Current conventional guidelines, updated from one source.
One guideline source feeds every number here, and the page updates when the source does. These are purchase and refinance parameters; the leverage table underneath covers occupancy by occupancy, and the status lines cover insurance, gifts, and the first-time-buyer programs.
First-time buyer; 5% standard; 97% loan-to-value at the top
The agencies set the floor at 3% down for a first-time buyer and 5% for a repeat buyer, on a principal residence; the whole down payment may be a gift from a relative on a one-unit home, and twenty percent down removes mortgage insurance from the payment entirely.
Priced on the score; no agency minimum with an automated approval
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
An automated approval allows a total debt-to-income ratio up to 50%; a manually underwritten file is held to 36%, or 45% when credit score and reserves meet the agencies’ matrix. The ratio divides total housing payment plus other monthly obligations by gross income.
| Purpose | Occupancy and program | Maximum LTV |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, first-time buyer (fixed rate) | 97% |
| Purchase | One-unit principal residence, standard | 95% |
| Purchase | HomeReady / Home Possible (income limits apply) | 97% |
| Purchase | Two- to four-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Purchase | Second home | 90% |
| Purchase | Investment property, one unit | 85% |
| Purchase | Investment property, two to four units | 75% |
| Refinance | Limited cash-out (rate-and-term), one-unit principal residence | 95% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, one-unit principal residence | 80% |
| Refinance | Cash-out, two to four units, second home or investment | 75% |
| Combined LTV | Maximum contribution |
|---|---|
| above 90 percent | 3% of the sales price |
| 75.01 to 90 percent | 6% of the sales price |
| 75 percent or less | 9% of the sales price |
| investment property (any) | 2% of the sales price |
| Event | Waiting period |
|---|---|
| Chapter 7 or 11 bankruptcy | four years from discharge or dismissal (two years with documented extenuating circumstances) |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | two years from discharge; four years from dismissal (two with extenuating circumstances) |
| Multiple bankruptcy filings | five years when more than one filing within the past seven years |
| Foreclosure | seven years (three with extenuating circumstances, then limited to a principal residence or second home at 90 percent LTV, purchase or limited cash-out) |
| Deed-in-lieu, short sale or mortgage charge-off | four years (two with extenuating circumstances) |
Mortgage insurance: Fannie Mae reports that private mortgage insurance typically ranged from 0.58%–1.86% of the loan amount a year; the premium on a specific loan is priced by the insurer on the score, the leverage, and the coverage, and is never quoted here. Gifts from relatives may fund the entire down payment on a one-unit principal residence. HomeReady and Home Possible lend to 97% with income at or below 80% of the area median; HomeOne lends to the same leverage with a first-time buyer and no income limit.
Current conventional snapshot · updated October 3, 2026 · principal residences occupied within sixty days, second homes, and one- to four-unit investment properties · conforming limits apply by county and are confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer · above the limit, see the jumbo program · no prepayment penalty · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
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.
A conventional loan is a mortgage written to the rules of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so a lender can sell it to them after closing. Those rules decide the leverage by occupancy, the credit standard, the insurance above the threshold, and the ratios, and the four cards below take an Ocean Shores file apart along exactly those lines.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program, or the statewide guide at Conventional Loans in Washington; for the mortgage insurance cancellation rules, see the CFPB.
Leverage by occupancy and buyer
The agencies lend most on a home the borrower lives in and less as the occupancy changes: a one-unit principal residence reaches the top leverage, with the first-time buyer’s minimum the lowest down payment in the program; two- to four-unit homes, second homes, and investment properties step down from there, as the table in the snapshot shows for an Ocean Shores buyer.
Credit scores and automated underwriting
Conventional credit is priced more than it is gated. The floor in the snapshot is the lowest score the lanes accept, and above the floor the score sets the loan-level price adjustments and the mortgage insurance premium. An Ocean Shores buyer with a stronger score pays less on both lines.
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 Ocean Shores 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.
A lender runs the same math on an Ocean Shores file with one difference: the insurer’s actual premium replaces the estimate. The estimate here starts at the low end of the published range and is editable, because the real figure depends on the score and the leverage.
Where Ocean Shores buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Three Census figures frame an Ocean Shores conventional file. Ownership says how much of the market the program reaches, the median value says what a low-down-payment loan typically comes to, and household income says what ratio that payment produces.
These are context figures, not underwriting inputs. 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 Ocean Shores neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
The house and its use decide the file as much as the borrower. These Ocean Shores submarkets differ in the property types, the occupancies, and the prices a typical buyer carries, which is what the cards below describe.
