Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
The figures below are the FHA program’s own parameters, read from Lendmire’s centralized guideline source and refreshed on this page as HUD’s rules and the wholesale overlays change: the minimum investment, the decision score for maximum financing, the mortgage insurance premiums, and the qualifying ratios.
Up to 96.5% loan-to-value on a purchase
The purchase leverage is 96.5% loan-to-value, which means the buyer brings a 3.5% minimum investment on the lesser of price and value; closing costs are separate, and sellers may help with those.
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
FHA mortgage insurance has two parts: 1.75% upfront, which is added to the loan, and an annual premium of 0.50%–0.55% on most thirty-year loans, charged monthly; the ladder below shows the schedule by loan size, leverage, and duration.
Housing and total debt, manual reference
Ratios are a ladder rather than a wall: 31/43 with nothing extra, more with one documented factor, and 40/50 with two. Borrowers below the maximum-financing score are held to the base ratios.
| 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.
Not a commitment to lend, not an offer of credit, not a quote. The figures shown are current FHA program parameters and wholesale overlays that change without notice and apply only after full underwriting of the borrower and the property; county loan limits apply and are confirmed by a loan officer. Rates, payments, and costs are provided in writing by a licensed loan officer. 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.
The mechanics are the same on every San Francisco FHA file: the buyer brings the minimum investment, the decision score sets the leverage, the premiums insure the loan, and the ratios decide what payment the income supports. Here is how each one works.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program, or the statewide guide at FHA Loans in California.
The minimum required investment
HUD requires the buyer to invest a set share of the lesser of the price and the appraised value; the loan covers the rest. On a San Francisco purchase the investment can be the buyer’s own savings, a gift from a family member or another acceptable donor, or approved secondary financing, and closing costs are separate from it.
The decision score sets the leverage
The score threshold opens maximum financing, but the file is read as a whole: payment history, seasoning after any bankruptcy or foreclosure, and the reasons behind a derogatory event. A San Francisco buyer with a recovered profile is the program’s intended borrower.
Two premiums: upfront and annual
The upfront premium is a share of the base loan, usually financed into the total. The annual premium is charged monthly and depends on the term, the leverage, and the loan size; on a thirty-year loan at full leverage it runs for the term, and ends after eleven years only when the loan started at or below ninety percent loan-to-value.
Qualifying ratios and compensating factors
Effective income is the income the lender can document as stable and likely to continue, and the ratios are measured against it. A San Francisco buyer with a modest score is held to the base ratios; above the maximum-financing score the compensating factors open the higher tiers.
Every input is yours to change in the calculator below: the San Francisco 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 San Francisco’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
Affordability is a local picture. The figures below describe San Francisco’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 San Francisco neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
San Francisco 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.
Historic districts
A historic San Francisco 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. About 62% of San Francisco’s households rent — roughly 224,913 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Small multi-unit homes are a San Francisco specialty, and the program takes them with a higher county limit and HUD’s rules for counting the rent. The buyer’s occupancy of one unit is the condition that makes it an FHA file. The median owner-occupied home value in San Francisco runs near $1,394,500 on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
In San Francisco’s established neighborhoods the appraiser’s condition findings matter as much as the value. Buyers who expect required repairs negotiate them into the contract early and keep the file moving. On a home at San Francisco’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $48,800 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Condominiums and townhomes
In San Francisco, 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. San Francisco counts a population near 830K within the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA area.
Newer infill and recent construction
Infill rows and newer San Francisco 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. Median household income in San Francisco sits near $140,970 on the latest Census estimate.
Higher-value homes
A high-value San Francisco purchase can still be an FHA file when the loan amount fits under the county limit; above it, the program’s leverage is not available and the comparison with conventional financing decides. Roughly 139,057 San Francisco households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 38% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
The property drives the file as much as the credit: the program accepts houses, condominiums in approved projects, planned developments, manufactured homes meeting HUD rules, and owner-occupied homes of up to four units, while second homes and rentals are outside it.
Four ways San Francisco 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 San Francisco uses follow.
Buy on a recovering credit profile
Recovered credit is the program’s intended case. A San Francisco 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.
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 San Francisco owner weighs it against a home equity line, which keeps the existing first mortgage in place.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
For a first purchase in San Francisco, 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.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
An FHA condominium file in San Francisco adds one step to the house file: the project review. Approved projects and single-unit approvals both work, dues count in the ratios, and the minimum investment and premiums are unchanged.
Estimate the FHA payment on a San Francisco price before requesting a quote.
This estimator runs the program’s own math on your San Francisco inputs: price less the investment, plus the financed premium, amortized at the benchmark rate, with the monthly premium and escrows added. A licensed loan officer provides the actual rate, payment, and costs in writing.
San Francisco FHA payment estimate
The defaults are San Francisco context, not your file: enter the real price, the real down payment, and the real escrows.
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 San Francisco’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 California (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.
Before deciding on FHA, it helps to see what it is not: not the only low-down-payment route, not the only forgiving-credit route, and not the cheapest insurance for a strong profile. The comparison below puts the three next to each other for a San Francisco buyer.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
FHA fits the San Francisco buyer whose profile a conventional file would turn away or price heavily: the leverage is high, the score threshold is low, and the premiums do not rise with a weaker score. The cost is insurance that stays for the term at full leverage.
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 San Francisco 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.
