People who have modest incomes or are in the process of rebuilding their credit scores often cannot qualify for conventional home mortgages. Even so, many lenders help people in these situations by offering them FHA loans. These loans are underwritten by a federal program that seeks to aide homebuyers who might otherwise be ineligible for traditional financing. These loans also do not require that applicants put down large payments for their homes. People may be required to pay only 3% or less for their down payments. Because this type of financing is designed to help lower income homebuyers, they also may enjoy lower interest rates than those that are charged with traditional home loans. Applicants who in the past have had unstable credit histories might be eligible for this type of financing. This program requires that people be two years past declaring bankruptcy to be eligible when applying for loans.