# Types of mortgage loans, and who each one is for

Source: https://nobullshitloans.com/loans/
By Tyler Rood, Loan Officer, NMLS ID # 2064776, Edge Home Finance, LLC (NMLS ID # 891464). Updated 2026-11-09.

There are fewer types of mortgage loans than the internet makes it look. Most buyers end up in one of three normal loans, conventional, FHA or VA, and everything else here exists for a situation those three can't handle. You don't have to pick the program before you call me: I look at your credit, income, debts and savings, price the options that fit, and show you the payment on each.

## Which type of mortgage loan fits you?

**First-time buyers:** start with [FHA vs conventional](https://nobullshitloans.com/loans/fha-vs-conventional/). It's the choice most first-time buyers face, and the answer turns on your credit score, your debts and how long you'll keep the loan.

**Veterans and service members:** start with the [VA loan](https://nobullshitloans.com/veterans/va-loan/). If you're eligible, it's the first one I check.

**If saving a down payment is the hurdle:** VA first if you're eligible, then USDA if the address and your household income fit, then Virginia Housing's [first-time buyer programs](https://nobullshitloans.com/virginia/first-time-buyer-programs/).

**Bigger homes:** above the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 in the Richmond area, you're in [jumbo](https://nobullshitloans.com/loans/jumbo/) territory, and sometimes there's a way to stay out of it.

**Self-employed buyers and investors:** a normal loan first, if your tax returns support it. Loans that qualify you on bank statements or on a property's rent are the fallback when they don't.

**Not sure who to borrow from:** we all borrow our money from the same place. The difference is what you pay to do it, and who's working for you while you do.

## Disclosures

Individual Originator: Tyler Rood, Loan Officer, NMLS ID # 2064776 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). Licensed in NC, PA, TX and VA.
Edge Home Finance, LLC | NMLS ID # 891464 | www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org. Licensed in all U.S. states & D.C., EXCEPT New York. Edge Home Finance, LLC is a mortgage broker, not a direct lender or creditor. Virginia Broker License MC-7006. North Carolina Mortgage Broker License B-201539. Pennsylvania Mortgage Broker License 81041. Texas: Mortgage Company License, Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending.
Edge Home Finance, LLC is a private mortgage broker and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of or at the direction of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), or any other government agency.
We do business in accordance with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.