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
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
An automated approval allows a total debt-to-income ratio up to 50%; a manually underwritten file is held to 36%, or 45% when the credit score and reserves meet the agencies’ matrix. The ratio is measured on the total housing payment plus every other monthly obligation against 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 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.
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.
Every Montana conventional file is read by an automated underwriting system against the agencies’ guides. The system does not change the rules below; it applies them: how much 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; 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
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 Montana buyer planning the timing.
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 Montana 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
Total debt-to-income is the ratio that counts: the full housing payment, insurance included, plus every monthly obligation, against gross income. Automated approvals reach the higher ceiling in the snapshot; manual files are held to the lower pair, with the higher of the two needing the matrix’s credit and reserve criteria.
The calculator runs this on a Montana 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 Montana buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Montana is many markets, not one: ownership, home values, and incomes shift from city to city, and every conforming loan written in the state is sized against its own local numbers. The statewide figures below come from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Statewide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. 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.
Where Montana’s buyers borrow — market by market.
Lendmire works Montana one market at a time. The cities below rank by owner households and each opens its own conventional guide, with local Census context, the same program block, and the calculator seeded to local prices.
Billings
Billings carries one of the largest owner-household counts in Lendmire’s Montana footprint, near 33,059, about 65% of households; in a metropolitan market of that depth, conforming loans finance the bulk of purchases and refinances. Census context: median value near $343,400, median household income near $73,712, population near 119K.
Great Falls
Great Falls’ roughly 17,439 owner households (66% of the total) sit in a metropolitan market where conforming loans fit the price range comfortably, including the first-time buyer at the low down payment. Census context: median value near $257,000, median household income near $63,373, population near 60K.
Missoula
Missoula’s roughly 16,420 owner households (47% of the total) sit in a metropolitan market where conforming loans fit the price range comfortably, including the first-time buyer at the low down payment. Census context: median value near $473,100, median household income near $70,392, population near 77K.
Bozeman
About 10,721 Bozeman households own, about 45% of households, so a conventional file in this metropolitan market is routine: priced on the score and the leverage, insured until equity arrives, and qualified on the automated finding. Census context: median value near $687,900, median household income near $85,747, population near 56K.
Helena
Owner households in Helena run near 8,303, about 53% of households; in a metropolitan market this size the conventional loan is the one most buyers compare first and most end up with. Census context: median value near $387,300, median household income near $71,036, population near 34K.
Whitefish
Roughly 2,653 Whitefish households own (62% of the total); in a resort and second-home market this size a conforming loan pairs with the market exactly as it does in the larger cities. Census context: median value near $684,300, median household income near $73,811, population near 8.7K.
No Montana market has its own conventional rules. The leverage by occupancy, the credit floor, the insurance thresholds and cancellation points, the ratio ceiling, the contribution caps, and the waiting periods apply identically everywhere; what differs by county is the conforming limit, which a Lendmire loan officer confirms for each file.
Four ways Montana 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 Montana uses follow.
Buy a second home
A second home in Montana 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 with twenty percent down and no insurance
The move-up Montana 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 an investment property
Investment property on a conforming loan is a common entry point for Montana 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.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
Condominiums are a common first purchase in Montana, 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.
Estimate the payment on a Montana price before requesting a quote.
Enter a Montana price, the down payment, and the buyer type, choose a term, and the calculator returns the loan and its loan-to-value, principal and interest, the estimated mortgage insurance while the loan is above the threshold, taxes and insurance, the payment after the insurance ends, and the ratio if you enter income. It also shows the month the balance reaches the cancellation thresholds. The rate field holds the weekly Freddie Mac benchmark as a market reference, never a quote.
Montana conventional payment estimate
Seeded at Montana’s median value with the first-time buyer’s minimum down; every field updates the result as you type.
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 $375,000 price near Montana’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 Montana (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.
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 Montana buyer with a strong score usually pays less each month here than on FHA.
Where conventional prices the score, FHA prices by schedule. FHA fits the buyer whose score would be priced heavily on a conventional loan, or who needs the ratio ladder’s room; it rarely wins for a Montana buyer with strong credit and a down payment above the minimum. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
A Montana buyer with VA eligibility and full entitlement rarely needs a conventional loan for a principal residence: nothing down, no insurance, and residual-income underwriting. Conventional is the route for that same veteran’s second home or investment property, which VA does not finance. 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 Montana 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 Montana scenario review.
