Conventional Loan Center
Learn
Careful, qualified guides to conventional mortgages. Every guide cites primary sources and marks its assumptions clearly.
- What Is a Conventional Loan?
A plain-English explanation of conventional loans: how they work, who they may fit, and key decision factors.
- Conventional Loan Requirements
The common conventional loan qualification factors: credit, DTI, down payment, reserves, and property type.
- Conventional Loan Down Payment
How down payment affects PMI, monthly payment, cash to close, and long-term outcomes on a conventional loan.
- Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
How PMI works on a conventional loan, how it may be removed, and what factors influence the cost.
- Conventional Loan Limits
How conforming loan limits work, why they change, and how county limits affect your options.
- First-Time Home Buyer Guide
Conventional-loan options that may fit first-time buyers, and the decision factors that matter most.
- Conventional Refinance Guide
How conventional rate-and-term refinancing works and how to decide whether it may be worth it.
- Conventional Cash-Out Refinance
How a conventional cash-out refinance may work and the trade-offs to weigh.
- Insights
Source-backed educational insights on conventional mortgages.
Reference tools
Alongside the guides above, we publish structured references built directly from primary datasets.