🏠 Down Payment Guide · 2026

How Much House Can I Buy
With $135,000 Down?

Three loan options, monthly payments, PMI costs, and the salary you need to qualify — at today's 6.4% rate.
FHA Loan · 3.5% Down
$3,857,000
Max home price
$23,038/mo P&I
+ $2,636/mo MIP (required)
Need: $1100K/yr salary
Conventional · 5.0% Down
$2,700,000
Max home price
$15,877/mo P&I
+ $1,496/mo PMI
Need: $745K/yr salary
✅ No PMI · 20% Down
$675,000
Max home price
$3,342/mo P&I
No PMI required
Need: $143K/yr salary

What $135,000 Actually Gets You

With $135,000 saved, you have three main paths. FHA gives you the most buying power ($3,857,000) but requires mortgage insurance for the life of the loan. Conventional at 5% down gets you $2,700,000 with PMI until you reach 20% equity. Putting the full 20% down limits you to $675,000 but eliminates PMI entirely — saving you $89,760 over the first 5 years.

⚠️ PMI Warning
At 5.0% down, you'll pay PMI of approximately $1,496/month until you reach 20% equity. That's $17,952/year that builds zero equity. Consider saving more before buying — or buying a smaller home at 20% down.

Credit Score Matters Too

Your down payment gets you in the door — your credit score determines the rate. A 620 score vs 740 on a $2,700,000 home means roughly $931,689 more in total interest over 30 years.

💳 Your Credit Score Could Save You Thousands
Improve your score before applying — even 40 points can drop your rate significantly.
Not financial advice · Individual results vary

Disclosure: FRC may earn a commission if you use this link — at no cost to you. This does not influence our data or analysis.

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Will I Qualify? → House Poor Calculator → $745K Salary Guide → $2,700,000 Payment →
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📉 Why mortgage application volume dropped 56% nationally →
The part no calculator can tell you

Numbers like these tell you what you can afford. They cannot tell you whether a lender will say yes — and that varies more than almost anyone realises. In the complete 2025 federal record, approval rates across the 100 largest FHA lenders ran from 98.2% down to 21.3%. Same program, same year.

And it is not simply who applies where: holding state, loan amount, income, debt-to-income and loan-to-value constant, applicant mix explains only a 2.7× range in expected outcomes.

Which lenders approve most → Your metro's lenders → Apply to more than one? →

CFPB HMDA 2025, computed by FinanceRateCalc · rates reflect applicant mix as well as lender practice · historical observation, not a prediction · free, CC BY 4.0.

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FinanceRateCalc · Independent analysis of the complete federal HMDA record · Measured, not assumed. · No lender or AI vendor funds or previews this work.