Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
Every figure in this block comes from one guideline source built on HUD’s handbook and updates here when the rules change. These are purchase terms; refinance leverage and the seller-contribution limit are summarized under the ladders.
Up to 96.5% loan-to-value on a purchase
A 3.5% minimum investment opens a purchase at up to 96.5% loan-to-value; the investment can be the buyer’s own funds, a gift from a family member or other acceptable donor, or approved secondary financing.
Decision score for maximum financing
580 is the decision score for maximum financing, and the floor of the wholesale programs behind these pages; the decision score is the lowest of the borrowers’ middle scores, and a thin or non-traditional credit file can still qualify under manual underwriting.
Plus 0.50%–0.55% a year on most thirty-year loans
1.75% upfront plus 0.50%–0.55% a year on most thirty-year loans is the price of the leverage; larger base loans carry a higher annual tier, fifteen-year loans a lower one, and the calculator applies HUD’s schedule to the figures you enter.
Housing and total debt, manual reference
Housing and total debt ratios of 31/43 need no compensating factors; higher ratios are approvable with the factors in the ladder below, and files scored by HUD’s automated system follow the system’s finding rather than the manual table.
| Decision score | Housing / total | Compensating factors |
|---|---|---|
| 500–579 or no credit score | 31% / 43% | not applicable — ratios may not exceed 31/43 (energy efficient homes 33/45) |
| 580 and above | 31% / 43% | no compensating factors required (energy efficient homes 33/45) |
| 580 and above | 37% / 47% | one of: verified and documented cash reserves; minimal increase in housing payment; residual income |
| 580 and above | 40% / 40% | no discretionary debt |
| 580 and above | 40% / 50% | two of: verified cash reserves; minimal increase in housing payment; significant additional income not reflected in effective income; residual income |
| Base loan | Leverage | Annual premium | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV | 0.50% | 11 years |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV | 0.50% | mortgage term |
| Standard base loan amounts | above 95% LTV | 0.55% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | at or below 90% LTV | 0.70% | 11 years |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 90% to 95% LTV | 0.70% | mortgage term |
| Larger base loan amounts | above 95% LTV | 0.75% | mortgage term |
Refinances: rate-and-term to 97.75% loan-to-value on a home occupied for the past year; cash-out to 80% after twelve months of ownership and occupancy; streamline refinances of an existing FHA loan without an appraisal. Sellers and other interested parties may contribute up to 6% of the price toward closing costs; the entire minimum investment may be a gift.
Current FHA snapshot · updated October 1, 2026 · owner-occupied principal residences, one to four units · county loan limits apply — ask a Lendmire loan officer for the limit where you are buying · FHA loans are assumable · Lendmire is not affiliated with FHA or HUD.
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 HUD’s handbook, and may change without notice; eligibility, the loan amount, the premiums, and the ratios depend on the credit profile, the appraisal, the property, the county limit, and full underwriting. A licensed loan officer provides the terms for a specific loan in writing. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. Lendmire is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of FHA, HUD, or the federal government. Lendmire, LLC, NMLS #2371349. Equal Housing Opportunity.
What an FHA loan is — and how the file is qualified.
What makes FHA different from a conventional loan is the insurance: because HUD stands behind the lender, the program can accept a smaller investment, a lower score, and higher ratios than the agencies do. The cards below walk an Arlington buyer through the parts.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program, or the statewide guide at FHA Loans in Virginia.
The minimum required investment
The minimum investment is the part of the price the loan does not cover, measured against the lower of price and value. An Arlington buyer can bring it from savings or from an acceptable gift, and a seller can contribute toward closing costs within HUD’s limit, which keeps the cash to close small.
The decision score sets the leverage
The decision score is the lowest of the borrowers’ middle scores. At the maximum-financing threshold and above, an Arlington buyer reaches the full purchase leverage; HUD allows lower scores at reduced leverage, but the wholesale programs behind these pages start at the threshold, so that is the practical floor.
Two premiums: upfront and annual
Mortgage insurance is the price of the leverage. HUD sets both premiums by schedule rather than by credit score, which is why an Arlington buyer with a modest score pays the same premium as one with a strong score; a conventional loan with private insurance prices the score, which is the comparison worth running.