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 San Francisco loan officer runs all three on the same numbers before recommending one.
What to prepare for a San Francisco scenario review.
An FHA file is documented more fully than a streamline refinance; the items below are what a San Francisco scenario review typically draws on.
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.
Here is what moves a San Francisco file: the decision score, the premium schedule, the appraisal and the property standards, the project approval, the county limit, the ratios, and the seasoning after a credit event.
Use these checks to keep the San Francisco file clean and fundable.
A clean San Francisco file answers three questions in advance: what decision score, what premium schedule, and whether the property is inside HUD’s rules 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.
- Check the limit: limits change every year and differ by unit count.
The decision score decides the leverage
The score the program uses is the lender’s, not an app’s. A San Francisco file lands on maximum financing at the threshold shown in the snapshot, and the threshold is also where the compensating-factor ladder opens; below it the ratios are held to the base table.
How long the annual premium runs
Unlike private mortgage insurance, the FHA annual premium does not cancel as the home gains value. On a San Francisco full-leverage loan the exit is a refinance; the calculator shows the premium’s rate and duration for the leverage entered.
The county loan limit
The county limit is a ceiling on the loan amount, not on the price. A San Francisco buyer shopping above it either brings the difference as a larger investment or moves to a conventional loan; ask a loan officer for the limit in the county where you are buying.
Seller contributions and the minimum investment
A San Francisco 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.
Occupancy and the non-occupying co-borrower
Occupancy is a promise the lender documents and HUD enforces. A San Francisco file with a non-occupying co-borrower keeps full leverage when the co-borrower is a family member and the home is a single unit; otherwise the leverage is reduced under HUD’s rule.
From a San Francisco pre-approval to keys in hand.
An FHA file moves in a set order: pre-approval on the decision score and the ratios, the contract and the appraisal with HUD’s property standards, underwriting with any compensating factors documented, and closing with the premiums applied. The steps for a San Francisco buyer follow.
Pre-approval
The first conversation settles the shape: where the decision score lands, what the ratios support, whether a gift will cover the investment, and whether FHA is the right program next to conventional and VA for the San Francisco purchase.
Contract and appraisal
With the contract signed, the lender orders an appraisal from an FHA Roster appraiser, who values the San Francisco 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 San Francisco underwriter verifies the income, the assets, the credit history, and the property, and issues the approval with its conditions.
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 San Francisco 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.
Lendmire is never the lender. It is the broker that reads the San Francisco file against FHA, conventional, and VA, matches the program to the profile, and keeps the premium structure in plain view before the buyer commits.
Three programs, one set of numbers
The comparison on this page is run for real on every San Francisco 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
No San Francisco buyer should learn at the closing table that the premium lasts for the term. The loan officer walks through the upfront premium, the annual premium, and the duration for the leverage chosen, and shows the conventional alternative on the same numbers.
Licensed, consumer-purpose, in writing
The parameters on this page are HUD’s and the wholesale overlays’; the terms for a specific San Francisco 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.
San Francisco FHA loan FAQs
The questions below come up on nearly every San Francisco FHA conversation. The answers are general; the figures in the snapshot above are the program’s current parameters.
What is an FHA loan, and who is it for?
An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, part of HUD: the lender makes the loan, HUD insures it against loss, and in exchange the program sets a small minimum investment, a forgiving credit threshold, ratios that stretch with compensating factors, and mortgage insurance premiums that fund the insurance. It is for owner-occupied homes of one to four units.
How much do I need to put down on an FHA loan in San Francisco?
HUD sets the minimum investment as a small share of the price or value, whichever is lower; the snapshot and the calculator show it on a San Francisco price. The whole investment can be a gift from a family member or another acceptable donor.
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?
FHA insurance is priced by schedule, not by credit score, which is why a modest score pays the same premium as a strong one. The exit from the annual premium on a full-leverage loan is a refinance once equity and credit allow; the calculator shows the premium’s rate and duration for your San Francisco leverage.
What is the FHA loan limit in San Francisco?
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.
What does an FHA appraisal check?
It checks what the home is worth and whether it is safe, sound, and secure under HUD’s rules. Older San Francisco homes draw required repairs more often; most are settled before closing.
Is an FHA loan assumable?
Yes. FHA loans can be assumed by a qualified buyer, subject to the lender’s approval of the assumptor’s credit and income. In a market where rates have risen, an assumable FHA loan can be a selling point for a San Francisco home.
What happens after my San Francisco 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.
How does an FHA refinance work?
Three paths: a streamline refinance of an existing FHA loan without an appraisal and with a limited credit review, requiring a net tangible benefit; a rate-and-term refinance with an appraisal to the leverage in the snapshot; and a cash-out refinance to the cash-out leverage after twelve months of ownership and occupancy. The premiums apply to the new loan.
Do I have to live in the home to use an FHA loan?
At least one borrower must move in within two months and stay at least a year. A San Francisco parent can co-sign as a non-occupying co-borrower under HUD’s family rules without living there, at full leverage on a single-unit home.
From a San Francisco pre-approval to keys in hand.
Start with a scenario review: the price, the down payment, the decision score, and the income. A licensed Lendmire loan officer runs FHA against conventional and VA on the same numbers and provides the terms in writing.
This guide covers San Francisco — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in California, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in California: San Jose · Sacramento · Fresno · Los Angeles · San Diego
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans