance premium. A Chesapeake buyer with a stronger score pays less on both lines.
Mortgage insurance that cancels
The federal cancellation rules are the quiet advantage of a conventional loan. The borrower can ask to drop the insurance when the balance reaches the request threshold, the servicer must drop it at the automatic threshold, and it cannot outlast the midpoint of the term. On an FHA loan at full leverage the premium stays for the life of the loan.
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 Chesapeake second-home or investment file carries more than a principal residence. Income needs a two-year history and a reasonable expectation of continuing.
Every input below is yours: the Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Conventional loans are sized against a local market, and these are Chesapeake’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. Read the figures as ranges, not predictions. The lender appraises one home, documents one income, and lets the automated system read one credit file.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Chesapeake neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
Where Chesapeake 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
The higher-value Chesapeake 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. About 26% of Chesapeake’s households rent — roughly 24,011 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums and townhomes
A Chesapeake condominium near the job is a conventional file with the project review added. Established projects usually pass; new or investor-heavy ones draw questions, and a project that fails goes to a portfolio lender on different terms. The median owner-occupied home value in Chesapeake runs near $378,400 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
A newer Chesapeake home rarely draws condition notes; the file turns on the limit and the ratio at the higher price, with the insurance premium added to the payment where the leverage runs above the threshold. On a home at Chesapeake’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $11,400 and the standard minimum to about $18,900 — before closing costs, and before the mortgage insurance that comes with either.
Two-to-four-unit homes
The owner-occupied multi-unit Chesapeake 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 69,615 Chesapeake households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 74% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Investor and second-home purchases
An investor buying a Chesapeake unit to rent uses the conventional program at the investment leverage, documents the rent the agencies allow, and shows reserves for every financed property; the agencies cap how many such loans one borrower may carry. Chesapeake counts a population near 253K within the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC area.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake sits near $95,373 on the latest Census estimate.
The rules do not change with the street. Every Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake buyers put a conforming loan to work.
The conventional loan is one of the broadest mortgage programs there is: it buys a first home with a small down payment, a move-up home with cancellable insurance, a second home, and a rental, and it refinances all of them. These are the four uses that bring Chesapeake borrowers to it most.
Refinance or take cash out
A Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake 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 approves on the equity brought forward.
Buy a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
A Chesapeake 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 an investment property
The rental purchase is inside the conventional program at a lower leverage than a principal residence: a Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake price before requesting a quote.
This is what a Chesapeake conventional purchase costs each month at the leverage you choose, with the insurance shown as a separate line and then removed: the calculator finds the month on the schedule when the balance reaches the request threshold and the automatic one, and shows the payment on each side. The rate shown is the weekly Freddie Mac average, editable, and not a quote.
Chesapeake conventional payment estimate
Use the Chesapeake 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: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a conventional loan quote.
Estimate seeded at the low end of Fannie Mae’s published range (0.58%–1.86% a year); the insurer prices the actual premium on the score and the leverage. Applies only above 80% loan-to-value.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $380,000 price near Chesapeake’s median owner-occupied home value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, mortgage insurance at the low end of Fannie Mae’s published range, property taxes and insurance estimated for Virginia (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not a conventional loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. The mortgage insurance figure is an editable estimate seeded from Fannie Mae’s published typical range, not a premium quote; the insurer prices the actual premium, and the cancellation month assumes scheduled payments with no extra principal and no change in value. Taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included. Conforming loan limits apply by county. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages.
Same buyer, three very different closings.
Choosing among conventional, FHA, and VA in Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake household. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Where each one fits: 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. Above the conforming limit, see the jumbo loan program.
What to prepare for a Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake 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.
When a Chesapeake conventional file surprises someone, the cause is usually one of these: a premium higher than expected, a score that priced differently than hoped, an appraisal under the price, a project that failed review, or a loan amount over the conforming limit.
Use these checks to keep the Chesapeake file clean and fundable.
