Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
This snapshot carries the FHA purchase parameters: the minimum required investment, the decision score that opens maximum financing, the upfront and annual mortgage insurance, and the manual qualifying ratios, each read from Lendmire’s guideline source.
Up to 96.5% loan-to-value on a purchase
3.5% of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is lower, is the minimum investment on an FHA purchase; the loan covers the rest, up to 96.5% loan-to-value, and a gift may cover the whole investment.
Decision score for maximum financing
A decision score of 580 or higher is eligible for maximum financing; HUD’s rules allow lower scores at reduced leverage, but the wholesale programs Lendmire places FHA loans with start at 580, so that is the working floor.
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
31/43 is the starting point: the housing payment and the total debt as shares of effective income. Cash reserves, a minimal payment increase, or residual income stretch the ratios tier by tier, up to 40/50 with two factors.
| 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.
An FHA loan is a conventional-looking mortgage with a federal insurance policy attached: HUD insures the lender against loss, and in exchange the program sets the minimum investment, the credit rules, the premiums, and the ratios. The four cards below cover each piece as it applies to a Denver file.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program, or the statewide guide at FHA Loans in Colorado.
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. A Denver 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, a Denver 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
Two numbers to know: the upfront premium added to the loan at closing, and the annual premium paid monthly. The schedule in the snapshot shows how the annual premium steps with leverage and loan size, and the calculator applies it to a Denver price.
Qualifying ratios and compensating factors
The ratios are a ladder: a base pair with nothing extra, a higher pair with one compensating factor, a pair for borrowers with no discretionary debt, and the top pair with two factors. Files scored by HUD’s automated system follow the system’s finding, which commonly allows more than the manual table.
Every input is yours to change in the calculator below: the Denver price, the down payment, the term, the rate, and the escrows. The minimum investment, the premiums, and the ratios come from the program; the payment is what follows from them.
Where Denver’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
Affordability is a local picture. The figures below describe Denver’s owner households, home values, and incomes, the backdrop an FHA purchase is sized against, with the data drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Market context only. A high median value means a larger minimum investment and a larger premium in dollars; a modest median value means a file that clears the county limit easily. Neither changes the program’s percentages, only what they amount to.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Denver neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
Within Denver, an FHA purchase of a condominium, a decades-old family home, and a newer subdivision house are three different files: different property approvals, different appraisal questions, different investment amounts.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The Denver neighborhoods closest to the core hold the oldest housing stock, and the FHA appraisal reads condition as well as value there: peeling paint, aging roofs, and missing handrails bring required repairs, usually settled by the seller before closing. The median owner-occupied home value in Denver runs near $616,000 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Denver 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. Denver counts a population near 719K within the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area.
Condominiums and townhomes
Condominiums are often the entry point in Denver, and FHA finances them in approved projects or through single-unit approval. The lender confirms the project’s status before the appraisal, the association’s dues enter the ratios, and the minimum investment is unchanged. Median household income in Denver sits near $94,718 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
The higher-value Denver file is a limit question, not an eligibility question. The county limit caps the loan amount, and the buyer either adds investment to fit under it or chooses the conventional route for the whole purchase. Roughly 163,555 Denver households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 49% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Newer infill and recent construction
Infill rows and newer Denver construction appraise cleanly under HUD’s standards, and the question there is price: a contract near the county limit needs the limit confirmed before the offer, and a larger investment where the price runs past it. About 51% of Denver’s households rent — roughly 171,873 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Historic districts
Older Denver homes being restored carry two questions on an FHA file: the condition the appraiser finds today, and whether the work needed to meet HUD’s standards can be done before closing or through an escrow. On a home at Denver’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $21,600 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Across Denver, the same questions settle every FHA loan: what the appraiser finds, whether the property meets HUD’s standards, whether the buyer will occupy it, where the decision score lands, and what the ratios support.
Four ways Denver buyers put an FHA loan to work.
Denver borrowers use FHA for a handful of reasons that repeat: the first purchase with a small investment, the purchase on a recovering credit profile, the refinance of an existing FHA loan, and the cash-out refinance on a home with equity.
Buy on a recovering credit profile
Recovered credit is the program’s intended case. A Denver buyer with a seasoned bankruptcy or foreclosure and two clean years of housing payments is inside the rules, with the ratios held to the base table where the score requires it.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
For a first purchase in Denver, FHA pairs a small investment with a forgiving score and a ratio ladder that stretches with compensating factors; the file closes on the appraisal, the income, and the decision score.
Take cash out of a home with equity
Cash-out on FHA is a full refinance of the first mortgage at the program’s cash-out leverage after a year of ownership and occupancy. A Denver owner weighs it against a home equity line, which keeps the existing first mortgage in place.
Buy a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
The multi-unit purchase is where FHA’s leverage does the most work: a Denver buyer brings the minimum investment on a two- to four-unit property, occupies one unit, and qualifies with the rent from the others counted as HUD allows.
Estimate the FHA payment on a Denver price before requesting a quote.
Estimate the payment before you ask for a quote: the Denver price, the down payment, the term, the rate, and the escrows are the inputs, and the minimum investment and the premium schedule come from the same guideline source as the snapshot. The result is an estimate, and the rate shown is a published market benchmark, not an FHA offer.
Denver FHA payment estimate
Seeded from Denver’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 Denver’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 Colorado (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.
The same buyer can often close three ways, and the structures differ more than the headlines suggest: FHA with its insurance schedule, a conventional loan with private mortgage insurance that cancels, or a VA loan for an eligible borrower with no mortgage insurance at all.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
The program’s strengths are the investment, the score, and the ratios; its cost is the insurance structure. A Denver buyer with a modest score and a small down payment usually pays less each month on FHA than on conventional with private insurance.
Where FHA charges by schedule, conventional charges by score. A Denver buyer with strong credit and a small down payment may find the private premium smaller and the payment lower; a buyer with a modest score will not. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
A Denver buyer with VA eligibility rarely needs FHA: the VA loan carries no down payment and no monthly insurance, and the funding fee is the only program cost. FHA is the fallback where entitlement is used up or the property does not fit. See Lendmire’s VA loan program.
Choose by profile: a modest score and a small down payment point to FHA; a strong score points to conventional; VA eligibility points to VA. A Denver loan officer runs all three on the same numbers before recommending one.
What to prepare for a Denver scenario review.
What the lender looks at on a Denver 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 a Denver FHA file actually becomes once the appraisal and the credit report arrive.
Use these checks to keep the Denver file clean and fundable.
Run these before asking for a quote: know where the decision score lands, know how long the annual premium runs at your leverage, and know that the property and the price fit the program and the county limit.
- Confirm the score: the lender’s report sets the decision score, the lowest middle score among the borrowers.
- Know the premium: the exit from the premium is a refinance, not an equity threshold.
- Mind the ratios: documented compensating factors open the higher tiers.
The decision score decides the leverage
The decision score is the lowest middle score among the borrowers, read from the lender’s report; a self-pulled score can land differently. At or above the threshold a Denver buyer reaches maximum financing; the wholesale programs behind these pages start there.
How long the annual premium runs
The duration of the annual premium is set by the leverage at origination, not by the equity that follows. A Denver buyer who puts down ten percent or more sees the premium end after eleven years; at the minimum investment it stays for the term on a thirty-year loan.
Ratios, compensating factors, and effective income
Compensating factors are specific and documented: verified cash reserves, a minimal increase in the housing payment, residual income, or significant income not counted as effective. The ladder in the snapshot shows which factors open which tier for a Denver file.
Two- to four-unit homes and rental income
The multi-unit Denver purchase is an FHA specialty, with two things to plan: the buyer must occupy one unit, and the rental income from the others is documented and counted the way HUD allows, which is less than the full rent.
Condominium project approval
Condominiums are common in Denver and many projects qualify, but FHA requires either an approved project or a single-unit approval; the association’s finances, the owner-occupancy mix, and litigation all bear on it.
From a Denver pre-approval to keys in hand.
Four steps, each with an FHA rule inside it: the pre-approval, the appraisal, the underwriting, and the closing. Here is the Denver path.
