3% down, with PMI you can cancel

3% down with PMI you can cancel

Conventional does not mean 20 percent down. The Conventional 97 loan in Georgia, also sold as HomeReady and Home Possible, puts you in at 3 percent down. At strong credit it often beats FHA on monthly cost. I run it first for good scores.

The structural edge is the mortgage insurance. Conventional PMI comes off at 80 percent of value and by law at 78. FHA's stays for the life of the loan.

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How it works and who qualifies

• 3% down on a one-unit primary home
• 620 credit minimum, 640 to 660 common
• Cheapest PMI shows up around 720+
• HomeReady, Home Possible cap at 80% AMI
• Standard 97 has no income cap
• PMI cancels at 80% loan-to-value
• PMI auto-cancels at 78% by law
• No investment or second homes
• 2026 Clayton limit is $832,750

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When it beats FHA

At 720 and up, conventional usually wins. PMI lands near 0.3 to 0.5 percent a year, under FHA's 0.55 to 0.85. Between 620 and 700 the math flips and FHA usually wins, so I run both.

Most Georgia Dream and Clayton DPA files here run on FHA. Stacking onto a conventional loan is allowed, but your lender confirms their product supports it first.

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The whole rule in one line: 720 and up, conventional often wins. Below 700, FHA usually does.