A Chesapeake 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: the lender’s report sets the decision score; multiple borrowers use the average of the median scores.
- 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 Chesapeake loan can be paid monthly, by the lender in exchange for a different price, as a single premium at closing, or split; the monthly structure cancels under the federal rules, and the others are priced by the lender. The calculator shows the monthly structure and the month the thresholds arrive on scheduled payments.
The score sets the cost
The score does two jobs on a Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake 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.
Second homes, rentals, and financed-property limits
A Chesapeake 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.
The conforming limit
Conforming loans are capped by county and by unit count, with higher limits in high-cost areas, and the figures are reset each year by the FHFA. A Chesapeake purchase whose loan would run above the limit either brings a larger down payment to fit under it or moves to the jumbo program; a Lendmire loan officer confirms the current limit for the county.
From a Chesapeake pre-approval to keys in hand.
From the first conversation to the closing table, a Chesapeake conventional purchase takes four steps, and each one carries an agency rule inside it.
Pre-approval
A Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake contract sets the price and the contributions; the appraisal, or the system’s value acceptance, sets the value. Both feed the loan amount, and the lender confirms the project review and the conforming limit before underwriting begins.
Underwriting
Underwriting on a Chesapeake conventional file is a verification of the finding: the documents behind the 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
The Chesapeake closing applies the program’s structure: the insurance premium in the payment while it applies, the escrow account, and no upfront premium. The buyer moves in within sixty days on a principal residence, and the servicer tracks the balance toward the cancellation thresholds.
A brokerage that prices the whole market.
A single lender prices a conventional loan one way; a brokerage with several wholesale programs prices it several ways and shows a Chesapeake buyer which one costs less on the same score and leverage, with the insurance quoted by the insurer rather than guessed.
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 Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake buyer at the price in hand.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Lendmire is licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages, each owner-occupied loan is a consumer-purpose transaction with the full set of disclosures, and every figure a Chesapeake buyer relies on, from the leverage to the premium to the final terms, comes in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake buyers.
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 Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake?
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. On a Chesapeake home at the median value the market section shows what the minimums come to in dollars.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
The snapshot shows the floor. More useful than the number is what sits around it: a seasoned derogatory event is inside the rules after its waiting period, a thin file may need manual underwriting with tighter ratios, and the score drives the insurance premium on a Chesapeake loan.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
Above the threshold the insurance is part of the Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake?
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 the seller pay my closing costs on a conventional loan?
Within the cap for the combined loan-to-value, yes: closing costs, prepaids, and points. The down payment is separate and must be the buyer’s own funds or a gift; the seller can cover the rest up to the cap.
How does a conventional refinance work?
Two paths: a limited cash-out refinance, often called rate-and-term, to the higher leverage in the snapshot, which changes the rate, the term, or the structure and pays off the existing loan with limited cash back; and a cash-out refinance to the lower leverage after the seasoning period, which hands over equity in cash. Each occupancy has its own limit on both.
What happens after my Chesapeake offer is accepted?
The file moves into appraisal and underwriting, and the calendar is set by the appraisal and the conditions the underwriter adds. No page can promise a date, and this one does not.
What debt-to-income ratio does a conventional loan allow?
Up to the automated maximum in the snapshot for a file the automated system approves, measured as the total housing payment, insurance included, plus every other monthly obligation against gross income; a manually underwritten file is held to the lower pair, with the higher figure needing the credit and reserve criteria of the agencies’ matrix. The finding also sets the reserves.
Can I take cash out with a conventional refinance?
Yes, at the leverage in the snapshot for the occupancy, after the seasoning period. The cash-out loan carries its own loan-level adjustments, and the loan-to-value decides whether mortgage insurance applies to the new loan.
A Chesapeake 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 Chesapeake — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Virginia, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Virginia: Virginia Beach · Norfolk · Newport News · Richmond · Arlington
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans