FHA Loan Requirements in Florida: Credit, Down Payment, MIP and Limits

Short answer

To get an FHA loan in Florida you need a credit score of 580 or higher for 3.5% down (500 to 579 with 10% down), a home you will live in, debt ratios FHA accepts, and a loan within your county's 2026 limit: $667,000 for one unit in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, $541,287 in most other counties. You also pay FHA mortgage insurance: 1.75% upfront plus an annual premium. In Florida, the condo building and the flood zone often matter as much as your credit.

FHA requirements at a glance (as of October 2026)

• Credit score: 580+ for maximum financing (3.5% down). 500 to 579: maximum 90% loan-to-value. Under 500: not eligible.
• Occupancy: primary residence only. No second homes or pure rentals, but a 2 to 4 unit home works if you live in one unit.
• Mortgage insurance: 1.75% upfront plus 0.50% to 0.75% a year, depending on loan size and down payment.
• Debt-to-income: manual files top out at 31/43 to 40/50 depending on credit and compensating factors; automated approvals follow FHA's TOTAL Scorecard findings.
• Loan limit: $667,000 (1 unit) in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach; $541,287 floor in most Florida counties.
• Property: must meet FHA standards and appraise. Condos must be in an FHA-approved project or get a single-unit approval.
• Lender: an FHA-approved lender. Lenders may add their own overlays, such as a higher score, so shopping several lenders matters.

Credit score and down payment tiers

HUD ties your maximum loan-to-value to your Minimum Decision Credit Score (MDCS), as restated in Mortgagee Letter 2026-11:

• 580 or higher: eligible for maximum financing. On a purchase that means 3.5% down; HUD describes FHA as allowing down payments as little as 3.5%.
• 500 to 579: limited to 90% LTV, so 10% down.
• Below 500: not eligible for FHA insurance.

How the score is picked: with three scores, the middle one; with two, the smaller one. With several borrowers, the MDCS is the weakest borrower's score, but borrowers with no score are left out of the calculation.

Coming January 1, 2027: for case numbers assigned on or after that date, FHA lenders may use FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 alongside Classic FICO. The 580 and 500 thresholds do not change, and a tri-merge credit report is still required.

Your 3.5% can come from savings, a documented gift from family, or an approved assistance program. Florida options are on our down payment assistance page.

FHA mortgage insurance (MIP) in Florida

Every FHA loan carries MIP in two parts, per HUD Mortgagee Letter 2023-05 (case numbers endorsed on or after March 20, 2023):

• Upfront: 1.75% of the base loan, usually financed into the loan.
• Annual, base loan $726,200 or less (30-year): 0.55% if you put down less than 5%; 0.50% with 5% or more.
• Annual, base loan above $726,200: 0.75% with less than 5% down; 0.70% with 5% or more. In Florida this only comes up where the county limit is above $726,200, such as Monroe ($990,150) and Collier ($764,750). Every 1-unit FHA loan in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach is under it.
• How long: with 10% or more down (90% LTV or less), annual MIP ends after 11 years. With less than 10% down, it lasts the full mortgage term.

Example: $400,000 home, 3.5% down. Base loan $386,000. Upfront MIP $6,755. Annual MIP about $2,123 a year, roughly $177 a month at the start.

Many buyers later refinance into a conventional loan to drop MIP once they have equity. See FHA vs conventional in Miami-Dade for when each one costs less.

Debt-to-income: how much debt FHA allows

FHA measures two ratios against your gross monthly income: the housing payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, MIP and HOA) and total debt. See what DTI means.

Most files are run through FHA's TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard. If it returns an Accept, the automated findings set the limits. If it returns a Refer, the loan is manually underwritten and these caps apply (HUD Mortgagee Letter 2014-02):

• Score under 580, or no traditional credit: 31% housing / 43% total. Compensating factors cannot raise it.
• 580+, no compensating factors: 31/43.
• 580+, one compensating factor: 37/47.
• 580+, two compensating factors: 40/50.
• 580+, no discretionary debt: 40/40, if you have at least six months of open credit lines and pay revolving balances in full each month.

Compensating factors are cash reserves, a small increase over your current housing payment, significant income not counted for qualifying, and residual income.

Florida tip: insurance and HOA dues are in the housing ratio. A condo with high dues or a house with a high windstorm premium can push you over a ratio that looked fine on price alone. Get the real numbers before you offer.

2026 FHA loan limits in Florida

FHA limits are set by county (by metro area) for case numbers assigned in 2026. From HUD's 2026 limits file, as of October 2026:

• Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach: $667,000 (1 unit), $853,900 (2), $1,032,150 (3), $1,282,700 (4).
• Monroe (Florida Keys): $990,150 for 1 unit, the highest in the state.
• Collier (Naples): $764,750. Duval (Jacksonville): $580,750.
• Statewide floor (Orange, Hillsborough, Lee and most other counties): $541,287 (1), $693,050 (2), $837,700 (3), $1,041,125 (4).

The limit caps the base loan, not the price. Above it, a conventional loan goes up to the $832,750 conforming limit. The full county list is in our Florida FHA limits table, and the South Florida math (price you can reach with 3.5% down, 2 to 4 units) is in FHA loan limits in Miami-Dade 2026.

FHA condo approval in Florida

In South Florida the building often decides the loan. An FHA condo loan needs one of two things:

• Project approval: the building is on HUD's approved list. Check it on HUD's FHA condo lookup.
• Single-unit approval: for a building that is not approved, HUD's 2019 condo rule allows approval of one unit at a time. The unit must be in a completed project with at least 5 units, and the project cannot be one HUD has found to have significant issues. HUD caps how many FHA loans can sit in one building by notice.

The 2019 rule also lets HUD set the owner-occupancy requirement between 30% and 75%, and caps commercial space between 25% and 55% of floor area, so investor-heavy and mixed-use towers can fail.

Florida adds its own layer. Since the post-Surfside laws, older buildings face milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies. Unfunded repairs and big special assessments can stall a building's approval and raise dues that count in your DTI. Send us the address before you sign; if FHA will not work, a non-warrantable condo loan may be an option with more down.

Florida insurance and flood rules for FHA

• Flood insurance: if the home is in a high-risk flood zone (zones starting with A or V) in a community that participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, flood insurance is mandatory for federally backed mortgages, FHA included. Much of coastal Miami-Dade and Broward falls in these zones. Check the flood zone before you offer.
• Homeowners insurance: the lender requires hazard coverage, and in Florida windstorm coverage drives the premium. On older homes, a 4-point inspection is often needed to get a policy, and a wind mitigation report can lower it.
• Escrow: FHA loans escrow taxes and insurance, so both are in your monthly payment and your DTI.
• Condos: the association's master policy covers the building; you still carry an HO-6 policy for the interior.

QMS shops FHA across 100+ lenders, so a lender overlay at one does not have to end your deal. We check the building, the flood zone and the insurance before you write the offer.

QMS Lending is an independent mortgage broker in Miami, FL (NMLS #1781090), founded in 2018, with access to 100+ lenders, in English or Spanish. All loans are subject to credit approval and program guidelines. Rates vary daily; call 305-425-1990 for today's pricing. Equal Housing Opportunity.