Loan programs, compared before you shop
Program selection changes your rate, your mortgage insurance, how much anyone else may contribute to your costs, and whether that insurance ever goes away. Two buyers with identical incomes buying identical houses can land hundreds of dollars apart on this decision alone.
Conventional Loans in Dallas–Fort Worth
The default option for most buyers with established credit — and the program where the down payment, the mortgage insu…
FHA Loans in Dallas–Fort Worth
The program built for buyers whose credit or debt ratios don't fit the conventional box — and the one with the most ge…
VA Home Loans in Dallas–Fort Worth
The strongest financing available to anyone who has earned it — and the program most often left on the table because a…
Self-Employed Mortgages in Dallas–Fort Worth
Your tax return is written to minimize income. Your mortgage application reads it as if it were maximizing income. Tha…
DSCR and Investment Property Loans in Dallas–Fort Worth
For investors, the property qualifies, not you. Which means the analysis that decides whether you get the loan is the …
Non-QM Mortgages in Dallas–Fort Worth
Agency guidelines are a box. Non-QM is what exists outside the box — priced accordingly, and worth it when the alterna…
Which program fits which situation
| Program | Minimum down | Mortgage insurance | Contribution ceiling | Usually best when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 3% first-time, 5% otherwise | Priced by credit and LTV; cancels | 3% / 6% / 9% by down payment | Credit is strong and you have 5%+ |
| FHA | 3.5% at 580+ | 1.75% upfront; annual premium often for the loan term | 6% | Credit is thinner, or cash at closing is the constraint |
| VA | None | None — a funding fee replaces it, waived if exempt | 4% plus customary costs | You are eligible. Almost always the answer |
| Self-employed | Typically 10%+ | Varies by structure | Follows the underlying program | Returns understate what the business earns |
| DSCR | 20–25% | None | 2% on conventional investment | The property should qualify, not you |
| Non-QM | 10–25% | Varies | Varies by investor | A recent credit event makes agency financing impossible today |
How to actually choose
Run all of them. Program selection is the single largest swing in a mortgage payment that a buyer controls, and it cannot be decided from a list of features — it depends on your credit tier, your down payment, your debt ratios, and whether the payment or the cash at closing is the binding constraint. Two buyers with identical incomes buying identical houses routinely land hundreds of dollars apart on this decision alone.
That comparison is the first thing we do, before you tour anything. Then the calculator shows what each one supports at a payment you choose.
Tell me your payment. I’ll build the plan around it.
Send the monthly number you’re comfortable with and I’ll come back with a purchase range, a loan program comparison, and what the BuyBorrow Advantage™ benefit looks like on your file.