But easiest doesn’t always equal cheaper or better.

Because they are insured by the Federal Housing Administration, the mortgages allow down payments as low as 3.5 percent and have less stringent underwriting guidelines than conventional loans.

But they carry a price sometimes significantly higher than that of a conventional loan.

FHA interest rates may seem slightly lower than those of conventional loans, but they can end up being more expensive because mortgage insurance costs are included in the monthly mortgage payments.

Loans with less than 20 percent down generally have to carry mortgage insurance, but the insurance on FHA loans is more expensive than on conventional loans. In addition, FHA borrowers are charged an up-front fee of 1 percent of the total loan amount, often added to the total amount borrowed.

For buyers who don’t have at least 5 percent for a down payment or whose credit scores are not high enough to qualify for a conventional loan, an FHA loan may work.

Unlike with conventional loans, FHA allows borrowers to receive down payment money as a gift from a relative.

For a conventional loan, a borrower must demonstrate that at least 5 percent came from his own savings.

Those who went through bankruptcy or foreclosure between two and five years ago may benefit from an FHA loan, said Jack Guttentag, a finance professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Conventional loans require a five-year wait, he said.

In general, a borrower with a credit score above 720 who can put down 20 percent should stick with a conventional loan, said Matt Hackett, underwriting manager at Equity Now, a direct mortgage lender in New York City.

A mortgage broker or loan officer should be able to provide a detailed comparison of an FHA loan and a conventional loan, including up-front fees, mortgage insurance costs, and monthly payment estimates.

The legislation would provide additional funding to allow states to guarantee loans for small businesses that qualify. The national proposal is similar to a Maryland program that guarantees loans through community banks. A companion bill is pending in the Senate.

Mary Bass, vice president of Bass Machining, said a state-guaranteed loan allowed her Baltimore machinery manufacturing company to obtain a larger loan to buy needed equipment and open a line of credit to help complete a project than if the company had obtained a loan without the guarantee.

While the company’s regular lender, Bank of America, had approved a loan, it was for less and would have required more personal assets to be put up for collateral than with the state-guaranteed loan the company received through The Harbor Bank of Maryland in Baltimore, Bass said.

The loan was easier to obtain than other loans she had heard about involving the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“I’ve heard horror stories of those,” Bass said.

The company, which has made parts for customers ranging from the container industry to NASA, has 13 full- and three part-time workers, she said.

“If you need something made, we have a machine that will make it,” Bass said.

The House bill would provide $20 billion for states to expand their capital access programs in addition to an additional $30 billion small-business loan program.

Last month, Johansson, of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, testified that small businesses employ about half of all workers, but find it difficult to get the loans they needed to expand.

“In the aftermath of Wall Street excesses, banks have been forced to adopt significantly stricter banking practices, which have reduced the flow of credit to their Main Street clients,” Johansson said.

“Expanding the capacity of existing State and U.S. territory small business loan guarantee programs offers a shovel ready solution to restore the flow of credit to our small businesses that have been crippled by tougher lending standards and devalued collateral,” O’Malley said in a statement.

O’Malley gained the support of 27 other governors at the National Governors Association meeting in February.

In Maryland, the Small Business Credit Recovery Program was launched in 2009.

“Once we got hooked up with Harbor Bank, it was much easier,” Bass said.

So far, two businesses have received loans through the state program, while final approval is pending on eight others, for a total of $5 million in loans through community banks such as Harbor Bank, which has provided the two loans.

“The state guarantee provides an additional source of support that has incented The Harbor Bank to increase lending to small businesses during these challenging economic times,” said Darius L. Davis, executive vice president and COO of Harbor Bank in a statement.