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
The upfront premium is 1.75% of the base loan and is financed into the total; the annual premium runs 0.50%–0.55% on most thirty-year loans and ends after eleven years only when the loan started at or below ninety percent loan-to-value.
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.
An FHA file in Savannah is built from four pieces: the minimum required investment, the decision score, the mortgage insurance, and the qualifying ratios. Each has a rule, and each rule has a reason, which the cards below explain.
For the program overview, see Lendmire’s FHA loan program, or the statewide guide at FHA Loans in Georgia.
The minimum required investment
The investment is calculated on the lesser of the purchase price and the appraised value, so a Savannah home that appraises below the contract price raises the cash the buyer brings. Gifts, the buyer’s own funds, and approved secondary financing all count toward it.
The decision score sets the leverage
Credit does two jobs on a Savannah FHA file: the decision score decides the leverage, and the history decides the underwriting path. A recovered credit profile with seasoned events qualifies; recent housing lates and unseasoned events are the problems the program does not forgive.
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 Savannah price.
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 a Savannah scenario lands.
Every input is yours to change in the calculator below: the Savannah 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 Savannah’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
Savannah 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.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Values and incomes explain why two buyers at the same decision score can see very different files: one buys at the median and qualifies on the base ratios, the other stretches to a higher price and needs a compensating factor.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Savannah neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
Savannah 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.
Higher-value homes
A high-value Savannah 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 26,392 Savannah households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 45% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Newer infill and recent construction
Infill rows and newer Savannah 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 Savannah sits near $57,137 on the latest Census estimate.
Historic districts
Older Savannah 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. About 55% of Savannah’s households rent — roughly 31,800 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
In Savannah’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 Savannah’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $8,700 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
Condominiums and townhomes
Condominiums are often the entry point in Savannah, 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. Savannah counts a population near 148K within the Savannah, GA area.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Small multi-unit homes are a Savannah 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 Savannah runs near $248,900 on the latest Census estimate.
Across Savannah, 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 Savannah buyers put an FHA loan to work.
Savannah 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 a small multi-unit home and live in one unit
FHA finances owner-occupied homes of up to four units with the same minimum investment as a house. A Savannah buyer who lives in one unit and rents the others can count part of the rental income toward qualifying, within HUD’s rules for multi-unit purchases.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
A Savannah buyer with the income for the payment but not the cash for a conventional down payment uses FHA to purchase with the minimum investment and keeps the rest of the savings for moving costs and reserves.
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 Savannah that buyer qualifies on the whole picture.
Buy a condominium in an approved project
Condominiums are a common first purchase in Savannah, 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 a Savannah price before requesting a quote.
The calculator applies HUD’s structure to a Savannah 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.
Savannah FHA payment estimate
A Savannah starting point, nothing more: change the price, the down payment, the term, and the escrows to match your purchase.
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 $250,000 price near Savannah’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 Georgia (U.S. Census Bureau). Every field is editable.
Illustrative estimate only — not a Loan Estimate, approval, quote, or commitment to lend. The rate field carries the weekly Freddie Mac thirty-year conventional benchmark, a market reference and not 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 right program depends on the decision score, the down payment, the eligibility for VA, and how long the buyer expects to keep the loan. Three options, side by side.
FHA, conventional with mortgage insurance, or VA.
FHA fits the Savannah 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 Savannah buyer whose score sits above the agency norms. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
A Savannah 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.
Where each one fits: FHA for the small investment and the forgiving score; conventional for the strong score that wants cancellable insurance; VA for the eligible borrower who can skip both the down payment and the insurance.
What to prepare for a Savannah scenario review.
Most of this is standard mortgage documentation; have these ready for a Savannah review all the same.
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 Savannah FHA file actually becomes once the appraisal and the credit report arrive.
Use these checks to keep the Savannah file clean and fundable.
Three checks before the review keep a Savannah FHA file on track: confirm the decision score, understand the mortgage insurance you will carry, and settle the property questions early.
- 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 project: the lender confirms the status before the appraisal is ordered.
The decision score decides the leverage
Two borrowers, two sets of scores, one decision score: the lowest of the middle scores. A Savannah 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
Unlike private mortgage insurance, the FHA annual premium does not cancel as the home gains value. On a Savannah full-leverage loan the exit is a refinance; the calculator shows the premium’s rate and duration for the leverage entered.
Condominium project approval
Project approval is the one property question that can end an FHA file outright. A Savannah buyer under contract on a condominium should have the lender confirm the project’s status or the single-unit path before paying for the appraisal.
Seller contributions and the minimum investment
Two sources, two rules: the minimum investment comes from the buyer or a gift, never the seller; closing costs can come from the seller up to the limit. Structured that way, a Savannah purchase can close with cash to close near the investment alone.
Occupancy and the non-occupying co-borrower
Occupancy is a promise the lender documents and HUD enforces. A Savannah 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 Savannah pre-approval to keys in hand.
From the first conversation to keys in hand, a Savannah FHA purchase follows four steps. Here is what happens at each one.
Pre-approval
A Savannah 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 Savannah 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 Savannah 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 Savannah buyer takes the keys and HUD insures the lender.
A brokerage that matches the program to the buyer.
Lendmire is never the lender. It is the broker that reads the Savannah 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 Savannah 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 Savannah 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 Savannah 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.
Savannah FHA loan FAQs
What an FHA loan is, how much it takes to buy, what score it needs, what the mortgage insurance costs, and how the county limit works, answered for Savannah buyers.
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 Savannah?
A small share of the price, fixed by HUD and shown in the snapshot. On a Savannah 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?
FHA’s threshold is well below conventional norms, and the snapshot shows it. A Savannah buyer at or above it reaches maximum financing; the lender’s report decides the decision score, and recent housing lates matter more than an old event that has seasoned.
How does FHA mortgage insurance work, and how long do I pay it?
Two parts, both in the snapshot: the upfront premium on the base loan and the annual premium on most thirty-year loans. The duration is the detail to know before the contract: eleven years at or below ninety percent leverage, the loan term above it.
What is the FHA loan limit in Savannah?
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.
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 Savannah home.
Should I choose FHA or a conventional loan?
Choose by profile: FHA for the buyer a conventional file would price heavily or turn away, conventional for the buyer with the score to earn a small, cancellable premium. Many Savannah buyers start on FHA and refinance into conventional once equity and credit allow.
How does an FHA refinance work?
A streamline for an existing FHA loan, a rate-and-term refinance for a new FHA loan on an owner-occupied home, or a cash-out refinance after a year of occupancy. The snapshot shows the leverage on each, and a Savannah loan officer picks the path that fits.
What happens after my Savannah 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.
Do I have to live in the home to use an FHA loan?
FHA insures owner-occupied homes only. Occupancy is documented at closing and expected to last at least a year; a non-occupying co-borrower is allowed, but someone on the loan has to live in the Savannah home.
A Savannah FHA loan sized to the price, the score, and the ratios.
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 Savannah — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Georgia, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Georgia: Augusta · Macon · Columbus · Atlanta · South Fulton
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans