FHA Loan
What is an FHA loan?
A government-insured mortgage requiring 3.5% down on a primary residence — designed for first-time and lower-income borrowers.
An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration — a U.S. government agency under HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development). The FHA doesn’t make loans directly; private lenders originate them, and the FHA insurance protects those lenders from default risk. That insurance is what allows lenders to offer FHA loans at lower down payments and to borrowers with weaker credit than conventional underwriting would accept.
Key FHA characteristics:
- 3.5% minimum down payment (with 580+ FICO)
- Primary residence only — must be owner-occupied
- 1–4 unit residential properties eligible
- Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) required — both upfront (1.75% of loan) and annual (0.45%–0.85% per year), often for the life of the loan
- FICO from 500 with 10% down, or 580 with 3.5% down
- FHA county loan limits (separate from conforming limits)
These materials are not from HUD or FHA and were not approved by HUD or any government agency.
Not offered by TQL — here’s where TQL fits
Total Quality Lending does not originate FHA loans. We’re a non-QM specialty lender focused on investors and self-employed / complex-income borrowers. FHA is fundamentally a primary-residence product for borrowers who qualify on standard documentation — a different niche.
When TQL becomes relevant for an FHA borrower:
- You bought your first home FHA, built equity, and now want to buy investment property — TQL DSCR for the rentals
- You became self-employed and conventional / FHA documentation no longer fits — TQL Prime Time with bank statement or 1099 doc paths
- You’ve outgrown the FHA loan limits and want jumbo-range financing