Minimum Down Payment

Minimum Down Payment

The minimum allowable ratio of down pay- ment to sale price on any loan program.

If the minimum is 10%, for example, it means that you must make a down payment of at least $10,000 on a $100,000 house or $20,000 on a $200,000 house.

The minimum down payment ratio is equal to one minus the maximum LTV. If the maximum LTV is 95%, for example, the minimum down payment is 1 - .95 = .05, or 5%.