Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan For many families, the main obstacle standing in the way of home ownership is the down payment. So FHA loans require very low down payments and allow you to have more debt than a conventional loan would allow. Because this loan is meant to help first-time owners and low- to middle-class buyers, the maximum loan amount is capped at $170,350 (in the DC/Baltimore area) and the minimum down payment is 2.25% to 4.5%. My mortgage calculator allows you to choose from these FHA loans: 30-year fixed 2-1 buydown 1 year ARM