Greenville County, SC
FHA loans in Greenville
FHA financing does two jobs in Greenville. It gets buyers with thinner credit or tighter debt ratios into a market that has moved quickly, and through 203(k) renovation financing it makes the older housing stock buyable when a seller will not fund repairs.
The two places it runs into trouble here are downtown condominiums, which need project approval, and the appraisal on a house with original 1940s systems.
Updated
At a glance
- Minimum down
- 3.5% at 580+ credit
- Upfront MIP
- 1.75% of the loan, financeable
- Annual MIP
- ~0.55% above 95% LTV
- Limits
- Set by county — Greenville confirmed on request
- Watch for
- Condo project approval, property condition
The mortgage insurance, without the euphemism
FHA charges an upfront premium of 1.75 percent of the loan amount, normally financed into the balance, plus an annual premium collected monthly. At the standard 3.5 percent down that annual premium lasts the life of the loan. It only falls off after eleven years if you put at least 10 percent down.
So FHA is frequently the right loan to buy the house with and the wrong loan to keep for thirty years. The normal path is to buy with FHA, build equity through payments and appreciation, then refinance into conventional financing once the numbers support it. That is a plan worth setting up at the start rather than stumbling into later.
Loan limits in Greenville County
FHA sets its limits county by county, between a 2026 one-unit floor of $541,287 and a high-cost ceiling of $1,249,125. Greenville County sits between the two and I will confirm the current figure rather than quote one that may have moved. Practically, North Main, Augusta Road and Alta Vista frequently price above where FHA is useful, and Mauldin, Simpsonville, Berea and much of the east side do not.
Downtown condominiums need FHA project approval
FHA requires the condominium project itself to be approved, not merely the borrower to qualify, and a considerable share of the downtown and West End inventory is not on the approved list. Mixed-use buildings have a further complication: limits on how much of the floor area can be commercial. A building can be beautifully run and still fail.
203(k) and the historic streets
An FHA appraiser values the property and also measures it against minimum property requirements: peeling paint on pre-1978 housing, an active roof leak, exposed or knob-and-tube wiring, a non-functioning system, safety hazards. On the older streets in and around downtown, that is not a hypothetical. Required repairs must be completed before closing, and a seller who declines creates a real problem.
FHA 203(k) renovation financing solves it by folding the repairs into the loan and underwriting against the value after the work is done. The Limited version covers up to $35,000 of non-structural work; the Standard version handles larger and structural projects, with a consultant involved. It is how a lot of good bones in this city actually change hands.
FHA against conventional here
| FHA | Conventional | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum down | 3.5% | 3% first-time, 5% otherwise |
| Typical credit floor | ~580 | ~620 |
| Mortgage insurance | Usually permanent | Removable at 20% equity |
| Debt ratio flexibility | More forgiving | Tighter |
| Property condition | Minimum standards enforced | More tolerant |
With credit in the 700s and a modest down payment, conventional usually costs less across the years you own the house. Below that, or with tight ratios, FHA is what produces the approval. I will run both so the difference is in dollars rather than in opinions.
FHA loans in Greenville mortgage questions.
FHA sets limits by county between the 2026 one-unit floor of $541,287 and the high-cost ceiling of $1,249,125. Greenville County falls between them — I will confirm the current number rather than quote one from memory.
Only if the project is FHA-approved, and a good share of the downtown inventory is not. Mixed-use buildings also face limits on how much of the floor area is commercial. Send me the project name before you write an offer and I will find out where it stands.
It can flag repairs the seller has to complete, which is a negotiation rather than an automatic failure. If the repairs are substantial, 203(k) renovation financing folds them into the loan and underwrites against the after-improved value instead.
Not on a loan taken above 90 percent loan-to-value — there it lasts the life of the loan. It falls off after eleven years if you put at least 10 percent down. Otherwise the route is a refinance into conventional financing once you have 20 percent equity.
Programs that fit here
What most Greenville buyers actually use.
From clients
What working with me was actually like.
Unedited reviews from clients and agents. If a review was written while I was with a previous company, it says so — the words are theirs and I am not going to tidy them up.
5.0
45 reviews
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Travis went above and beyond to make sure we understood the financial process of buying a home. He was always responsive whenever we had questions.
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This is not an offer to enter into an agreement or a commitment to lend. Not all applicants will qualify. Information and rates are subject to change without notice. All loans are subject to credit review and approval.
Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation is not affiliated with any government agencies. These materials are not from HUD, VA, USDA or FHA, and were not approved by HUD, VA, USDA or any other government agency.
Equal Housing Opportunity. We do business in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Law and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
Next step
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