Condominium projects
Warrantability decides the Ocean Shores condominium file: owner-occupancy mix, association finances, litigation, and rental operations all bear on it, and the review is done before the appraisal is ordered so the contract is not carried past the point of no return. Median household income in Ocean Shores sits near $58,202 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
A high-value Ocean Shores home can still be a conforming loan when the loan amount fits under the county limit; above it, the jumbo program takes the file with its own leverage, reserves, and appraisal rules. Roughly 3,192 Ocean Shores households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 83% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Second homes and vacation condominiums
An Ocean Shores vacation home is a conventional file at the second-home leverage, qualified on the payments of both homes. A unit run as a rental business is an investment property under the program, with lower leverage and its own cost. About 17% of Ocean Shores’ households rent — roughly 638 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Workforce neighborhoods
In Ocean Shores’ workforce neighborhoods the conventional file is at its most comfortable: a clean appraisal on a modest home, a premium that is small in dollars, and a ratio with room on a local income. On a one-unit principal residence at Ocean Shores’ median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $11,500 and the standard minimum to about $19,200 — 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.
Homes bought for their setting
Homes bought for their setting in Ocean Shores are eligible as principal residences or second homes at their own leverage; the appraisal, with its thinner set of comparable sales, and the flood determination are the two steps that take longer. The median owner-occupied home value in Ocean Shores runs near $383,500 on the latest Census estimate.
Year-round primary residences
The year-round Ocean Shores resident buys at the principal-residence leverage: the first-time buyer’s minimum where it applies, insurance that ends, and reserves set by the finding rather than by a second-home or investment rule. The resort setting changes the prices, not the rules. Ocean Shores is home to about 7.3K people.
What the program accepts is the same everywhere in Ocean Shores: houses, warrantable condominiums, planned developments, manufactured homes that meet the agencies’ rules, two- to four-unit homes, second homes, and investment property, each at its own leverage. What it declines is the non-warrantable project and the loan above the conforming limit, which belong to other programs.
Four ways Ocean Shores 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 Ocean Shores borrowers to it most.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
An Ocean Shores condominium is a conventional purchase when the project passes the agencies’ review: owner-occupancy mix, budget and reserves, litigation, commercial space, and ownership concentration. The dues enter the ratio, and the leverage follows the occupancy as it would on a house.
Refinance or take cash out
Refinancing on a conventional loan follows the same leverage table as buying: rate-and-term to the higher limit, cash-out to the lower one. An Ocean Shores owner who has carried mortgage insurance may also use the refinance to leave it behind once the new loan sits at or below the threshold.
Buy with twenty percent down and no insurance
An Ocean Shores buyer with twenty percent down gets the conventional loan’s cleanest form: no mortgage insurance, loan-level adjustments at the best tier the score allows, and a payment of principal, interest, and escrows alone. Second homes and investment property are priced from the same structure.
Buy a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
For an Ocean Shores first purchase, the conventional route pairs the agencies’ lowest down payment with insurance that cancels and, on the monthly structure, no upfront premium; the file is qualified on the score, the ratio, the reserves, and the automated finding, and a family gift may fund the whole down payment.
Estimate the payment on an Ocean Shores price before requesting a quote.
The program’s own math on your Ocean Shores 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.
Ocean Shores conventional payment estimate
Use the Ocean Shores 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: 7.28% 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 $385,000 price near Ocean Shores’ 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 Washington (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.
Conventional fits the Ocean Shores buyer with a solid score: the premium is smaller than FHA’s for strong credit and it ends, the monthly structure carries no upfront premium, and twenty percent down removes insurance altogether. A modest score or a thin file is where FHA competes.
FHA’s leverage is high and its credit standard is forgiving, but its insurance is priced by schedule rather than by score and does not cancel on a full-leverage thirty-year loan. An Ocean Shores buyer comparing the two sees the premium line stay on FHA and disappear on conventional. 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 an Ocean Shores 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. An Ocean Shores 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 an Ocean Shores scenario review.
What a lender reads on an Ocean Shores conventional loan, and what you can have ready before anyone asks.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the automated underwriting finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
When an Ocean Shores 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 Ocean Shores 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 Ocean Shores files before income is even opened.
- Plan the insurance: twenty percent down carries no insurance at all.
- Confirm the score: a self-pulled score can differ from the decision score.
- Know the seasoning: a documented hardship must be beyond the borrower’s control.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
The premium on an Ocean Shores 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 an Ocean Shores 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.