Gather these before a Montana 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 Montana 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 Montana file clean and fundable.
A Montana 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.
- Know the seasoning: each credit event has its own waiting period counted from a specific date.
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 Montana 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 is read from the lender’s report, and with more than one borrower the automated system uses the average of the median scores. On a Montana conventional file the score rarely ends eligibility, but it sets the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium, so a difference of a few points can change the monthly cost.
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 a Montana buyer planning the timing.
The appraisal and value acceptance
A conventional appraisal values the Montana 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.
Ratios, reserves, and the finding
The automated finding decides how much of the ratio ceiling a Montana file actually gets: a strong score and reserves earn the room, a thin profile earns less. The reserves are measured in months of the total housing payment and must be documented, not promised.
From a Montana pre-approval to keys in hand.
A conventional purchase runs in a fixed order: pre-approval through the automated system on the score, the ratio, and the reserves; contract and appraisal or value acceptance; underwriting that verifies what the finding assumed; and closing with the insurance structure set. Here is that order for a Montana buyer.
Pre-approval
The first conversation settles the shape: whether the buyer counts as a first-time buyer, what leverage the occupancy allows, how much insurance the down payment carries, and whether conventional is the right program next to FHA and VA for the Montana purchase.
Contract and appraisal
The Montana 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
The underwriter verifies what the automated finding assumed: the income, the assets and reserves, the credit and any seasoning, the occupancy, and the property. A manual file follows the lower ratio pair instead. Conditions are issued, documented, and cleared before the approval is final.
Closing
The Montana 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.
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 Montana 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
No Montana buyer should learn at the closing table what the insurance costs or how long it lasts. The loan officer walks through the premium for the leverage chosen, the month the thresholds arrive on scheduled payments, and the alternative of a larger down payment.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
Lendmire carries the license for the state the Montana 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.
Montana conventional loan FAQs
The questions below come up on nearly every Montana 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 Montana 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 Montana?
The first-time buyer’s minimum in the snapshot on a one-unit principal residence with a fixed rate, where a first-time buyer is anyone without an ownership interest in a home during the prior three years; the standard minimum for everyone else; and more for second homes, multi-unit homes, and investment property, as the leverage table shows. A relative’s gift may fund the whole down payment on a one-unit principal residence.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
The floor in the snapshot opens the program; the score above it sets the cost. With more than one borrower the automated system uses the average of the median scores, and a Montana buyer close to a cost tier may gain from a short wait and a paid-down balance.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
The premium is a percentage of the loan a year, divided into the monthly payment, and it is set by the insurer on the score and the leverage rather than by a government schedule. It cancels: by request at the request threshold, automatically at the termination threshold, and no later than the midpoint of the term.
What is the conforming loan limit in Montana?
There is a county limit, revised annually, and some counties carry a high-balance range above the standard figure. The loan officer confirms the current limit at pre-approval; above it, the jumbo program takes the file.
Can I buy a second home with a conventional loan?
Yes. The conventional loan is the consumer program that finances second homes: the leverage table shows the down payment for that occupancy, the buyer qualifies on the full payments of both homes, the finding sets the reserves, and the home must be for the owner’s own use rather than a full-time rental.
Can the down payment be a gift?
Yes. On a one-unit principal residence the entire down payment may come from a relative, a domestic partner, or a fiancé, documented with a gift letter stating that no repayment is expected and evidence of the transfer. On a second home or a two- to four-unit home above the threshold, part of the down payment must be the buyer’s own funds.
Can I get a conventional loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Yes, with seasoning. The waits run longer than the government programs’ as a rule, which is why a Montana buyer inside one often starts on FHA or VA and refinances into conventional later.
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 Montana scenario lands against the automated figure.
How does a conventional refinance work?
It depends on the goal: change the rate or term by limited cash-out refinance, or borrow against equity by cash-out refinance. Each has its own leverage, and a Montana loan officer compares either with a home equity line before recommending one.
Run the Montana conventional numbers, then get the terms in writing.
A Montana conventional purchase starts with three questions: the score, the down payment, and the occupancy. Lendmire answers them, prices the programs, and writes up the one that fits.
This guide covers Montana — for the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
All Montana city guides (6): Billings · Bozeman · Great Falls · Helena · Missoula · Whitefish
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans