Current FHA cash-out guidelines, updated from one source.
Nothing in the cards is a rate or a payment, and in Texas the leverage card reads a little differently: the homestead cap applies to the whole loan including the financed upfront premium, so the base loan sits a touch lower than the card’s figure alone suggests. The calculator applies the Texas cap.
Of the adjusted value on a principal residence; 80% combined with any lien that stays
80% of the adjusted value is where HUD stops the base loan, with 80% as the combined ceiling if a second lien is resubordinated. For a home owned less than a year, the adjusted value is the lower of the appraisal and the price paid plus documented improvements; after a year, it is the appraisal.
Owned and occupied as the principal residence before the case number is assigned
Before the case number, the home must have been the borrower’s principal residence for twelve months, documented by the deed and by records at the address. A loan seasoned less than a year must have been paid on time throughout, and a non-occupant co-borrower cannot be added to carry the ratios.
Plus an annual premium, charged monthly, for eleven years at cash-out leverage
The insurance has an upfront half and a monthly half: 1.75% of the base loan once, usually financed, and 0.50% a year on most thirty-year cash-out loans, collected with the payment for eleven years. The table beneath the cards lists the rate for larger base loans and for shorter terms.
Ratios of 31/43 by reference, higher with compensating factors
A 580 decision score clears HUD’s full-financing line, 500 is the absolute floor, and 580 is what the wholesale programs expect. Ratios run 31/43 by reference and up to 40/50 with two compensating factors; accounts paid through the closing come out of the ratio.
| Base loan | Leverage | Annual premium | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV — the cash-out band | 0.50% | 11 years |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.50% | mortgage term |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.55% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV — the cash-out band | 0.70% | 11 years |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.70% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 95% LTV — purchase and rate-and-term leverage, not cash-out | 0.75% | mortgage term |
The line-of-credit alternative: on a primary residence Lendmire’s HELOC program reaches 90% combined loan-to-value behind the existing first mortgage, with no FHA premium attached. For a stronger credit profile the conventional cash-out matches this leverage with no premium at it and one wholesale lane goes higher; eligible veterans can reach the full value, funding fee included, through VA cash-out. Every route is priced on the same numbers before anything is recommended.
FHA cash-out snapshot as of October 1, 2026 · base loan sized on the appraised value, upfront premium financed above it · FHA county mortgage limits apply, confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer and never printed here · taking cash out raises the balance and may extend the payoff · Lendmire is a broker, never the lender.
Informational only. Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend, an offer of credit, an approval, or a quote. The parameters shown are HUD Handbook 4000.1 guidelines and wholesale lender overlays as of the date shown; they change without notice and apply only after full underwriting, including an FHA appraisal. The calculator’s rate is a published survey average, not a quote. Lendmire LLC, NMLS #2371349, is a mortgage broker licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages and is never the lender. This is not legal or tax advice.
What an FHA cash-out refinance is — and how the file is qualified.
Four cards, four decisions: what the new insured loan pays and what it leaves as cash; whether the Texas home clears HUD’s year-of-occupancy rule and its payment-history rule; what the premiums add; and whether the conventional program or a line would reach the same cash for less.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA cash-out refinance program; the rules are HUD’s, in Handbook 4000.1.
One new FHA loan, cash at closing
The closing has four payees in practice: the old first lien, any second lien being retired, the parties who are owed closing costs, and the borrower, in that order, with the upfront premium added to the balance rather than paid from it. On a Texas home the borrower’s share arrives by wire once the rescission window closes.
The occupancy rule and the payment history
The rule exists to keep the insured cash-out a homeowner’s tool rather than an investor’s: a year in the house as the principal residence, proven by the deed and by records at the address, and a year of payments made within the month due. A Texas owner who can show all three before the case number is requested clears the gate.
Mortgage insurance, upfront and monthly
Two premiums, two timings: one share of the base loan paid once at closing and almost always financed, and one share of the balance paid monthly for eleven years at cash-out leverage. The rate depends on the leverage band and the size of the base loan, not on the score, and the table beneath the snapshot lists every band for a Texas file.
FHA cash-out or the alternatives
Same equity, three instruments: the FHA cash-out with its premiums and its forgiving standard; the conventional cash-out with no premium at this leverage and a stricter standard; the line of credit that adds a second lien instead of replacing the first. Lendmire prices all three for a Texas home on the same value, balance, and cash before recommending one.
The order matters. HUD caps the base loan before the premium is added, so the financed premium can push the total above the cap while the base loan stays under it; the cash is measured on the base loan, never on the total. Ask for less and the loan shrinks; ask for more and the calculator reports the ceiling.
Where Texas’ equity sits — and how FHA cash-out fits.
Three statewide Census measures frame an FHA cash-out in Texas: how many households own, what the typical home is worth, and what households earn. They describe the pool of equity and the payments, premium included, its owners carry; the city pages carry the local versions.
Statewide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Where homes were bought years ago, the distance between today’s value and the old balance is the FHA cash-out’s raw material, and that distance is a local fact.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Where Texas’ equity is borrowed with FHA — market by market.
The Texas markets below hold the largest owner-household pools in the state’s footprint, and each has a city guide. The cap, the occupancy rule, the premiums, and the credit parameters are constant across them; the values the cap meets are not.
Houston
Roughly 391,519 Houston households own (42% of the total), a good many with the modest scores and small down payments FHA was built for, which is why the insured cash-out carries a steady share of this metropolitan market’s equity lending. Census context: median value near $277,800, median household income near $64,813, population near 2.33M.
San Antonio
San Antonio’s owner base runs near 289,380, about 52% of households; in a metropolitan market of that scale the FHA cash-out is a routine file: a year in the house, HUD’s cap, the premium, the appraisal. Census context: median value near $235,700, median household income near $65,056, population near 1.48M.
Dallas
Roughly 226,615 Dallas households own (42% of the total), a good many with the modest scores and small down payments FHA was built for, which is why the insured cash-out carries a steady share of this metropolitan market’s equity lending. Census context: median value near $320,700, median household income near $70,518, population near 1.31M.
Austin
Roughly 198,180 Austin households own (43% of the total), a good many with the modest scores and small down payments FHA was built for, which is why the insured cash-out carries a steady share of this metropolitan market’s equity lending. Census context: median value near $555,300, median household income near $93,658, population near 980K.
Fort Worth
Roughly 195,072 Fort Worth households own (57% of the total), a good many with the modest scores and small down payments FHA was built for, which is why the insured cash-out carries a steady share of this metropolitan market’s equity lending. Census context: median value near $303,000, median household income near $79,507, population near 963K.
El Paso
El Paso’s owner base runs near 149,169, about 61% of households; in a metropolitan market of that scale the FHA cash-out is a routine file: a year in the house, HUD’s cap, the premium, the appraisal. Census context: median value near $184,500, median household income near $59,745, population near 680K.
HUD’s program and the homestead rules together decide a Texas FHA cash-out: the cap on the adjusted value with the premium counted inside it, the occupancy year, the clean payment history, the FHA appraisal, the premiums, the score and what it costs, the ratios after the closing payoffs come out, and the state’s waiting period, closing location, fee cap, and once-a-year limit. A loan officer confirms the county limit, which changes yearly and is never printed here.
Four ways Texas homeowners put equity to work with FHA.
Texas homeowners bring four reasons to an FHA cash-out more than any others, and each one changes a different part of the review: the ratio, the appraisal, the sequence, or the comparison with a line of credit.
Capitalize a business or an investment
Equity has started many a Texas business, and the insured cash-out is one way to draw it as a lump sum. Underwriting ignores the venture’s prospects and looks at the borrower’s own income, credit, and occupancy history; the mortgage payment is owed whatever the business does.
Fund a large expense or a reserve
Tuition, medical bills, a family event, or simply cash on hand: HUD does not restrict the use of the proceeds, and they arrive in one sum after rescission. The review asks one question first, whether a line of credit, which charges interest only on what is drawn and carries no FHA premium, would serve the Texas household for less.
