3.5% down. Built for real-world credit. The loan that gets people into homes when conventional says no.
FHA exists for a reason: most people are not textbook borrowers. A thin credit file, a rough patch two years ago, a down payment that came from family — conventional underwriting punishes all three. FHA was designed around them.
On a $400,000 home in Denver that is $14,000 — not the $80,000 people assume they need. And on the right deal the seller can cover a meaningful share of your closing costs on top of that.
FHA is the most forgiving major loan program on credit. A 580 score qualifies for the 3.5% down option, and we have structured plenty of approvals in the low 600s that conventional lenders had already turned down.
Your entire down payment can be a gift from family. We document it properly the first time so it never becomes an underwriting problem three weeks before closing.
If rates fall and then climb again, an FHA loan can be assumed by a qualified buyer at your original rate. That is a genuine asset when you sell — and almost nobody factors it in.
FHA allows meaningfully more debt relative to income than conventional does. Existing monthly obligations and a car payment do not automatically end the conversation.
FHA stacks with down payment assistance, including CHFA and the grant programs we run that go further than CHFA does. That is how 3.5% down becomes close to nothing out of pocket.
This is the question worth asking, and the answer is genuinely different from person to person. Anyone who tells you one is always better is selling, not advising.
FHA usually wins. Conventional pricing punishes lower scores hard on both rate and mortgage insurance, while FHA pricing barely moves. This is the clearest case.
Conventional often wins, because you can drop mortgage insurance once you reach 20% equity. FHA generally cannot.
FHA, almost always — it is what the assistance programs are built to pair with.
We run both side by side with your real numbers and show you the monthly payment and the five-year cost of each. It takes one conversation, and you keep the comparison either way.
No credit score minimums buried in a footnote. This is what actually matters.
580 or higher for 3.5% down, and 580 is our floor too. The range worth knowing is 580 to 640 — FHA allows it, most lenders overlay to 620 or 640 and decline. That gap is where we do our best work.
FHA is for the home you live in. Not a rental, not a vacation property. You do need to occupy it within 60 days of closing.
46.99% front-end, 56.99% back-end with an automated approval. The 43% you read everywhere is the manual-underwriting threshold, not the FHA ceiling. We calculate yours before you make an offer, not after.
FHA charges an upfront premium plus a monthly one, and on most loans the monthly premium stays for the life of the loan. That is the honest tradeoff for the easier qualifying — and refinancing out of it later is a normal, planned step, not a failure.
The appraiser checks safety and soundness, so a true fixer-upper may not pass as-is — that is what a 203(k) renovation loan is for. We flag likely problems before you spend money on an appraisal.
$862,500 for a one-unit home across the Denver metro in 2026. Above that, conventional is the path. Caps reset annually and vary by county, so we confirm yours at application.
No runaround, no surprises. A clear path from the survey to keys in hand — in 2 weeks or less.
60 seconds. No hard credit pull. No commitment. Em will reach out by text to schedule your free consultation. Your information goes only to Speak Straight Mortgage — we never sell it. We reach out by text first.
We look at credit, income and the down payment you actually have, then price FHA against conventional side by side so you can see which one costs you less. No hard credit pull to start.
Lock in your FHA pre-approval so sellers take your offer seriously. We work with local Denver-metro agents who know these submarkets — commute times, HOA and metro-district costs, and the neighborhoods that actually fit your budget.
We coordinate with all parties and get you to closing on time — critical in a market where homes move fast. We work around PCS timelines and have closed clients within their first week on station.
60 seconds. No hard credit pull. Em will reach out by text — or schedule your consultation directly after you submit.
Complete the survey and Em will reach out by text to schedule your free consultation — or schedule directly below after you submit. Your information goes only to Speak Straight Mortgage. We never sell it. We reach out by text first.
Em will reach out by text shortly — or schedule your consultation directly below. Either way, this is one step. Free. No pressure. No obligation.
Your information goes only to Speak Straight Mortgage. We never sell it.
Speak Straight Mortgage LLC · NMLS# 2426226 · Matthew Wentz NMLS# 1852397