Pre-approval
A Denver 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 Denver 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
The file is scored by HUD’s automated system or underwritten manually, with income, assets, credit, and any compensating factors documented. Seasoning after a credit event is confirmed from the discharge or transfer papers, and the ratios are measured on effective income.
Closing
At closing the upfront premium is added to the loan, the escrows for taxes and insurance are set up, and the annual premium begins with the first payment. A Denver buyer signs the note and the security instrument, occupies the home within HUD’s window, and the loan is insured.
A brokerage that matches the program to the buyer.
The value of a brokerage on an FHA loan is comparison and candor: FHA against conventional on the same numbers, the premium’s duration stated plainly, the county limit confirmed before the offer, and the terms in writing.
Three programs, one set of numbers
The comparison on this page is run for real on every Denver file: the FHA structure next to conventional with private insurance and, where eligibility exists, VA. The written terms follow the comparison.
The premium explained before the offer
The FHA annual premium’s duration is decided at origination, and a buyer should know it before signing a contract. Lendmire states it plainly for the Denver leverage chosen and explains the refinance path that usually ends it.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
The parameters on this page are HUD’s and the wholesale overlays’; the terms for a specific Denver 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.
Denver FHA loan FAQs
Plain answers to the questions Denver buyers ask most about FHA loans, in the order they usually ask them.
What is an FHA loan, and who is it for?
FHA is HUD’s insurance program for home loans, not a lender. A Denver buyer applies through a lender or broker, the lender follows HUD’s rules, and HUD insures the loan. The program is built for first purchases and recovering credit, and it also refinances existing FHA loans.
How much do I need to put down on an FHA loan in Denver?
The snapshot shows the minimum investment, and the calculator applies it to your Denver price. It does not have to be your own money; an acceptable gift covers all of it, and closing costs can be shifted to the seller within HUD’s limit.
What credit score do I need for an FHA loan?
The score for maximum financing is in the snapshot. More useful than the number is what sits around it: no usable score can still qualify on non-traditional credit, and a score below the compensating-factor threshold holds the ratios to the base table.
How does FHA mortgage insurance work, and how long do I pay it?
Upfront and annual. The upfront premium is financed; the annual premium is monthly and depends on the term, the leverage, and the loan size. At the minimum investment on a thirty-year loan it stays for the term, which is why many Denver borrowers plan to refinance into a conventional loan later.
What is the FHA loan limit in Denver?
County limits apply, differ by unit count, and move annually; the current figure for the county is confirmed by a Lendmire loan officer at pre-approval. These pages state the program’s structure rather than a number that changes every year.
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. A Denver buyer with family help and steady income is the program’s classic case.
What debt-to-income ratio does FHA allow?
It depends on the underwriting path and the compensating factors. The snapshot ladder shows the manual tiers; a Denver file scored by HUD’s system follows the system’s finding. Enter income in the calculator to see where a scenario lands against the reference pair.
Can I get an FHA loan after a bankruptcy or foreclosure?
Yes, once the event is seasoned under HUD’s rules: a bankruptcy counts from discharge, a foreclosure or deed-in-lieu from the transfer of title, a short sale from its closing, each with its own waiting period and exceptions for documented extenuating circumstances. Clean recent housing history matters as much as the seasoning.
Do I have to live in the home to use an FHA loan?
Yes. FHA loans are for principal residences: at least one borrower occupies the home within two months of closing and intends to stay at least a year. Second homes and rentals are outside the program, though a buyer may live in one unit of a two- to four-unit home and rent the others.
Can I take cash out with an FHA refinance?
Yes, up to the cash-out leverage in the snapshot, on an owner-occupied principal residence you have owned and occupied for the past twelve months. The new loan carries the upfront and annual premiums, and a home equity line that leaves the first mortgage alone is the comparison worth running.
FHA, conventional, or VA for Denver: compared on your numbers.
A Denver FHA purchase begins with a conversation about the score, the investment, and the price. Lendmire compares the programs and puts the one that fits in writing.
This guide covers Denver — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Colorado, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Colorado: Aurora · Lakewood · Arvada · Fort Collins · Colorado Springs
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans