Conventional Loans
Conventional loans are not underwritten by a federal agency but
are insured by private investors. Borrower qualification for a conventional
loan is more stringent than for FHA or VA loans. A buyer's maximum
house payment (PITI) for a conventional loan is generally 25 to
28 percent of gross monthly income. Total debts cannot exceed 33
to 36 percent, which includes the mortgage payment.
Historically, the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) on a conventional loan
has been 80% or less of the value of the property, which is quite
a bit lower than FHA and VA loans. FHA insures loans up to 97 percent
and VA loans insures up to 100 percent, requiring little or no money
down.
For example: If a property is valued at $100,000 secured by a $80,000
loan then the LTV is 80 percent.
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Conventional Loans: These loans are not insured or guaranteed by the federal government.
Government loans: These types of loans consist of VA (for veterans) and FHA (first time home buyer, troubled credit, little or no money down) Loans
Fixed rate mortgage Loan (FRM): Interest rate and monthly mortgage payments remain the same for the duration of the loan.
Adjustable rate mortgages (ARM): Interest rate and monthly mortgage payments fluctuate over the period of the loan.
Balloon Loans: A short-term fixed-rate loan with low payments for a set number of years and one large final balloon payment of the remainder of the principal.