Line C
Conventional
The main line. Most American mortgages run on it, which is why almost every other route on this map is defined by how it differs.
- Backed by
- Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
- Lowest down payment
- 3% on some first time buyer programs
- Mortgage insurance
- Private, and it can be cancelled
What the program actually says
A conventional loan is one that is not insured or guaranteed by a government agency. Most are written to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac guidelines so they can be sold on.
To stay conforming the loan has to sit at or under the baseline conforming limit that the Federal Housing Finance Agency publishes every year. For 2025 that baseline was $806,500 for a one unit home in most of the country, with a higher ceiling in designated high cost counties. Confirm the current year figure before you rely on it.
Private mortgage insurance is normally required below 20% equity. Under the Homeowners Protection Act you can request cancellation once the balance reaches 80% of the original value, and the servicer must drop it automatically at 78% provided payments are current.
Appraisal, income documentation and a debt to income assessment all apply. There is no single national credit score cutoff written into the program.
See what the payment does
Illustrative figures only. What that means.
Principal and interest, worked from numbers you choose. It carries no program specific mortgage insurance, fee or premium, because those depend on your file rather than on arithmetic.
10.0% of the price
A worked number, not a quote or an offer.
Principal and interest, monthly
$0
Property tax, homeowners insurance, any mortgage insurance and any HOA dues sit on top of this figure. They vary far too much by address for a national number to mean anything.
- Loan amount
- $0
- Loan to value
- 0%
- Total interest over the term
- $0
- Total of payments
- $0
Below 20% down, a conventional loan normally carries private mortgage insurance until you reach 20% equity. It is not in the figure above.