Loan Paths, Decoded
Five paths, in plain English. Use these as starting points, not self approval rules. The details matter more than the label, and the details start with where you are looking.
A flexible mainstream option that can reward stronger credit and larger down payments. It can work for a primary home, a second home, or an investment property, so it is the path most buyers compare everything else against.
Conventional can start at 3% down for some buyers. Put down less than 20% and mortgage insurance usually applies. That is a charge added to the monthly payment, and it can come off later once you own enough of the home.
Good to know: pricing changes with credit, down payment, and property type, so the same loan can look very different from one buyer to the next.
Often useful when the down payment is smaller or the credit profile needs more flexibility. FHA is built for primary residences, the home you will live in.
FHA starts at 3.5% down. Mortgage insurance is part of the loan: a fee rolled into the loan up front, plus a charge added to the monthly payment. In plain words, mortgage insurance protects the lender, not you, and it is part of why FHA can say yes with less money down.
Good to know: the property has to meet FHA appraisal and condition standards, so the home itself is part of the approval.
A strong option for eligible service members, veterans, and certain surviving spouses. If you earned the benefit, this is usually the first path we check.
Eligible veterans can buy with 0% down, and there is no monthly mortgage insurance. A one-time funding fee may apply unless you are exempt, and it can be rolled into the loan.
Good to know: your Certificate of Eligibility and the entitlement you have left drive the details, so we pull that early.
For qualifying buyers purchasing an eligible primary home in an eligible rural area. Rural covers more ground than the name suggests, so it is worth an address check before you rule it out.
USDA can be 0% down. Household income limits apply, the property address must qualify, and upfront and annual guarantee fees may apply.
Good to know: the address decides a lot. The same buyer can qualify on one street and not the next, which is why the ZIP comes first on this page.
Built for buyers whose tax returns do not tell the full story, especially self-employed buyers. Business owners write off everything they can, which is smart at tax time and rough on a standard mortgage application.
Down payments and terms vary widely. Instead of tax returns, a bank statement loan reads your bank deposits to show what you actually bring in, so the write-offs that shrink your taxable income do not shrink the income we can use.
Good to know: these loans usually carry different pricing and tradeoffs than a standard loan. Sometimes the trade is worth it and sometimes it is not, and we can price both paths side by side.
Most people are not, and that is fine. You do not need to pick a loan before we talk. Bring your goal, your timeline, and your biggest concern, and we will sort the paths together.