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
On a principal residence the down payment starts at 3% for a first-time buyer and 5% otherwise, the top leverage being 97% loan-to-value. Second homes and investment properties ask for more, as the leverage table shows, and the price of any leverage above 80% is mortgage insurance.
Priced on the score; no agency minimum with an automated approval
A 620 decision score opens the program on the wholesale side; the agencies set no minimum for an automated approval and 620 to 640 for manual underwriting by loan type. The strongest effect of the score is on cost, through loan-level adjustments and the mortgage insurance premium.
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
The total ratio runs to 50% with an automated approval, with the finding itself deciding how much of that room a particular file gets; manual files are read at 36%, or 45% with the matrix’s credit and reserve criteria met.
| 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.
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.
Four rules shape a Savannah conventional file: leverage by occupancy and buyer, credit scoring that prices rather than gates, mortgage insurance that cancels, and ratios set by the automated finding. Each is explained below with the reason behind it.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s conventional loan program, or the statewide guide at Conventional Loans in Georgia; for the mortgage insurance cancellation rules, see the CFPB.
Leverage by occupancy and buyer
The down payment a Savannah 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 Savannah 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
Insurance structures vary: borrower-paid monthly is the default, and lender-paid, single-premium, and split-premium versions exist, each built into the loan differently. The published typical range in the snapshot is Fannie Mae’s, and the actual premium for a Savannah file comes from the insurer at lock, never from this page.
Ratios, reserves, and the DU finding
Three things decide what payment a Savannah income carries: the ratio ceiling for the underwriting path, the reserves the finding requires, and the stability of the income over two years. Enter income in the calculator to see the ratio on a local price before asking for a quote.
Every input below is yours: the Savannah 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 Savannah buyers borrow — and how a conforming loan fits.
Three Census figures frame a Savannah 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.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Two buyers at the same score can see different files here: one buys at the median and sits well inside the ratio, another stretches above it and needs reserves and a stronger finding. The market sets the spread.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Savannah neighborhoods, distinct conventional files.
No single conventional file describes Savannah. The neighborhoods below differ in housing stock, price, occupancy mix, and the appraisal questions they raise, and each one shapes how a conforming loan is put together.
Higher-value homes
A high-value Savannah purchase can still be a conforming loan when the loan amount fits under the county limit, and a high-cost county’s higher range extends that reach; above it, the jumbo program takes the file with its own leverage and reserves. The median owner-occupied home value in Savannah runs near $248,900 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
New rows and recent infill in Savannah tend to appraise cleanly, which moves the question to the loan amount: a contract near the conforming limit is confirmed against the county figure before the offer, and a loan above it needs a larger down payment or the jumbo program. Savannah counts a population near 148K within the Savannah, GA area.
Investor and second-home purchases
A second home in Savannah, occupied part of the year and never run as a rental business, is a conventional file at the second-home leverage with deeper reserves and part of the down payment from the buyer’s own funds. On a home at Savannah’s median value, the first-time buyer’s minimum down payment comes to about $7,500 and the standard minimum to about $12,400 — before closing costs, and before the mortgage insurance that comes with either.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Renovated and unrenovated homes sit side by side in Savannah’s established neighborhoods, and the appraisal values each on comparable sales. The leverage, the insurance, and the ratio do not change with the age of the house. About 55% of Savannah’s households rent — roughly 31,800 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Condominiums and townhomes
Much of Savannah’s entry-level stock is attached housing, and a conventional loan finances it whenever the project is warrantable under the agencies’ review. The dues go into the ratio, and the first-time buyer’s minimum applies as it would on a house. Median household income in Savannah sits near $57,137 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Owner occupancy of one unit sets the leverage on a Savannah multi-unit conventional loan; without it, the property is an investment purchase at the lower investment leverage. The appraisal reads every unit and the rents. Roughly 26,392 Savannah households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 45% of all households, the pool a conventional purchase joins.
Neighborhood sets the price, the property type, and often the occupancy; the agencies set the rest. The leverage table, the insurance thresholds, the ratio ceiling, and the waiting periods apply identically on every Savannah file.
Four ways Savannah buyers put a conforming loan to work.
Savannah borrowers use conforming loans for reasons that repeat: the first purchase at the first-time-buyer minimum, the purchase with twenty percent down and no insurance, the second home or rental no government program will finance, and the refinance or cash-out on a home with equity.
Refinance or take cash out
A Savannah 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 a first home at the first-time-buyer minimum
A Savannah 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 with twenty percent down and no insurance
Twenty percent down removes the insurance line from the payment on any conventional purchase in Savannah; between the minimum and twenty percent, the insurance applies for a while and then ends, and the calculator shows both payments.
Buy a condominium in a warrantable project
Condominiums are a common first purchase in Savannah, 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 Savannah price before requesting a quote.
Enter a Savannah 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.
Savannah conventional payment estimate
Use the Savannah 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 $250,000 price near Savannah’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 Georgia (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 Savannah buyer with a solid score: the premium is smaller than FHA’s for strong credit and it ends, there is 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. A Savannah buyer comparing the two sees the premium line stay on FHA and disappear on conventional. See Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
A Savannah 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.
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 Savannah scenario review.
Gather these before a Savannah 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 Savannah 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 Savannah file clean and fundable.
Three things to settle before a Savannah review: how the mortgage insurance will be structured and when it ends, where the decision score lands and what it prices, and whether the property has any agency question attached.
- Plan the insurance: the premium is priced on the score and the leverage inside the published range.
- Confirm the score: the lender’s report sets the decision score; multiple borrowers use the average of the median scores.
- Check the project: the lender reviews the questionnaire, budget, and insurance before the appraisal.
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 Savannah owner whose home has gained value may also ask the servicer to recognize the current value under its own rules, which is a servicer decision rather than a program right.
The score sets the cost
The score does two jobs on a Savannah 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.
Warrantable or not
Project review is the one property question that can take a Savannah condominium out of the program entirely. The lender collects the association’s questionnaire, budget, and insurance before the appraisal, and a buyer under contract should ask early how the project reads.
Waiting periods after a credit event
A documented hardship beyond the borrower’s control, such as a job loss or a medical event, can shorten several of the waiting periods, and the shortened foreclosure period limits the leverage and the occupancy. A Savannah file inside a waiting period is written later, not now.
Seller contributions and the down payment
Two rules shape the Savannah 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.
From a Savannah pre-approval to keys in hand.
From the first conversation to the closing table, a Savannah conventional purchase takes four steps, and each one carries an agency rule inside it.
Pre-approval
A Savannah 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: 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
Closing is where the structure becomes a payment: principal and interest, the insurance while the loan is above the threshold, taxes and insurance. The Savannah buyer takes the keys, and the lender delivers the loan to the agency it was written for.
A brokerage that prices the whole market.
Lendmire never lends. It reads a Savannah 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
The comparison printed on this page is run for real on every Savannah file: conventional with the insurer’s actual premium beside FHA with its premiums beside VA where eligibility exists, and the written terms follow from it.
The insurance explained before the offer
The premium and its exit are decided by the leverage and the score, and a buyer should know both before signing a contract. Lendmire states the structure for the Savannah purchase, shows the payment before and after cancellation, and explains the request and automatic thresholds.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
What this page shows are the agencies’ parameters and the wholesale overlays; what a specific Savannah 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.
Savannah 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 Savannah 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 Savannah?
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 Savannah 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 practical answer is the floor in the snapshot, and the useful answer is that every tier above it lowers the cost. A Savannah buyer with a modest score should run FHA beside conventional, because FHA prices its insurance by schedule rather than by score.
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 Savannah?
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.
What are HomeReady, Home Possible, and HomeOne?
Affordable conventional lending in three flavors: two income-limited programs and one first-time-buyer program. The Savannah buyer who fits one gets the lowest conventional down payment with a lighter insurance requirement.
Should I choose a conventional loan or FHA?
Neither is better in general. Conventional insurance cancels; FHA’s does not at full leverage. FHA’s score threshold is lower; conventional’s premium is cheaper for strong credit. The loan officer compares them in writing.
Can I get a conventional loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
After the waiting period, yes. A documented hardship beyond the borrower’s control can shorten several of the periods, and the shortened foreclosure period limits the leverage and the occupancy on the new loan. A Savannah buyer inside a period is written later, not now.
What happens after my Savannah 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 does the appraisal check on a conventional loan?
Value first: the loan is sized on the lesser of the price and the appraised value. Condition second: there is no HUD or VA property standard, but the home must be safe, sound, and marketable, and findings on older homes are settled before closing. Where the automated system offers value acceptance or an appraisal waiver, no appraisal is ordered at all.
A Savannah 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 Savannah — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see Conventional Loans in Georgia, part of Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
Nearby markets in Georgia: Augusta · Macon · Columbus · Atlanta · South Fulton
Related programs: FHA Loans · Jumbo Loans · Refinance Loans