If you want to purchase a property that's less than $417000, then you can get a conventional mortgage. If your property is more than that, you'll have to look into jumbo mortgages, which often have higher interest rates.

You can use a conventional loan in order to purchase residential or commercial property. If your loan uses the guidelines established by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then it's a conforming loan.

Use conventional mortgage information to decide what's right for you:

1. Fixed rate loans are a great option for a conventional house mortgage or a commercial mortgage. You will pay the same monthly payment throughout the life of the loan.

2. Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are another option. If you have an ARM on your conventional house loan, the interest rate can vary over time. Sometimes, this gets you a lower rate, but there's always a risk that the rate will increase.

3. Balloon mortgages are attractive to new business owners because of the low monthly payments. However, you will have to pay a large lump sum payment at the end, which could be difficult to do.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Evaluate the interest rates on a conventional loan

Whether you want a conventional home loan or a commercial property mortgage, you'll save money with a lower interest rate. Interest rates vary over time and you must have a good credit score to get the best rates. Nonetheless, it's a good idea to take a look at average interest rates on conventional mortgages in your area before you start to shop around.

I recommend: LoanNetwork.com offers a conventional mortgage list so that you can see your options and look at rates for different types of loans. You can also compare commercial mortgage rates with iBank.

Lock in a low rate on a conventional mortgage

If you are able to get a low interest rate, then a fixed rate conventional mortgage is often the best way to go. You can be sure that you won't have to pay an increased amount, which makes planning your repayment easier.

I recommend: Find a bank that offers fixed rate mortgages to business owners. Bank of America will work with commercial clients, as will US Bank.

Apply for an adjustable rate conventional mortgage

An adjustable rate mortgage may be able to offer you a lower initial interest rate. However, you must be aware that your interest rate will change over time and it may in fact increase, causing your monthly payment to dramatically increase.

I recommend: It's not hard to find banks that are willing to offer adjustable rate mortgages to qualified business owners. Wells Fargo and Chase are popular nationwide banks that have commercial lending divisions.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure you have everything you need before you contact a conventional mortgage provider. Lenders will want to see your credit score, business plan and revenue statements to determine if you are worthy of the loan.