What Are the Requirements of a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac Loan?

A Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan is a conventional mortgage that meets those two companies' rules, so the lender can sell it to them. For 2026, the loan can be up to $832,750 for a one-unit home in most counties, and you can put as little as 3% down on a one-unit home you will live in, paying private mortgage insurance (PMI) until you reach about 20% equity. Fannie Mae's automated system allows a debt-to-income ratio up to 50% and no longer applies a fixed minimum credit score, while a manually underwritten Fannie Mae loan needs at least 620. Your lender can add stricter rules of its own.

What is a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not lend to you directly. They buy mortgages from approved lenders and package them into securities, which frees the lender's cash to make more loans. What Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are covers their history and role.

A loan they can buy is called a conforming loan. It has to meet two kinds of rules:

• Size: at or under the conforming loan limit set each year by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
• Underwriting: credit, income, down payment, and property standards in the Fannie Mae Selling Guide or the Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Guide.

You apply with a bank, credit union, or mortgage company, and the lender runs your file through Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter (DU) or Freddie Mac's Loan Product Advisor (LPA). These automated systems weigh your whole file and return an approval recommendation. The lender makes the final decision and may require more than the agencies do; a stricter lender rule is called an overlay.

Requirements at a glance

The numbers below come from Fannie Mae's Selling Guide unless they name Freddie Mac. Freddie Mac's rules are published separately and differ in places, so ask your lender which company's rules your loan will follow.

What credit score do you need?

The answer depends on how the loan is underwritten:

• Fannie Mae through DU: Fannie Mae's Selling Guide states that a minimum credit score is not required for DU loan casefiles. DU instead weighs your score with the rest of your file, including your debts, savings, and down payment.
• Fannie Mae, manually underwritten: A loan that DU does not approve can sometimes be underwritten by hand, and then the minimum is 620 for a fixed-rate loan and 640 for an adjustable-rate mortgage, with higher scores required at higher loan-to-value ratios and DTIs.
• Freddie Mac through LPA: LPA makes its own risk assessment of the whole file, and Freddie Mac sets separate score rules for manually underwritten loans.

The lender must request a score from each of the three credit bureaus. Because lenders can set their own minimum, ask each lender what score it requires before you apply.

How much do you need to put down?

The minimum down payment depends on the program, the number of units, and how you will use the home.

The 3% options cover loans up to the "most counties" limit in the loan limit table below; a larger high-cost-area loan needs at least 5% down.

PMI. With less than 20% down, the lender requires PMI, which an insurer prices from your credit score and down payment. PMI does not last for the life of the loan. Under federal rules, you can ask your servicer in writing to cancel it when your balance reaches 80% of the home's original value. You need a good payment history, current payments, and no second mortgage, and the servicer can ask for proof, such as an appraisal, that the value has not dropped below the original value. The servicer must end PMI automatically when the balance is scheduled to reach 78%, as long as you are current. How to avoid or get rid of PMI covers both routes and the ways to skip it at purchase.

How much debt can you carry?

Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is your total monthly debt payments, including the new mortgage payment with taxes and insurance, divided by your gross monthly income. Fannie Mae's limits:

• DU: up to 50%.
• Manual underwriting: 36%, or up to 45% if you meet the credit score and reserve requirements in Fannie Mae's eligibility matrix.

Example: You earn $8,000 a month before taxes. At 50%, your total payments can be up to $4,000. If your car loan and student loan cost $900, the mortgage payment, including taxes, insurance, PMI, and any HOA dues, can be up to $3,100. At 36% on a manual approval, the total falls to $2,880, leaving $1,980 for housing.

What is the 2026 conforming loan limit?

FHFA sets the limit by county. For 2026:

High-cost counties have limits between the two columns, and Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have higher limits. The limit applies to the loan amount, not the price. A $900,000 home in a $832,750 county can still use a conforming loan with $67,250 or more down. Above the limit, you need a jumbo loan, which each lender prices and underwrites on its own terms.

Reserves, occupancy, and property types

Reserves are savings left after closing, counted in months of your full mortgage payment. For DU loans, Fannie Mae sets these minimums:

• One-unit home you live in: none required, though DU can ask for some based on the rest of the file.
• 2-4 unit home you live in: 6 months.
• Second home: 2 months.
• Investment property: 6 months.

For a second home or investment property, you also need extra reserves of 2% to 6% of the combined balances on your other financed properties. The mortgage on the home you live in does not count toward that total.

Occupancy. Each loan is classified as a principal residence, a second home, or an investment property, and the down payment and reserves differ for each, as the tables above show. HomeReady, Home Possible, and Standard 97 are for a home you will live in.

Property types. Eligible homes include single-family houses, 2-4 unit buildings, condos, co-ops, planned unit developments (PUDs), and manufactured homes with added restrictions.

How long do you wait after bankruptcy or foreclosure?

Fannie Mae measures the waiting period from the discharge, dismissal, or completion date:

Extenuating circumstances are documented, nonrecurring events outside your control, such as a job loss or serious illness. If you use the 3-year path after a foreclosure, until 7 years have passed you can only buy a home you will live in, with at least 10% down. In every case you also need to show re-established credit, meaning on-time payments since the event.

When does an FHA, VA, USDA, or jumbo loan fit better?

A conforming loan's PMI can be canceled once you reach 80% of the original value, while FHA charges its annual premium for the life of the loan when you put less than 10% down. Another loan type can fit better in these cases:

• Your credit score is low, or you had a foreclosure in the last 7 years. FHA allows 3.5% down with a 580 score and has a 3-year foreclosure wait. See FHA loan requirements.
• You or your spouse served in the military. A VA loan allows no down payment and has no monthly mortgage insurance. See VA loan requirements.
• You are buying in a rural area with moderate income. A USDA guaranteed loan allows no down payment. See USDA loan requirements.
• Your loan amount is above your county's limit. Compare a jumbo loan with a conforming loan plus a larger down payment.

Ask at least two lenders for a Loan Estimate on each loan type you qualify for, and compare the rate, mortgage insurance, and cash to close on page 1.