Renovate or repair the home
A roof, a furnace, a kitchen, or an addition can be paid for from the proceeds without a construction loan or a draw schedule. The FHA appraiser values the Texas home as it stands and may require specific repairs before closing, so the plan is built on the equity already there and on whatever the appraisal flags.
Consolidate higher-cost debt into one insured payment
Retiring a stack of balances with one insured loan changes two things at once for a Texas household: the monthly outlay falls, and the ratio HUD measures is computed after the payoffs leave the file. The home now secures what was unsecured, and the balance runs on a new full term, which is the part to weigh before signing.
Estimate the cash, the premium, and the new payment on a Texas home before requesting a quote.
The calculator follows HUD’s arithmetic for a Texas home: cap times value for the base ceiling, payoff subtracted, cash request tested against the remainder, upfront premium stacked on the base, the total amortized over the term at the rate shown, the monthly premium and the escrows added, and the payment measured against income and other debts.
Texas FHA cash-out estimate
A Texas example to start from. Enter your own figures to see your own ceiling, premium, and payment.
Editable benchmark: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an FHA cash-out refinance quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $285,000 home value near Texas’ median owner-occupied value, a $157,000 current balance, the FHA cap on a principal residence with the upfront premium financed, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Texas (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
An illustration, not a Loan Estimate, an approval, a quote, or a commitment to lend. The rate shown is the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, used as a market reference; an FHA cash-out is priced by the lender at lock, and this is not an FHA cash-out refinance quote. HUD’s cap limits the base loan; the upfront premium is financed above it; the monthly premium for the first year follows the snapshot’s schedule. Cash available means the base loan the cap permits less the balances retired, before closing costs, which this calculator leaves out. The line figure applies the line program’s combined loan-to-value ceiling to the same value and balance. Taxes and insurance are estimates you can edit. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. On a Texas homestead the state constitution caps the whole loan, financed premium included, at the FHA figure and adds a waiting period, a prescribed closing location, and a fee cap.
Same equity, three ways to borrow it.
FHA cash-out, conventional cash-out, line of credit: one purpose, three instruments, each with its own leverage, cost, and credit standard. Below is how they line up for a Texas owner and where each tends to fit.
FHA cash-out, conventional cash-out, or a HELOC.
This is the cash-out for the file that needs forgiveness on the score, the ratio, or a recent credit event. The premium is real and the occupancy rule is strict, but the leverage equals the conventional cap and the proceeds are unrestricted. For a Texas owner, that is the trade in one sentence.
Where the score is solid, the conventional cash-out wins on cost: nothing added to the balance for insurance, nothing added to the payment for it, and a wholesale lane above the agency cap for the strongest files. Lendmire prices it beside the FHA route on the same value, balance, and cash for every Texas review. See Lendmire’s conventional cash-out refinance program.
The line prices only the new money and leaves the first mortgage untouched. It draws in stages, the payment during the draw period is often interest only, and there is no insurance premium; the credit standard is the line program’s own. The trade is a payment that can change and a second lien rather than one loan. See Lendmire’s home equity line of credit.
Choose FHA when the score, a credit event, or the ratio keeps the file out of the conventional programs and the home has been the principal residence for a year; choose conventional when the file clears its floor, because the premium is avoided; choose the line when the first mortgage should stay and the need is modest or staged. Veterans: see the VA cash-out program.
What to prepare for a Texas scenario review.
The documents are the ordinary refinance set plus two that HUD’s rules add, the occupancy evidence and the year of mortgage history; here is what a Texas FHA cash-out review draws on.
A general guide to preparing, not a complete checklist: the selected lender may ask for more, depending on the transaction, the property, the automated finding, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
Five things to know before counting the cash on a Texas home: what the premiums add, what the occupancy and payment-history rules demand, what the appraisal can require, and what the property type and the credit record contribute.
Use these checks to keep the Texas file clean and fundable.
