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
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
Private mortgage insurance applies above 80% loan-to-value. Fannie Mae’s 2022 figures put the annual cost in a range of 0.58%–1.86%, depending on the score and the leverage. It 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
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.
Informational only; not a commitment to lend, an approval, or a quote. Every figure on this page is a program parameter read from Lendmire’s guideline source, built on the agencies’ published guides, and may change without notice; eligibility, the loan amount, the insurance, and the ratios depend on the credit profile, the property, the occupancy, and underwriting. The mortgage insurance estimate is editable and not a premium quote. Lendmire is a mortgage broker 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 Plantation buyer.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program, or the statewide guide at Conventional Loans in Florida; for the mortgage insurance cancellation rules, see the CFPB.
Leverage by occupancy and buyer
The down payment a Plantation buyer needs depends on three things: whether the home is a principal residence, a second home, or a rental; whether it is one unit or several; and whether the buyer counts as a first-time buyer. The snapshot table gives the answer for every combination the program allows.
Credit scores and automated underwriting
What the score does on a Plantation conventional file is set the cost. A lower score raises the loan-level adjustments and the insurance premium; a higher score lowers both. Manual underwriting, used when the automated system cannot approve the file, carries its own minimum score and tighter ratios.
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
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 Plantation underwriter then verifies what the finding assumed.
A lender runs the same math on a Plantation 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 Plantation buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
The leverage limits are percentages; the market turns them into dollars. The Census figures below describe Plantation’s ownership, home values, and household income, the backdrop every conforming loan here is sized against.
Market context only. 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 Plantation neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
A Plantation 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.
In-town neighborhoods
In Plantation’s older neighborhoods the value report decides more than the condition report. A buyer at the first-time-buyer minimum pays insurance for a while; a buyer at twenty percent pays none. The median owner-occupied home value in Plantation runs near $483,500 on the latest Census estimate.
Multi-unit conversions
One side occupied, the other side’s rent counted within the program’s rules: that is the Plantation duplex on a conventional loan, at the multi-unit leverage rather than the single-family one. About 36% of Plantation’s households rent — roughly 13,268 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Manufactured homes
A manufactured home in Plantation is eligible for conventional financing when it meets the agencies’ requirements: a permanent foundation, real-estate title with the land, and the construction standard the appraiser checks. Leverage and cost differ from a site-built home. Plantation is home to about 96K people.
Rural-edge and acreage properties
A Plantation property with land qualifies as a residence. Fewer comparable sales mean a more careful appraisal, and outbuildings beyond residential use are not added to the value. On a one-unit principal residence at Plantation’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $14,500 and the standard minimum to about $24,200 — 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.
Newer subdivisions on the bypass
A newer Plantation purchase rarely draws a condition note. The file turns on the score, the leverage chosen, and the ratio at the price once the insurance premium is in the payment. Roughly 23,869 Plantation households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 64% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Everyday values and the first-time minimum
At Plantation’s price levels the conventional structure is at its most comfortable: a small down payment that may be a gift, a premium that ends on schedule, and a payment that typically leaves room under the ratio on a local income. Median household income in Plantation sits near $92,541 on the latest Census estimate.
What the program accepts is the same everywhere in Plantation: 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 Plantation buyers put a conforming loan to work.
Plantation borrowers use conforming loans for reasons that repeat, from the first purchase at the first-time-buyer minimum to the refinance on a home with equity, and the cards below take up the ones that come up most often.
Buy a second home
Conventional financing is the consumer program that reaches a second home: a Plantation buyer brings the down payment the leverage table shows for that occupancy, qualifies on the full payment of both homes, and shows the reserves the finding requires. The home must be for the owner’s use, not a rental business.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
A Plantation 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.
Buy with twenty percent down and no insurance
A Plantation 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 an investment property
A Plantation investor buying one to four units on a conventional loan puts down what the leverage table shows for investment property, documents agency-allowed rent toward qualifying, and holds reserves the finding requires per financed property. It is an individual agency loan under investment-property rules, not an investor DSCR loan.
Estimate the payment on a Plantation price before requesting a quote.
Before you ask for a quote, size the payment yourself: the Plantation 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.
Plantation conventional payment estimate
The defaults are a Plantation starting point, not your purchase: put in the real price, the real down payment, and the real escrows.
Editable benchmark: 7.28% as of October 1, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not a conventional loan quote.
Estimate seeded at the low end of Fannie Mae’s published range (0.58%–1.86% a year); the insurer prices the actual premium on the score and the leverage. Applies only above 80% loan-to-value.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $485,000 price near Plantation’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 Florida (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 Plantation 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 room FHA’s ratio tiers allow; it rarely wins for a Plantation buyer with strong credit and a down payment above the minimum. 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 Plantation household. 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 Plantation 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 Plantation scenario review.
