How Much Can You Borrow With an FHA Loan?

How much you can borrow with an FHA loan depends on two ceilings. First is the FHA loan limit set by county each year. Second is your own budget, which lenders size from your income, debts, and credit. Your approved amount is whichever number comes in lower, never higher. What sets the maximum FHA loan amount? Two separate limits set your FHA maximum, and your loan cannot beat either one. The county loan limit. The FHA publishes a ceiling for every county each year. It is higher in expensive markets and lower in affordable ones. Your borrowing budget. Your income, your monthly debts, and your credit decide how big a payment a lender will let you carry. You get the lower of the two. A high county cap does you no good if your budget stops short, and a big budget cannot push you past the county cap. A mortgage broker runs both numbers before you shop, so you know your real ceiling. How do FHA county loan limits work in Maine and Florida? FHA limits are set county by county, so your number depends on where you buy. The floor and the ceiling are both national figures the FHA updates annually. Most of Maine, including the Portland area, sits at or near the standard floor because home prices there stay closer to the national baseline. Higher-cost coastal counties can carry a larger limit. In Florida, limits swing more by county. A relocation buyer heading from Portland, ME to a pricier stretch of the Florida coast may find a higher cap than the one back home. Always check the limit for the exact county you are buying in. How much does your income and debt actually allow? Your budget comes down to your debt-to-income ratio, or DTI. Lenders compare your monthly debts to your gross monthly income. Front-end ratio. This is your housing payment as a share of income. Back-end ratio. This is all your monthly debts, including the new mortgage, as a share of income. FHA is known for flexible DTI room, especially with strong credit or reserves. But flexible is not unlimited. Two buyers with the same county limit can qualify for very different amounts based on car loans, student loans, and credit card balances. Proof According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the 2024 FHA national floor limit for a single-family home was $498,257 and the national ceiling in high-cost areas was $1,149,825. Those figures set the county-by-county range that decides your maximum FHA loan before your own budget is even factored in. How much do you need for an FHA down payment? FHA requires a low minimum down payment, which is a big reason first-time buyers reach for it. Down payment assistance can lower that further in the right situation. Your down payment does not change your county loan limit, but it does change how much home you can actually close on. A larger down payment shrinks the loan you need and can ease your DTI. If cash is tight, FHA down payment assistance programs exist for eligible buyers in Maine and Florida. Whether you qualify depends on income, location, and the program rules. Can you borrow more than the FHA limit? No, an FHA loan cannot exceed the county limit, full stop. If the home you want needs more than that, FHA is not the right tool. When your budget or your target home pushes past the FHA cap, a conventional or jumbo loan is usually the next step. Those carry different rules on credit, down payment, and mortgage insurance. This is where working with a broker helps. I can compare FHA against a conventional loan side by side and tell you which one lets you borrow what you actually need.

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