Getting a conventional loan in Georgia: numbers, limits and rules

A conventional loan in Georgia is priced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s national rules, then shaped by local facts: a $330,000 median, property tax near 0.87%, attorney closings, and a baseline conforming limit of $832,750. Here are the numbers and the rules, in that order.

Loan limits: the Georgia picture

In Georgia, a one-unit conventional loan above $832,750 is jumbo in 2026. The median price of about $330,000 means the median buyer is well inside the limit even with 3% down (loan $320,100), so conforming rules apply to most purchases. Two-, three- and four-unit homes have higher limits. Every Georgia county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

2026 conforming loan limits by county in Georgia

FHFA sets the limit county by county, but for 2026 every one of Georgia’s 159 counties sits at the national baseline: $832,750 for a one-unit home, $1,066,250 for two units, $1,288,800 for three and $1,601,750 for four. The table is here so you can confirm your county rather than assume.

Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (county list, mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026). Limits are for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans; FHA and VA use their own county figures.

Monthly cost on a $330,000 Georgia home

Worked at an illustrative 6.5% over 30 years on the $330,000 median. PMI uses order-of-magnitude annual rates by down payment; tax uses Georgia’s approximate 0.87% effective rate. Your county, score and insurer will move every column.

Under 20% down, conventional loans require mortgage insurance until the loan-to-value falls; the next section gives the ${e.nom} timeline. Payment tables at other amounts and rates: mortgage payment tables.

How long you pay PMI here

Three dates matter: the month the balance hits 80% of the original price (you ask), 78% (the servicer must act) and the loan’s midpoint (cancellation regardless of value, if current). On Georgia’s median with 5% down at 6.5%, the schedule reaches 80% in about 10 years and 4 months; with 3% down, about 11 years and 1 months; with 10% down, about 7 years and 11 months. Over that time the 5% buyer pays roughly $24,304 in PMI at $196 a month.

Closing costs and taxes in Georgia

Georgia is an attorney-closing state by decision of its Supreme Court: only a Georgia-licensed attorney may conduct a residential closing and disburse the funds, and the attorney must be physically present rather than delegating to a notary (Formal Advisory Opinion 13-1). The closing attorney represents the lender, examines title, prepares the security deed and the warranty deed, and funds the same day under Georgia’s good-funds rule. Georgia uses a security deed (deed to secure debt) with a power of sale instead of a mortgage, which makes it a title-theory state.

Georgia imposes an intangible recording tax on long-term notes (those due more than three years out) of $1.50 per $500 of principal — $3 per $1,000, capped at $25,000 — payable by the borrower when the security deed is recorded (O.C.G.A. § 48-6-61); short-term notes are exempt. A separate real estate transfer tax of $1 per $1,000 applies to the deed and is customarily paid by the seller. Each county also charges a per-page recording fee. Georgia’s real estate transfer tax is $1 per $1,000 (0.1%), customarily paid by the seller, plus an intangible recording tax of $1.50 per $500 of the loan amount (0.3%) that the borrower usually pays.

Georgia closings are conducted by attorneys; buyer costs — intangible tax, attorney, title insurance, lender fees — typically total 2% to 3% of the price.

Three Georgia rules to read before signing

Prepayment. The Georgia Fair Lending Act restricts prepayment penalties on home loans and prohibits them on high-cost home loans, and after the 2003 amendments most remaining limits track federal law, so the practical rule is the qualified-mortgage cap of three years and declining percentages. On a conforming loan the question is moot — the agencies do not accept penalties — but check a portfolio or jumbo note.

Spouses and title. Georgia is a separate-property state; dower was abolished in 1969 and there is no homestead joinder requirement, so a spouse who is not on title does not have to sign the security deed.

Homestead. Georgia opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions and protects $21,500 of equity in the debtor’s residence ($43,000 for a married couple filing together) under O.C.G.A. § 44-13-100, while the older constitutional homestead in § 44-13-1 is only a few thousand dollars; neither defeats a security deed, tax lien or HOA lien.

The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in Georgia.

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Georgia for 2026?

$832,750 for a single-family home, identical across Georgia’s 159 counties because FHFA found no high-cost area in the state for 2026. A loan above it is jumbo; a conforming first plus a second lien is the usual way to stay under.

When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in Georgia?

Two thresholds apply everywhere, including Georgia: you may ask at 80% loan-to-value (original value, good payment history) and the servicer must stop charging at 78%. Scheduled payments on a $313,500 loan at 6.5% reach 80% of a $330,000 price after about 10 years and 4 months. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also allow cancellation on a new appraisal after enough seasoning.

Does Georgia add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?

Georgia imposes an intangible recording tax on long-term notes (those due more than three years out) of $1.50 per $500 of principal — $3 per $1,000, capped at $25,000 — payable by the borrower when the security deed is recorded (O.C.G.A. § 48-6-61); short-term notes are exempt. Georgia’s real estate transfer tax is $1 per $1,000 (0.1%), customarily paid by the seller, plus an intangible recording tax of $1.50 per $500 of the loan amount (0.3%) that the borrower usually pays. Georgia closings are conducted by attorneys; buyer costs — intangible tax, attorney, title insurance, lender fees — typically total 2% to 3% of the price.

Related: USDA vs VA vs FHA vs conventional: the four loan types compared, 2026 conforming loan limits: $832,750 in most counties, up to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas, 30-year vs 15-year mortgage: the real trade-off, with the numbers, ARM vs fixed-rate mortgage: when an adjustable rate makes sense. First home in Georgia: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.