Current FHA guidelines, updated from one source.
Read these as program parameters, not an offer: the minimum investment, the credit score for maximum financing, the mortgage insurance premiums, and the ratios, all from one guideline source that this page refreshes from.
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
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
The manual-underwriting reference ratios are 31/43 for housing and total debt; with documented compensating factors the ladder below stretches them, and automated underwriting commonly allows more than the manual reference.
| 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.
For informational purposes only. This is not a commitment to lend or extend credit, an offer, or a quote. Program parameters shown are FHA guidelines and wholesale lender overlays, are subject to change without notice, and every figure depends on the borrower, the property, the selected program, and full underwriting. The rate, the payment, and any costs for a specific loan are provided in writing by a licensed loan officer. County loan limits apply and are confirmed by a 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.
An FHA file in Tacoma 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 Washington.
The minimum required investment
The investment is calculated on the lesser of the purchase price and the appraised value, so a Tacoma 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
FHA reads credit through the decision score, and the threshold for maximum financing is far below conventional norms. A thin file or a non-traditional credit history is not a bar: it is underwritten manually on rent, utilities, and other payment records, with the ratios held to the base table.
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
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.
The calculator applies this to a Tacoma 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 Tacoma’s first-time and moderate-income buyers shop — and how FHA fits.
Affordability is a local picture. The figures below describe Tacoma’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.
Citywide figures provide general market context, not an appraisal or an income calculation. Household income matters for the ratios, value for the investment and the premium, and the county limit for the ceiling; the Census tells you the market, the file tells you the loan.
Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-Year (2024) housing and population estimates, including tenure, home values, gross rents, and household income.
Distinct Tacoma neighborhoods, distinct FHA files.
A loan follows the house. These Tacoma submarkets differ in the property types the program accepts, the condition questions the appraisal raises, and the prices a typical buyer carries, which is what the cards below describe.
Newer infill and recent construction
On newer construction in Tacoma 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 51,893 Tacoma households own their homes on the latest Census estimate — 56% of all households, the pool an FHA purchase joins.
Condominiums and townhomes
In Tacoma, 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. The median owner-occupied home value in Tacoma runs near $479,600 on the latest Census estimate.
Established close-in neighborhoods
The Tacoma 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. Median household income in Tacoma sits near $85,884 on the latest Census estimate.
Two-to-four-unit homes
Small multi-unit homes are a Tacoma 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. About 44% of Tacoma’s households rent — roughly 41,140 renter households on the latest Census estimate.
Historic districts
Tacoma’s historic neighborhoods are where FHA appraisals most often return required repairs: older systems, lead-era paint, and deferred maintenance all touch HUD’s property standards. Repairs are completed before closing or escrowed where the program permits. Tacoma counts a population near 223K within the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA area.
Higher-value homes
A high-value Tacoma 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. On a home at Tacoma’s median value, the FHA minimum investment comes to about $16,800 — the cash the program asks a buyer to bring before closing costs.
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 Tacoma buyers put an FHA loan to work.
Because FHA insures the lender, it fits the Tacoma borrower who has the income for the payment but not the profile a conventional loan asks for. Four examples follow.
Buy a first home with the minimum investment
The most common Tacoma 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 Tacoma 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 a condominium in an approved project
Condominiums are a common first purchase in Tacoma, 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.
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 Tacoma that buyer qualifies on the whole picture.
Estimate the FHA payment on a Tacoma price before requesting a quote.
This estimator runs the program’s own math on your Tacoma 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.
Tacoma FHA payment estimate
The defaults are Tacoma 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 $480,000 price near Tacoma’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 Washington (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.
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 Tacoma buyer whose score sits above the agency norms. See Lendmire’s conventional loan program.
A Tacoma 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.
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 a Tacoma scenario review.
Most of this is standard mortgage documentation; have these ready for a Tacoma 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.
A few local and structural details change the size of a Tacoma FHA loan, or whether the file is eligible at all. The ones that come up most often are below.
Use these checks to keep the Tacoma 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.
- Match the occupancy: a family-member co-borrower who will not occupy keeps full leverage on a one-unit home.
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 Tacoma buyer reaches maximum financing; the wholesale programs behind these pages start there.
How long the annual premium runs
Unlike private mortgage insurance, the FHA annual premium does not cancel as the home gains value. On a Tacoma full-leverage loan the exit is a refinance; the calculator shows the premium’s rate and duration for the leverage entered.
Occupancy and the non-occupying co-borrower
FHA loans are for owner-occupied principal residences: at least one borrower moves in within two months of closing and stays at least a year. A Tacoma parent helping an adult child can sign as a non-occupying co-borrower under HUD’s family rules, at full leverage on a single-unit home.
Condominium project approval
Project approval is the one property question that can end an FHA file outright. A Tacoma 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.
Ratios, compensating factors, and effective income
The ratios are measured on effective income, the income the lender can document as stable and likely to continue. A Tacoma buyer above the base ratios needs a documented compensating factor, and a buyer below the maximum-financing score is held to the base table with no stretch.
From a Tacoma pre-approval to keys in hand.
The Tacoma 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
A Tacoma 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
The appraisal is the FHA step that surprises buyers most: it reports on condition as well as value. Required repairs are negotiated with the seller, and a low value raises the investment; the Tacoma contract is adjusted or the file moves on.
Underwriting
An automated approval follows the system’s finding; a manual file follows the ratio ladder. Either way, the Tacoma 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 Tacoma 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 Tacoma 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 Tacoma 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 Tacoma 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 Tacoma 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.
Tacoma 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 Tacoma 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 Tacoma?
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 Tacoma 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?
FHA’s threshold is well below conventional norms, and the snapshot shows it. A Tacoma 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?
The upfront premium is added to the loan at closing; the annual premium is part of every payment. How long the annual premium lasts depends on the leverage at origination: eleven years when the loan starts at or below ninety percent of value, otherwise the life of the loan. The snapshot ladder shows the schedule.
What is the FHA loan limit in Tacoma?
The limit is set by county and revised each year, so ask a loan officer for the current figure where you are buying. It caps the loan, not the price: a Tacoma buyer above the limit brings the difference as a larger investment or moves to a conventional loan.
What debt-to-income ratio does FHA allow?
The manual-underwriting reference ratios are in the snapshot: the housing payment and the total debt as shares of effective income. With documented compensating factors the ladder stretches them tier by tier, and files scored by HUD’s automated system follow the system’s finding, which commonly allows more than the manual table.
Can I use an FHA loan to buy a condominium?
In an approved project or through single-unit approval. A Tacoma buyer under contract on a condominium should have the lender check the status early, because a project with neither cannot close as an FHA loan.
What does an FHA appraisal check?
Both the value and HUD’s property standards. Peeling paint, roof damage, missing handrails, or a failed system can bring required repairs, usually settled by the seller before closing on a Tacoma purchase.
Can I combine an FHA loan with down payment help?
The FHA loan accepts approved assistance toward the minimum investment. For what is available and how it is structured, see the Down Payment Assistance program; this page is the FHA loan itself.
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.
From a Tacoma pre-approval to keys in hand.
Ready when you are: a Tacoma review sizes the loan, settles the program, and delivers the written terms. Nothing on this page is a commitment to lend.
This guide covers Tacoma — for the statewide guidelines, markets, and scenarios, see FHA Loans in Washington, part of Lendmire’s FHA loan program.
Nearby markets in Washington: Kent · Seattle · Bellevue · Vancouver · Spokane
Related programs: Down Payment Assistance · FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans · Conventional Loans