CONVENTIONAL LOANS

When buying a home, many people opt for conventional loan, a type of mortgage that's readily available from most lenders. Conventional loans aren't backed by a govenment agency, buty they usually follow some govenment guidelines. Most conventional loans conform to loan limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency and follow the credit score and down paymnet minimums set by the government-sponsored enterprises known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In general, any borrower with solid credit and some money for a down payment will satisfy conventional loan quialification requirements.

However, because conventional loans aren’t insured or guaranteed by the government, their eligibility requirements for borrowers are usually tougher to meet than the requirements for government-backed mortgages. These include FHA loans, which are insured by the Federal Housing Administration; VA loans, guaranteed in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs; and USDA loans, the program run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.