Qualifying ratios and compensating factors
Two ratios decide the payment the file supports: the housing payment alone, and the housing payment plus every other monthly obligation, each as a share of effective income. The ladder in the snapshot shows the manual tiers; the calculator shows where an Arlington scenario lands.
The calculator applies this to an Arlington scenario: enter the price and the down payment, pick the term, and the upfront premium, the annual premium for that leverage and loan size, and the escrows build the payment. Enter income to see the ratios.
Where Arlington’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
Arlington home values, the share of households that own, and household incomes set the stage for an FHA file: they decide the typical minimum investment and the typical payment. The figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Read the figures as backdrop. Read these figures as the range of purchases in the market, not as a forecast of any one file. The lender appraises the specific home, documents the specific income, and applies the specific decision score.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Arlington neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
Arlington is not one FHA picture. The neighborhoods below hold different housing stock, different price points, and different property questions, and each shapes how an FHA file is built there.
Condominiums and townhomes
In Arlington, a condominium near the job is the first home many buyers can reach; the program pairs with it as long as the project clears HUD’s review or the unit qualifies on its own, and the file is otherwise the same as for a house. Arlington counts a population near 236K within the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area.
Established close-in neighborhoods
Older Arlington homes are well inside the program, with one recurring question: HUD’s minimum property requirements. A home that needs repairs to meet them closes after the repairs or through a repair escrow where permitted. About 59% of Arlington’s households rent — roughly 65,806 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Historic districts
A historic Arlington home is eligible like any other, with the appraiser’s condition findings as the usual detour. Buyers and sellers who expect them settle the repairs in the contract rather than at the closing table. On a home at Arlington’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $31,300 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Arlington duplexes and small multi-unit homes are FHA purchases at the same minimum investment as a house when the buyer occupies one unit. Rental income from the other units counts within HUD’s rules, and three- and four-unit homes face a self-sufficiency test on the rents. Median household income in Arlington sits near $142,114 on the latest Census estimate.
Newer infill and recent construction
On newer construction in Arlington the FHA appraisal is usually uneventful; the program questions are the county limit and whether the ratios carry the price once the upfront and annual premiums are added to the payment. Roughly 46,221 Arlington households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 41% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Higher-value homes
On Arlington’s higher-value homes the FHA loan runs into the county limit before anything else. A buyer above it brings a larger investment to bring the loan under the cap, or moves to a conventional loan; the loan officer confirms the current limit before the offer. The median owner-occupied home value in Arlington runs near $895,000 on the latest Census estimate.
Neighborhood changes the price and the property type, not the rules: the minimum investment, the premiums, the decision score, and the ratios apply the same way on every Arlington street, and the county limit caps the loan everywhere in the county.
Four ways Arlington buyers put an FHA loan to work.
A good use of FHA is one the program’s shape fits: a modest investment, a forgiving score, ratios with room to stretch, and insurance that makes the leverage possible. Four common Arlington uses follow.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
The most common Arlington FHA file: a buyer with steady income, a modest down payment that may be a gift, and a decision score at or above the threshold for maximum financing. The seller can help with closing costs, and the ratios allow for a documented compensating factor.
Take cash out of a home with equity
The cash-out refinance replaces the Arlington home’s first mortgage with a larger FHA loan and hands over the difference, after twelve months of occupancy and with the premiums applied to the new loan; the ratios and the payment history decide the file.
Buy on a recovering credit profile
FHA is the program for the buyer a conventional file turns away: a decision score below agency norms, a seasoned derogatory event, or a thin file underwritten on rent and utilities. In Arlington that buyer qualifies on the whole picture.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
Condominiums are a common first purchase in Arlington, and FHA finances them in approved projects or through single-unit approval. The approval question is handled on the lender’s side; the buyer’s file is the same as for a house.
Estimate the FHA payment on an Arlington price before requesting a quote.
The calculator applies HUD’s structure to an Arlington scenario: enter the price and the down payment, pick the term, and it returns the base loan, the upfront premium financed, the total loan, principal and interest, the monthly premium for that leverage and loan size, taxes and insurance, and the ratios if you enter income. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac benchmark as a market reference, not a quote.
Arlington FHA payment estimate
Seeded from Arlington’s median value at the program minimum; every field is editable and the result updates as you type.
Editable benchmark: 7.03% as of September 24, 2026 · Freddie Mac 30-year average via FRED®. A conventional market reference, not an FHA loan quote.
Illustrative starting assumptions: a $600,000 price near Arlington’s median owner-occupied home value (kept where an FHA loan is realistic in most counties), the FHA minimum investment as the down payment, a thirty-year term at the current Freddie Mac benchmark, property taxes and insurance estimated for Virginia (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 an FHA loan quote; your rate is set by the lender at lock. FHA mortgage insurance follows HUD’s published schedule for the term, leverage and loan size entered; taxes, insurance and dues are editable estimates; closing costs are not included; county loan limits are not checked here. Licensed in sixteen states for consumer mortgages. Lendmire is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of FHA, HUD, or the federal government.
Same buyer, three very different closings.
An Arlington buyer choosing between FHA, conventional, and VA is choosing an insurance structure as much as a down payment. Here is how each one works and where it fits.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
A small minimum investment that a gift can cover, a forgiving decision score, ratios that stretch with compensating factors, and HUD insurance priced by schedule rather than by score. The annual premium on a full-leverage thirty-year loan lasts for the term; many borrowers refinance out of it later.
Conventional financing asks for a higher score and prices it, in exchange for insurance that can be cancelled and no upfront premium. The comparison is worth running for any Arlington buyer whose score sits above the agency norms. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
VA undercuts FHA for the eligible borrower on the recurring costs: no investment, no monthly premium, no upfront premium, with a one-time funding fee in their place. The questions are eligibility, entitlement, and whether the home meets VA’s property standards. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
The decision is rarely close once the profile is known. FHA tends to fit the modest score, conventional the strong score with equity to come, and VA nearly any file with eligibility. The comparison is run on the actual numbers, in writing.
What to prepare for an Arlington scenario review.
What the lender looks at on an Arlington FHA loan, and what you can gather before the review.
This is a general preparation guide, not a universal checklist. The selected lender may request additional information based on the transaction, the property, the credit profile, and the income picture. Nothing here is legal or tax advice.
Local details that can change the loan.
The program’s percentages are only part of the answer; these are the details that decide what an Arlington FHA file actually becomes once the appraisal and the credit report arrive.
Use these checks to keep the Arlington file clean and fundable.
Three checks before the review keep an Arlington FHA file on track: confirm the decision score, understand the mortgage insurance you will carry, and settle the property questions early.
- Confirm the score: a self-pulled score can land differently from the decision score.
- Know the premium: the exit from the premium is a refinance, not an equity threshold.
- Structure the contract: the minimum investment comes from the buyer or an acceptable gift, never the seller.
The decision score decides the leverage
Two borrowers, two sets of scores, one decision score: the lowest of the middle scores. An Arlington couple with one weak file is read on that file, which is why the score is confirmed from the lender’s report before anything is sized or any offer is written.
How long the annual premium runs
On a thirty-year loan at full leverage the annual premium runs for the term; it ends after eleven years only when the loan started at or below ninety percent loan-to-value. An Arlington buyer at the minimum investment carries it until a refinance or payoff, which is why many plan a refinance later.
Seller contributions and the minimum investment
An Arlington contract can shift most of the closing costs to the seller within the program’s limit, which leaves the buyer bringing the minimum investment and little else. The investment must be the buyer’s own or a gift; the contributions cover the rest.
The county loan limit
Limits differ by county and by unit count, and they move every year, which is why these pages do not quote them. Before writing an offer on an Arlington home near the ceiling, a Lendmire loan officer confirms the current limit for that county.
The appraisal and HUD’s property standards
An FHA appraisal values the Arlington home and checks it against HUD’s minimum property requirements: safety, soundness, and security. Peeling paint, a damaged roof, missing handrails, or a failed system can bring required repairs, completed before closing or through a repair escrow where permitted.
From an Arlington pre-approval to keys in hand.
The Arlington process is a standard mortgage process with FHA’s checks layered on: the decision score, the property standards, the project approval where it applies, and the premium schedule. Here is what happens at each step and what the buyer does.
Pre-approval
An Arlington pre-approval is a sizing exercise: the score, the income, the investment, and the county limit. The loan officer confirms eligibility against the program rules and puts the pre-approval in writing for the offer.
Contract and appraisal
With the contract signed, the lender orders an appraisal from an FHA Roster appraiser, who values the Arlington home and checks it against HUD’s property standards. Seller contributions are checked against the program’s limit, and any condominium project approval is confirmed.
Underwriting
An automated approval follows the system’s finding; a manual file follows the ratio ladder. Either way, the Arlington underwriter verifies the income, the assets, the credit history, and the property, and issues the approval with its conditions.
Closing
Closing is where the premiums become real: the upfront premium is financed into the total loan and the annual premium is part of the payment from month one. The Arlington buyer takes the keys and HUD insures the lender.
A brokerage that matches the program to the buyer.
A brokerage sees several wholesale programs and all three government and agency routes; a single lender sees its own. For an Arlington buyer that difference shows up in which program is recommended, because Lendmire runs them side by side and says which one costs less.
Three programs, one set of numbers
A single-program lender recommends its program; a brokerage recommends the one that fits. For an Arlington buyer with a modest score that is usually FHA, with a strong score often conventional, with eligibility almost always VA.
The premium explained before the offer
The insurance structure is the program’s cost, and Lendmire treats it as the first thing to explain rather than the last: how much, how long, and when a refinance would remove it for an Arlington buyer.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
The parameters on this page are HUD’s and the wholesale overlays’; the terms for a specific Arlington loan come from a licensed loan officer, in writing, after the review. Lendmire is a broker, never the lender, and not affiliated with the federal government.
Trusted by first-time buyers & families alike.
Arlington FHA loan FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Arlington buyers ask most about FHA loans, in the order they usually ask them.
What is an FHA loan, and who is it for?
Think of it as a conventional mortgage with a federal insurance policy attached. The policy costs a premium, and it buys a smaller investment, a lower score threshold, and more room in the ratios than the agencies allow. Owner-occupied homes only, up to four units.
How much do I need to put down on an FHA loan in Arlington?
A small share of the price, fixed by HUD and shown in the snapshot. On an Arlington home at the median value the calculator shows what it comes to in dollars; the buyer can bring it from savings or from an acceptable gift, and the seller can help with closing costs.
What credit score do I need for an FHA loan?
A decision score at or above the snapshot’s threshold reaches the full purchase leverage. The score is the lender’s, not an app’s, and the file is read as a whole: housing payment history and seasoning after any credit event matter as much as the number.
How does FHA mortgage insurance work, and how long do I pay it?
Two premiums: an upfront premium, a share of the base loan that is usually financed into the total, and an annual premium charged monthly, set by HUD’s schedule for the term, the leverage, and the loan size. On a thirty-year loan at full leverage the annual premium runs for the term; it ends after eleven years only when the loan started at or below ninety percent loan-to-value.
What is the FHA loan limit in Arlington?
FHA caps the loan amount by county and by unit count, and the caps change every year, which is why this page does not quote a figure. A Lendmire loan officer confirms the current limit for the county where you are buying before an offer is written; a purchase above it needs a larger investment or a conventional loan.
Can the down payment be a gift?
The whole investment can be a gift from an acceptable donor, with a gift letter and the transfer documented. An Arlington buyer with family help and steady income is the program’s classic case.
Can I use an FHA loan to buy a condominium?
Yes, when the project holds HUD approval or the unit qualifies for single-unit approval. The lender confirms the project’s status before the appraisal, the association’s dues enter the ratios, and the rest of the file is the same as for a house.
Can I get an FHA loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
After the waiting period, yes. Each event has its own period counted from a specific date, and the lender confirms it from the discharge or transfer papers; gather those dates before the review.
What happens after my Arlington offer is accepted?
The file moves to the appraisal and underwriting. The timeline is set by the appraisal, any repairs it requires, and the conditions underwriting adds; nothing on this page promises a date.
Can the seller pay my closing costs on an FHA loan?
They can, up to the share of the price in the snapshot. Anything above it is treated as a price reduction for sizing the loan, and nothing from the seller may fund the minimum investment.
Buy in Arlington with the minimum investment and a clear view of the premiums.
Enter your Arlington figures in the calculator, then request a review. The minimum investment, the premiums, the ratios, and the county limit are confirmed against the program rules, and the terms come in writing from a licensed loan officer.
This guide covers Arlington — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Virginia, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Virginia: Richmond · Newport News · Norfolk · Virginia Beach · Chesapeake
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans