Columbus, OH
Columbus home financing, minus the runaround.
Columbus buyers get the full menu — conventional, FHA, first-time-buyer — fitted to the Columbus budget you actually have, German Village included.
Can Choice Home Mortgage help me buy a home in Columbus, OH?
Yes. Choice Home Mortgage helps Columbus buyers and homeowners through licensed partner brokers who handle the Ohio licensing, while we coordinate the Columbus file and compare many lenders for it. We are a family-owned broker licensed in California (NMLS #2629064), and owner Esther Buede coordinates your loan from the first call to closing.
For 2026, a one-unit Columbus home can carry a conforming loan of up to $832,750, the Franklin County limit FHFA sets, and we check where your Columbus price falls before you write an offer. The whole process runs by phone and online.
The Columbus market, read honestly.
Columbus is an unusually strong mid-tier market anchored by Ohio State, a growing tech corridor, and major Intel semiconductor investment; appreciation has run steady and inventory stays tight.
Every Columbus loan starts from that reality. In Franklin County, a Columbus one-unit purchase conforms up to 2026’s $832,750 baseline for Columbus files. Since typical Columbus prices stay under $832,750, a Columbus buyer keeps conventional, FHA, and down-payment-assistance all in play. As a market, Columbus runs solidly middle-of-market. Source: FHFA 2026 limits. We’ll verify your numbers.
2026 loan limits checked against FHFA’s county file; this page was last updated October 13, 2026.
822,000-plus residents make Columbus home — across German Village, Franklinton, and between — with Westerville and Dublin nearby. Ask us about Columbus blocks near the Ohio Statehouse and the Short North — that’s the level we work at. Buyers come to us from German Village, Short North, Clintonville, and Franklinton, and from every other part of Columbus. Columbus buyers reach us in one call; the loan runs online from there, with the Columbus market knowledge built in. We work 33 cities across Ohio; Columbus gets the same discipline as all of them — verify the Columbus numbers, then shop the loan.
How Columbus buyers come out ahead.
Columbus, block by block
We work Columbus street by street — German Village, Short North, Clintonville and beyond — matching each neighborhood's prices to programs that fit.
First-time & assistance
We open most Columbus files with conventional, FHA, first-time-buyer, then layer in whatever down-payment help your Columbus numbers qualify for.
Many lenders, one file
Instead of one bank's rates, your Columbus application sees many lenders competing — that's the whole point of working with us.
The owner, coordinating
Owner Esther Buede coordinates your Columbus loan personally, the named expert Columbus clients would find praised across our Google reviews.
Columbus's file, coordinated by the owner.
In Columbus, owner Esther Buede (individual NMLS #2003644) coordinates your loan personally with our licensed partner brokers, from Short North to every part of Columbus. Choice Home Mortgage has been closing loans since 2005. Meet the family behind CHM →
“Closed in 8 days. I never knew a home refinance could happen so quickly and painlessly!”
Built around your Columbus home, not a shelf product.
Around the Ohio Statehouse and the Short North, conventional remains the workhorse of Columbus lending. Columbus work runs heaviest on conventional, FHA, first-time-buyer, arranged through our licensed partner-broker network — but the full menu stays open for Columbus files: non-QM, VA, conventional, and an FHA loan. Jump in at any stage: buying, refinancing, or just running numbers — apply online or call (949) 522-7310.
Columbus files here lean on FHA, first-time-buyer, conventional, down-payment-assistance.
Self-employed in Columbus? We also work with 1099 and business-owner borrowers — bank-statement income included, plus DSCR investor loans for Columbus investors. Franklin County’s 2026 conforming and FHA limits, by unit count are laid out in full if you’re comparing property types.
Buyers in Westerville, Dublin, Grove City get the same treatment as Columbus files. See all Ohio cities we serve →
For Columbus, OH: financing arranged through licensed partner brokers, coordinated by Choice Home Mortgage, licensed in California (NMLS #2629064). Equal Housing Opportunity. We serve this area; we do not maintain a Columbus office.
Columbus mortgage questions, answered.
How much can Columbus buyers borrow and stay conforming?
$832,750 is the 2026 conforming limit for a single-family home in Columbus, based on FHFA's figure for Franklin County. Franklin County uses the $832,750 national baseline, so a larger loan is a jumbo loan, which each lender prices and underwrites under its own rules. A two-unit property in Franklin County can borrow up to $1,066,250 and stay conforming.
Which programs fit Columbus first-time buyers?
FHA and conventional loans fit most first-time buyers in Columbus, and the right one depends on your credit score and down payment. FHA loans allow 3.5% down with a credit score of 580 or higher, under HUD's rules. For FHA, the 2026 one-unit limit in Franklin County is $591,100, per HUD.
Does it matter where in Columbus I'm buying?
No, not for the financing: we finance homes anywhere in Columbus, including German Village, Short North, Clintonville and Franklinton. Prices shift from street to street, and the appraisal follows recent nearby sales; the loan terms follow your credit, income and down payment. Licensed partner brokers originate loans across German Village and Franklinton, and we coordinate them by phone and online.
Can an out-of-state broker really cover Columbus, OH?
Yes, because a licensed partner broker in Ohio originates the Columbus loan while Choice Home Mortgage, licensed in California, coordinates it. Choice Home Mortgage is licensed in California (NMLS #2629064) and has no Columbus office, so the application, documents and updates run by phone and online.
What if I'm buying just outside Columbus?
Buying just outside Columbus changes nothing on our side; we also arrange loans in Westerville, Dublin and Grove City through licensed partner brokers. Loan limits are set county by county, so the limit is re-checked for whichever town the home is in. Licensed partner brokers originate those loans and Choice Home Mortgage coordinates them, the same way as a Columbus file.
What does the mortgage process look like from Columbus?
From Columbus, the whole mortgage process runs by phone and online: you apply online, upload documents and get updates as the loan moves. Licensed partner brokers cover the Ohio licensing, while Choice Home Mortgage (California NMLS #2629064) coordinates the file and the lender shopping. Owner Esther Buede is your point of contact from the first call to closing.
Make the Columbus move.
Bring the Columbus address or just the idea — we'll match the program and shop lenders for your Columbus loan.