Before a Texas review, settle three questions: has the home been the principal residence for a year with a clean payment record; what do the premiums add to the loan and the payment; and would the conventional route reach the same cash for less.
- Know the Texas rules: The homestead cap applies to the whole loan, financed premium included.
- Price the premium: The upfront premium is financed on top of the capped base loan; the monthly premium runs eleven years.
- Confirm the occupancy clock: Twelve months as the principal residence before the case number; inheritance is the exception.
Texas homestead rules shape every FHA cash-out
No other state in Lendmire’s footprint adds these conditions to an owner-occupied cash-out, and they govern timing and cost rather than eligibility: the cap counts the premium, the waiting period is fixed, the closing location is prescribed, and the fees are limited. A Texas owner should expect the state’s timeline, and the calculator on this page applies the Texas cap.
The premium rides on the loan and inside the payment
Two premiums insure the loan: the upfront one is stacked on the base loan, so the total borrowed exceeds HUD’s cap by that share, and the annual one is collected with every payment for eleven years at cash-out leverage. Together they are the real cost of the insured route on a Texas home, and the calculator shows both so the conventional comparison is made on the full figure.
Twelve months owned and occupied, with a clean payment history
HUD measures the year to the case number date, which the lender controls, so the timing of the request matters: a Texas owner a month short of the year waits a month, and a payment made outside the month due inside that year stops the file until a clean year has passed. The deed, the address records, and the mortgage history are the three proofs.
The term starts over on the whole balance
Refinancing restarts the clock on the entire new balance, financed premium included. A Texas owner ten years into a thirty-year loan who takes another thirty-year loan pushes the payoff out a decade; a fifteen-year term keeps the horizon at the cost of a higher payment, and the premium rate differs by term as the table shows.
Closing costs and the premium come out of the loan
An insured cash-out carries the costs of any full mortgage, appraisal, title and settlement, recording, prepaid interest, escrow set-up, plus the upfront premium, which is financed. Rolled in, the costs consume part of the base ceiling; the cash in hand is what remains after the payoff and the costs, and the calculator reports the cash before them so the loan estimate’s figure comes off that.
From a Texas scenario review to cash at closing.
The FHA cash-out, step by step, with what each stage settles.
Scenario review
The review is where the Texas owner learns whether the file fits HUD, what the premiums add, and whether the conventional cash-out or a line of credit would reach the same cash for less. It ends with written terms on a conservative value, and nothing is ordered until the owner agrees the plan is worth an appraisal.
Application and case number
The application records income, assets, debts, the property, and the occupancy; the lender requests the FHA case number, which fixes the date the twelve-month rule and the payment history are measured against, and runs the automated system. The finding lists the documentation and confirms the ratios with the closing payoffs removed.
FHA appraisal and underwriting
The FHA Roster appraiser values the home and reports its condition against HUD’s minimum property requirements. If the value holds and no repairs are required, the loan is sized as reviewed; otherwise it is resized or the repairs are scheduled. Underwriting then verifies income, assets, the occupancy history, the payment history, and the payoffs.
Closing, rescission, and funding
At closing the owner signs the note and the security instrument, the costs are settled, and the payoffs are scheduled. The rescission window then runs, and the lender funds when it closes: payoffs to the old lenders, cash to the borrower. The first payment on the new loan, premium included, falls at the start of the second month after funding.
A brokerage built around equity lending.
Texas owners bring the file here because Lendmire arranges the FHA cash-out, the conventional cash-out, and the line, places each file across the wholesale programs rather than one lender’s sheet, and says plainly when the premium is worth paying and when it is not.
Every route, one review
The FHA cash-out, the conventional cash-out, and the home equity line are all arranged here, so the comparison is made on arithmetic rather than on what one desk sells. A Texas owner sees the insured payment with the premium next to the conventional payment without it and the line behind the current loan, and decides with the figures in hand.
Placed across wholesale programs
Wholesale lenders differ on their FHA floors and their cost tiers, and the differences at a given score are real on a cash-out. Lendmire sends the Texas file to the program whose overlays fit it, which is rarely where a single lender’s rate sheet would have placed it.
Terms in writing, before any fee
An appraisal fee on a plan that cannot close is money wasted, so the review is done at a realistic value with room beneath it and with the occupancy and payment history confirmed; the terms are written, and only then is the case number requested. If the value comes in low, the Texas owner already knows what the loan becomes.
Trusted by homeowners & families alike.
Texas FHA cash-out refinance FAQs
The questions Texas homeowners ask most about FHA cash-out refinancing, answered in the order they usually come up.
What is an FHA cash-out refinance, and who is it for?
It is a new first mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration that replaces the loan on your principal residence with a larger one and pays you the difference after the old loan, any second lien, and the closing costs are settled. HUD caps the leverage, requires a year of ownership and occupancy with a clean payment record, and insures the loan with an upfront premium and a monthly one. It serves the Texas owner whose score, ratio, or credit history keeps the conventional programs closed.
How much cash can I take out with an FHA refinance?
HUD’s cap on the adjusted value sets the ceiling, and the cash is whatever remains of it after the current balance, a second lien being retired, and the closing costs are deducted; the upfront premium is then financed above the base loan. The calculator shows the Texas figures side by side with the line-of-credit alternative.
How long do I need to have lived in my home before an FHA cash-out?
A year of ownership and occupancy before the case number, proven by the deed and by records at the address, with a clean mortgage record for that year. A non-occupant co-borrower cannot be added to help the file qualify.
What does FHA mortgage insurance cost on a cash-out, and how long does it last?
Upfront plus monthly, the monthly premium ending after eleven years because a cash-out begins at or below the ninety percent band. Larger base loans carry a higher annual rate; the table beneath the snapshot lists every band and tier.
What credit score do I need for an FHA cash-out refinance?
Two numbers in the snapshot matter: HUD’s floor and the wholesale program’s starting point. Above them the score prices the loan rather than deciding its availability, and the ratios and compensating factors carry the rest.
What does an FHA cash-out refinance cost to close?
What a purchase costs, less the items a sale involves, plus the payoff statements and the upfront premium. Rolled into the loan they reduce the cash; paid at closing they reduce what you bring to the table instead. The calculator above shows the cash before they are deducted.
What debt-to-income ratios does an FHA cash-out allow?
Begin at the reference pair, then add what the file can prove: verified reserves, a small rise in the housing payment, residual income, or no discretionary debt. Each factor opens a higher tier, and payoffs routed through the closing drop out of the calculation.
Would a HELOC be better than an FHA cash-out?
Look at your current mortgage first. A line of credit leaves a good first mortgage alone, borrows only the new money, reaches a higher combined leverage than HUD’s cap, and carries no premium, so for a modest or staged need it is usually the cheaper route, with a payment that can change and the line program’s own credit standard as the trade. When the first mortgage should go, or the sum is large and your credit suits HUD better than the line program, the FHA cash-out is the fit. Both are arranged here and priced side by side on your Texas figures.
Are there restrictions on what I can use the cash for?
Any lawful purpose. Debts paid through the closing are documented so they can leave the ratio; everything else is simply disbursed after rescission. How the interest is treated for tax purposes depends on the use and on current law, which a tax adviser should confirm for a Texas owner.
Is the FHA Streamline refinance a cash-out option?
No; the Streamline refinances an existing FHA loan to a better rate or a fixed rate with no appraisal and returns no cash beyond a token amount. Equity comes out only through the cash-out refinance, with its appraisal, its occupancy year, and full underwriting, which is the program this Texas page describes.
FHA, conventional, or a line in Texas: compared on your numbers.
Three questions open a Texas FHA cash-out: what the home is worth, what is owed, and whether the file fits the conventional program instead. Lendmire answers them, places the file, and writes up the route that fits.
This guide covers Texas — for the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA cash-out refinance program.
All Texas city guides (6): Austin · Dallas · El Paso · Fort Worth · Houston · San Antonio
Related programs: Cash-Out Refinance · FHA Loans · HELOC