Waiting periods after a credit event
The agencies season credit events rather than barring them: each bankruptcy chapter, a foreclosure, a deed-in-lieu, and a short sale carry their own period, shortened by documented extenuating circumstances. The snapshot table shows each one for an Ocean Shores buyer planning the timing.
The appraisal and value acceptance
When the value comes in under the contract price on an Ocean Shores file, the loan is sized on the lower figure: the buyer brings the difference, the price is renegotiated, or the contract is released under its appraisal contingency. Condition findings are rarer than on government loans but still appear on older homes.
Ratios, reserves, and the finding
The total ratio counts the full housing payment, insurance included, plus every other obligation, against gross income, up to the automated ceiling in the snapshot; a manual file is held to the lower pair. The finding also sets the reserves, and an Ocean Shores buyer with other financed properties carries more of them.
From an Ocean Shores 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 an Ocean Shores buyer.
Pre-approval
An Ocean Shores pre-approval is a sizing exercise run through the automated system: the score, the income, the assets, the occupancy, and the price. The finding sets the ratio room and the reserves, and the loan officer puts the pre-approval in writing for the offer.
Contract and appraisal
With the contract signed, the lender orders the appraisal, or accepts the value the automated system offers where a waiver applies. Seller contributions are checked against the cap for the leverage, and a condominium’s project documents are collected for review before the file moves on.
Underwriting
The underwriter verifies what the automated finding assumed: income, assets and reserves, credit and any seasoning, occupancy, and the property. A manual file follows the lower ratio pair instead. Conditions are issued, documented, and cleared before final approval.
Closing
At closing the loan funds at the chosen leverage, mortgage insurance starts with the first payment if the loan is above the threshold, and escrows for taxes and insurance are set up. An Ocean Shores buyer signs the note and security instrument, occupies the home within the occupancy window, and the agency buys the loan.
A brokerage that prices the whole market.
Lendmire never lends. It reads an Ocean Shores file against conventional, FHA, and VA, matches the program to the profile, and keeps the premium, the cost tier, and the conforming limit in front of the buyer before anything is signed.
Several programs, one set of numbers
A lender with one rate sheet sells that sheet; a brokerage with several can say which fits. For an Ocean Shores 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 an Ocean Shores 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 a full set of disclosures, and every figure an Ocean Shores buyer relies on, from leverage to premium to final terms, comes in writing from a licensed loan officer.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Ocean Shores conventional loan FAQs
The questions below come up on nearly every Ocean Shores 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 an Ocean Shores 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 Ocean Shores?
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 an Ocean Shores price, and the leverage table gives the figure for second homes and investment property.
What credit score do I need for a conventional loan?
The wholesale programs behind these pages start at the floor shown in the snapshot. Fannie Mae itself sets no minimum score for a loan its automated system approves and a minimum only for manually underwritten loans; what the score mostly does is set the price of the loan and the mortgage insurance, so an Ocean Shores buyer above the floor still benefits from every tier gained.
How does private mortgage insurance work, and when does it end?
Mortgage insurance applies when the loan runs above the leverage threshold in the snapshot and is paid monthly as part of the payment. The premium is priced by the insurer on the score and the leverage, inside the published range the snapshot shows. Under the Homeowners Protection Act the borrower may request cancellation at the request threshold on the original value, the servicer must terminate it automatically at the termination threshold, and it ends no later than the midpoint of the term.
What is the conforming loan limit in Ocean Shores?
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 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. An Ocean Shores contract structured inside the cap leaves the buyer bringing the down payment and little else.
Should I choose a conventional loan or FHA?
Conventional tends to fit the buyer with a strong score, because its insurance cancels and carries no upfront premium; FHA tends to fit the buyer with a modest score, because its ratios stretch further. The answer for an Ocean Shores buyer comes from the numbers, not the label.
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. An Ocean Shores owner with a low-balance first mortgage usually compares a second lien first.
Can I use a conventional loan to buy a condominium?
Yes, with one extra step: the project review. Warrantable projects close on the ordinary file; the first-time buyer’s minimum, the insurance rules, and the ratio ceiling are unchanged.
What are HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne?
Affordable conventional lending in three flavors: two income-limited programs and one first-time-buyer program. The Ocean Shores buyer who fits one gets the lowest conventional down payment with a lighter insurance requirement.
The Ocean Shores conforming file, priced across the market and explained plainly.
Ask for an Ocean Shores scenario review to confirm the leverage, the insurance and its exit, and the loan the program supports. Lendmire is a broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages and is never the lender.
This guide covers Ocean Shores — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Washington, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Washington: Tumwater · Olympia · Lacey · Lakewood · Bremerton · Longview · Port Orchard · Tacoma
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans