Buying
Six lines are open to a purchase. Which of them applies is decided by your service history, your down payment and where the property sits.
The whole network, on one page.
Eight programs. Four facts decide which of them you can use. Everything below is the published rule of the program, stated plainly or left out.
- ConventionalSteady income, reasonable credit, buying or refinancing a normal home.
- FHAA smaller down payment, or a credit history with some repair work in it.
- VAVeterans, serving members and some surviving spouses.
- USDABuying in an eligible rural area, on a moderate household income.
- JumboA loan amount above the conforming limit for the county.
- RefinanceYou already own. You want different terms, or you want to change program.
- HELOCYou have equity and you want a line to draw on, not a lump sum.
- Non-QMReal income that a standard W2 file cannot show. Self employed, investors, complex assets.
The first fork is the only one that matters
Are you buying a property, or borrowing again against one you already own? That single answer removes at least two lines immediately.
