Suffolk County Mortgages

A Suffolk County mortgage broker is a licensed loan originator who compares mortgage options from multiple third-party lenders for homes in Suffolk County, New York, rather than offering one bank’s products. I’m Kevin deNeergaard (NMLS #2450179), a mortgage loan originator with Scott Capital Group, and I help buyers, homeowners and investors in all ten Suffolk towns compare purchase, refinance, FHA, VA and investment property financing.

Who I help in Suffolk County

• First-time buyers checking what they can afford and whether a private down payment assistance program could help. My Long Island first-time home buyer guide walks through the steps and documents.
• Move-up buyers who need a sale and a purchase to line up. My bridge loan guide covers buying before you sell in Suffolk County.
• Veterans and service members comparing VA with other options.
• Homeowners considering a refinance or a cash-out loan.
• Second-home buyers and investors, especially on the East End.

If your income is shift pay, overtime, a 10-month salary or a 1099, my guides for teachers, nurses, police and firefighters, union members and self-employed borrowers show how a lender counts it.

Suffolk’s ten towns, and why your town matters

Suffolk County has ten towns: Babylon, Brookhaven, East Hampton, Huntington, Islip, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, Southampton and Southold. The town matters for your mortgage because the town assessor sets the assessed value behind your property tax bill, and some towns, including Southampton and East Hampton, have their own rental rules. Whether you want a year-round home in Babylon or a second home on the North or South Fork, how you will use it shapes which loan programs fit.

The Suffolk market in 2026

Per OneKey MLS, Suffolk County’s median single-family sales price was $760,000 in August 2026, up 7.0% from a year earlier (published September 22, 2026), after a $750,000 median in July. Nassau County’s August median was $911,000. If you are weighing both counties, see my Nassau County mortgage broker guide. For the month-by-month medians in both counties, updated after each OneKey MLS release, see my Long Island housing market page.

A county median is a starting point, not a price tag, so I work from the specific property and loan amount. To see how taxes and insurance change the monthly picture, try my Long Island mortgage calculator. If your timing is flexible, my look at the best time to buy a house in Suffolk shows which months have had the most homes for sale and the most price cuts, from nine years of listing data.

2026 loan limits in Suffolk County

Suffolk County’s 2026 limits for a one-unit home are $1,209,750 for a conforming loan, per FHFA, and $1,249,125 for FHA, per HUD. I check your loan amount against both first.

Sources: FHFA 2026 county loan limit list; HUD FHA mortgage limits for Suffolk County (MSA 35620), CY2026.

Suffolk’s one-unit FHA limit is higher than its conforming limit this year, and a loan above the conforming limit is generally a jumbo loan. VA works differently: VA.gov says a borrower with full entitlement doesn’t have a VA loan limit, but the lender still has to approve the loan, you must be able to afford it and the appraisal must support the price. To compare Suffolk with another county, see my New York loan limits lookup.

Loan options for Suffolk buyers and homeowners

Conventional and jumbo loans in Suffolk County

Conventional loans within the conforming limit follow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines. Above $1,209,750 on a one-unit home, we look at jumbo loan options on Long Island. If you’re looking at a co-op, my guide covers how co-op loans and board approval work in Suffolk.

FHA loans in Suffolk County

FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Suffolk’s August 2026 single-family median of $760,000 sits well under the county’s $1,249,125 FHA limit, so FHA is often worth pricing next to conventional. HUD says FHA has lower minimum credit score requirements than most conventional mortgages and allows gift funds; two- to four-family homes and condos may qualify if they meet FHA property requirements. Upfront and annual mortgage insurance premiums apply. More in my Suffolk County FHA loan guide.

VA loans in Suffolk County

VA-backed loans are for eligible service members, Veterans and certain surviving spouses, who show their eligibility with a Certificate of Eligibility. VA charges a one-time funding fee but exempts some borrowers, including Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability. The Suffolk County Veterans Service Agency, in the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge with offices in Riverhead, Brookhaven and Stony Brook, can help with benefits. See VA loans on Long Island.

Refinancing a Suffolk County home

Owners can refinance to restructure a loan or take cash out. FHA has a Streamline Refinance for existing FHA loans, and VA’s Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan (IRRRL) replaces an existing VA-backed loan with a new one. My guide to Suffolk County mortgage refinancing compares these with rate-and-term and cash-out refinances and explains how a CEMA works. Its refinance break-even calculator shows how long the savings take to cover the costs.

Reverse mortgages (HECM) in Suffolk County, NY

A Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is a reverse mortgage insured by FHA, and under HUD’s program rules borrowers must be 62 or older. Before you apply, you complete counseling with a HUD-approved counselor, and you remain responsible for property taxes, homeowners insurance and upkeep on your Suffolk home. I compare HECM programs from the lenders I work with, and the lender you choose funds the loan. My Suffolk County reverse mortgage (HECM) guide walks through the process, from tax set-asides to North Shore and East End homes worth more than the HECM limit.

This page is not from HUD or FHA and was not approved by HUD or any government agency.

Investment property and DSCR loans

For rentals, some lenders offer what the industry calls DSCR loans, which look mainly at the property’s cash flow. The OCC defines the debt-service coverage ratio as cash flow or net operating income divided by debt service. These are private-market investor loans, not government programs. See DSCR loans for Suffolk County rentals, including the town rules that decide which units count.

East End homes, second homes and rentals

If you are buying out east, decide early whether the home will be your primary residence, a second home or a rental, because lenders treat those uses differently. Two East End towns also have specific rental rules:

• Town of Southampton. Any home rented for any period of time needs a rental permit, good for two years. The minimum stay under the Town Code is currently 14 days; shorter transient rentals are not allowed under the Code.
• Town of East Hampton. Owners who rent by the week, month, season or year must register with the Town and get a Rental Registry Number, which must appear in rental ads. The Town’s brochure lists notarized forms, a Certificate of Occupancy (or Building Department confirmation) and a $100 filing fee for a two-year term.

Town rules change, so confirm them with the Town and your attorney before you count on rental income.

Suffolk property taxes, grievances and STAR

In Suffolk, each town’s assessor sets assessments, and the Suffolk County Real Property Tax Service Agency sends assessment and grievance questions to the town assessor’s office. In Nassau, by contrast, the county’s Department of Assessment assesses every parcel.

According to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, Suffolk’s town Boards of Assessment Review meet on the third Tuesday in May, while most communities use the fourth Tuesday. Confirm the date and filing rules with your town assessor.

If you buy in Suffolk, register with the state for the STAR credit. The STAR exemption isn’t open to new homeowners. Income limits apply; the state’s STAR eligibility page lists them. Suffolk tax bills go out in December, and that’s when the state starts sending Suffolk STAR credits. The first half is due January 10. When the 10th falls on a weekend or holiday, check your town receiver’s notice for the deadline. The state goes by who owned and lived in the house on July 1, so if you close after that, your first credit is next year’s. If you’re weighing a reverse mortgage, you keep paying property taxes under HUD’s rules; my Long Island reverse mortgage guide explains what else stays with you.

Lenders count property taxes in the housing payment you qualify on, so the tax bill on a specific house matters. Enter that bill in my affordability calculator to see how much house you can afford on Long Island with those taxes in the payment.

New York closing costs to plan for

Some Suffolk closing costs come from New York tax law rather than from your loan. The state charges a mortgage recording tax when your mortgage is recorded, and some purchases carry other state taxes at closing; your Loan Estimate lists them, along with the property tax escrow deposit you fund at closing, and your closing attorney confirms the exact amounts. On a refinance, a CEMA (consolidation, extension and modification agreement) can reduce the mortgage recording tax when your current lender cooperates, and your attorney can tell you whether one is available. My guide to how long a refinance takes covers how a CEMA affects the timeline and closing near a Suffolk tax due date. I don’t give tax or legal advice.

Flood zones and insurance on the South Shore

On Suffolk’s South Shore, from Babylon and Lindenhurst east to Bay Shore, the flood zone is one of the first things I ask about once you have an address. FEMA’s flood maps label the highest-risk areas, called special flood hazard areas, with zones that start with A, or with V along the coast, where storm waves add to the hazard. Buy a home in one of those zones with a federally backed mortgage and flood insurance is required as a condition of the loan. Most homeowners policies don’t cover flood damage, so it’s a separate policy with its own premium.

Search the address on FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center at msc.fema.gov before you sign. FEMA updates its maps over time, and when a community’s map changes, both the insurance requirement and the cost can change with it. Outside the A and V zones, coverage is optional, but FEMA says nearly one-third of National Flood Insurance Program claims from 2014 to 2024 came from outside high-risk areas.

Ask an insurance agent for a quote while you’re still negotiating. NFIP premiums are set by the property’s location, how it’s built and what it would cost to rebuild, and the rate doesn’t vary from one agent to the next. An elevation certificate, which shows how high the house sits compared with expected floodwaters, can help in an A or V zone. Coverage normally starts 30 days after purchase, but there’s no wait when you buy it while taking out a mortgage, so it can be in place at closing. I include a required premium when I work out the payment you’d qualify on.

Down payment help for Suffolk buyers

I offer private down payment assistance programs available through lenders I work with. They are not New York State, Suffolk County or town programs and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency, and I’ll check whether one can be paired with your loan when you’re ready to buy. Terms, eligibility and availability vary by program and lender, are subject to credit, income, property and underwriting guidelines, and can change or end without notice; not everyone will qualify. My guide to down payment assistance on Long Island explains how these programs work.

How working with me on a Suffolk County mortgage works

From the first call to closing, a Suffolk purchase usually runs like this:

1. First conversation. Tell me the town, your price range, how you will use the home and what you have saved.
2. Pre-approval. I review your income, assets and credit and compare programs from multiple lenders. This step takes only a soft credit check, so it won’t affect your credit score.
3. Contract. In New York, the buyer and seller typically each hire a real estate attorney to review the contract of sale.
4. Application. You choose a program and sign the application and disclosures. My mortgage document checklist shows what to send with it, based on how you’re paid.
5. Underwriting. The lender orders the appraisal and reviews the file while I track conditions.
6. Closing. You sign with your attorney and the title company, and the lender funds the loan.

Thinking about a Suffolk purchase or refinance? Send me a message or call 631-250-6930.

Frequently asked questions

About the author Kevin deNeergaard Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #2450179 · Scott Capital Group (NMLS #876527)

Founder, The Loan Home Team. I started out as a real estate investor. Now I help buyers, homeowners and investors find the right loan. I work with Suffolk County clients.

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