Gather these before a Plantation 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.
The percentages tell only part of the story. What a Plantation conventional loan actually becomes depends on the score, the appraisal, the project review, and the automated finding, and these are the details that move it.
Use these checks to keep the Plantation 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 Plantation files before income is even opened.
- Plan the insurance: it cancels on request at the request threshold and automatically at the termination threshold.
- Confirm the score: a self-pulled score can differ from the decision score.
- Check the project: a non-warrantable project goes to a portfolio lender on other terms.
Mortgage insurance: how much, and until when
Above eighty percent loan-to-value the premium is priced by the insurer on the score and the leverage, inside the published range shown in the guidelines above, and it ends: by request when the balance reaches eighty percent of the original value, automatically at seventy-eight percent, and no later than the midpoint of the term. A Plantation buyer should know the premium and the exit before signing.
The score sets the cost
The decision score comes from the lender’s report, and with multiple borrowers the automated system uses the average of the median scores. On a Plantation 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.
Warrantable or not
A Plantation condo is a conventional purchase when the project passes agency review: owner-occupancy mix, budget and reserves, litigation, commercial space, single-entity ownership, and insurance. One that fails is non-warrantable and outside the conforming program; a portfolio lender may still lend on other terms.
Seller contributions and the down payment
Sellers and other interested parties may pay closing costs, prepaids, and other concessions up to a cap set by the combined loan-to-value, as the snapshot table shows; above the cap the excess reduces the price for sizing the loan. The down payment cannot come from the seller, but a relative’s gift can fund it on a one-unit principal residence.
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 a Plantation buyer with other financed properties carries more of them.
From a Plantation 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 Plantation buyer.
Pre-approval
A Plantation 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 Plantation contract is adjusted or released under its contingency. Where the system offers value acceptance, the step collapses to the system’s figure.
Underwriting
The underwriter verifies what the automated finding assumed: income, assets and reserves, credit and any seasoning, occupancy, and the property. A manual file follows the lower ratio pair instead. Conditions are issued, documented, and cleared before final approval.
Closing
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. A Plantation 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.
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
Before any recommendation, the Plantation file is priced across the wholesale programs Lendmire works with and run against FHA and VA on the same price, score, and down payment. The buyer sees the payment, the insurance line, and the cash to close for each, and the choice follows the figures.
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 Plantation buyer at the price in hand.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
What this page shows are the agencies’ parameters and the wholesale overlays; what a specific Plantation loan gets is a written set of terms from a licensed loan officer after the review. Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Trusted by buyers & families alike.
Plantation 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 Plantation buyers.
What is a conventional loan, and who is it for?
Think of it as the mortgage without a federal guaranty or insurance: the agencies set the rules, a private insurer covers the high-leverage slice, and the score sets the price. Principal residences, second homes, and one- to four-unit rentals are all inside it.
How much do I need to put down on a conventional loan in Plantation?
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 Plantation 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?
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 Plantation?
The limit is the first thing confirmed on a Plantation file near the top of the market. These pages state the program’s structure rather than a number that changes every year; the current figure comes from a loan officer.
What happens after my Plantation offer is accepted?
In order: the appraisal and any condition notes, the project review where the home is a condominium, the underwriting against the finding, and the closing with the insurance structure set. Your loan officer sets the schedule for the specific file.
Should I choose a conventional loan or FHA?
Run both. A strong score and a down payment above the minimum point to conventional, where the insurance is smaller and ends; a modest score and the smallest possible investment point to FHA. The comparison is made on the actual payment and the cash to close.
What debt-to-income ratio does a conventional loan allow?
The automated ceiling in the snapshot is the most a conventional file can carry, and the finding decides how much of it a particular Plantation file gets based on the score, the reserves, and the rest of the profile. Manual files are read at the lower pair.
Can the down payment be a gift?
Gifts from family are allowed for the full down payment on a one-unit home the buyer will live in, and for closing costs and reserves. A Plantation buyer should route the funds so the transfer is easy to document.
Can I buy a second home with a conventional loan?
A second home is inside the program with its own leverage, reserves, and adjustments, and part of the down payment must be the buyer’s own funds above the threshold. A Plantation loan officer qualifies the file on both housing payments.
Run the Plantation conventional numbers, then get the terms in writing.
Ask for a Plantation 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 Plantation — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Florida, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Florida: Sunrise · Lauderhill · Davie · Tamarac · Fort Lauderdale · Weston · Hollywood · Margate
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans