Articles Published in: 2017

June 14, 2017

Closing Costs And Earnest Money For FHA Loans

In a recent post we discussed FHA loan down payments and how the lender is required to verify that down payment money is coming from acceptable sources. Did you know the lender is also required to verify the sources of earnest money and funds to pay closing costs? It’s true-FHA home loan rules include requirements that these funds comply with FHA loan rules. For example, if your earnest money comes to you in the form of a gift, those gift funds must meet the rules and requirements of the FHA Loan Handbook HUD 4000.1 section titled Gifts (Personal and Equity): “Gifts refer to the contributions of cash or equity with no expectation of repayment.” This means your earnest money gift must never carry any strings attached. But that isn’t all-the | more...

June 13, 2017

The Down Payment Requirement For FHA Loans

By Joe Wallace

FHA home loans, much like their conventional counterparts, have a down payment requirement. However, unlike conventional loans, the minimum down payment requirement for FHA mortgages is 3.5% of the adjusted value of the home. This lower down payment requirement is one of the main advantages of the FHA mortgage. The basic amount of the down payment varies with each FHA mortgage since the payment is based on the value of that particular home. Additionally, FHA mortgages require a specific FICO score range (580 or better) for maximum financing. Borrowers with FICO scores between 500 and 579 will be required to put down 10% instead of 3.5%. Additional lender standards may also apply. Calculating the amount of your down payment is only part of the process. FHA borrowers must provide down | more...

June 13, 2017

What Is Mortgage Insurance And How Does It Work?

By Bruce Reichstein

“What is mortgage insurance?” is a common question for those new to the home loan process. Do you understand how it works? It helps to define the two things referred to by industry professionals as mortgage insurance. There is mortgage insurance which the borrower pays for as a requirement of the FHA loan, then there is the “mortgage insurance” referred to in FHA loan rules which is something else entirely. Note: What we are discussing here is not hazard insurance, which may be a requirement on some, but not all FHA loans. FHA Mortgage Insurance For The Lender The FHA single family home loan handbook, HUD 4000.1, refers to “mortgage insurance” when discussing the FHA’s role in insuring the loan to reduce the risk for the participating lender. On page | more...

How much can I borrow with an FHA refinance loan?

June 12, 2017

How To Apply For An FHA Loan: The Paperwork You Need

By Joe Wallace

In our last blog post we discussed how to apply for an FHA loan including issues related to credit and getting pre-approved for the loan. Getting ready for your mortgage loan application takes time-you need to have 12 months of on-time payments for your financial obligations leading up to the application, and you need to check your credit report to make sure you know what the lender will see at application time. But what is required when you actually start to fill out the paperwork for the mortgage? Credit, Employment, and Tax Data The lender needs a variety of information to approve your mortgage loan. That includes tax paperwork-anticipate the lender asking for at least two years of tax documents and have them ready at application time. Your lender will | more...

June 12, 2017

How To Apply For An FHA Loan

By Joe Wallace

Do you know how to apply for an FHA loan? Getting an FHA mortgage is much like any other type of home loan when it comes to taking the same amount of time to prepare, examine and improve your credit rating, reduce your debt-to-income ratio, and other issues that can help with loan approval. Good preparation is the key to any home loan, even those that have more forgiving credit requirements such as FHA mortgages. Your lender will need to see proof that you are a good credit risk, have a stable and reliable form of income, and have an acceptable amount of debt compared to the amount of income you get each month. So how do you apply for an FHA loan? It is strongly advise that borrowers give | more...

June 9, 2017

FHA Loan Credit Score

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you know what your credit score is? Do you know what lenders require in terms of an FHA loan credit score? The answer might surprise you. The short answer is that there’s a minimum FHA loan credit score requirement to qualify for the program, but lender FICO score requirements will also apply. FHA loan rules in the FHA Single Family Loan Handbook (HUD 4000.1) state that FICO scores of 580 or higher are required for “maximum financing”, which is the cost of the loan minus the borrower’s required 3.5% down payment. Borrowers with FICO scores lower than 580, but not lower than 500 still may qualify for the FHA loan program but with a higher down payment (ten percent). Remember, these are the FHA minimum standards, NOT individual lender | more...

When Is An FHA Loan Better Than A Conventional Loan?

June 8, 2017

FHA Refinance Loans: Payoffs and Buyouts

By Joe Wallace

We’ve been examining the ins and outs of FHA refinance loans in our last few posts, but one issue we haven’t discussed yet is whether an FHA refinance can be used to buy out an existing title holder, applied for as part of an FHA short refinance, or to pay off land contracts. HUD 4000.1 has a list of the rules in these areas. Where short payoffs are concerned, the rules are fairly simple: “The Mortgagee may approve a Rate and Term refinance where the maximum mortgage amount is insufficient to extinguish the existing mortgage debt, provided the existing Note holder writes off the amount of the indebtedness that cannot be refinanced into the new FHA-insured Mortgage.” Do you need to refinance your existing mortgage in order to buy out | more...

June 8, 2017

How Soon Can I Refinance? No-Cash Out FHA Refinancing

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you have an existing FHA loan and want to know how soon you can refinance it? Are you paying a monthly mortgage payment on a conventional loan and want to refinance into an FHA mortgage? Refinancing can help borrowers get into lower mortgage payments and/or interest rates, but FHA refinance loans are also helpful for getting into a fixed rate loan and out of an adjustable rate. As you can tell from that brief list of refinance options, not all refinance loans are the same. In a previous blog post we discussed the rules for FHA cash-out refinance loans. Now let’s look at how soon you can refinance a mortgage loan with no cash out. The rules for FHA no cash out “rate-and-term” refinancing loans are found in HUD | more...

June 7, 2017

2017 FHA Loan Home Requirements

By Bruce Reichstein

What are FHA loan home requirements? How can you tell if a property meets FHA loan minimum standards? These are important questions to ask when planning for your new home loan. FHA loan home requirements are found in HUD 4000.1, the FHA single-family home loan handbook. HUD 4000.1 states that while all homes to be purchased with an FHA mortgage must pass the FHA appraisal process, doing so in no way acts as a guarantee that the home is free of defects. A borrower should understand that the FHA appraisal is for the lender, while a home inspection (optional but extremely important) is for the borrower. In general, FHA loan home requirements include rules which state that the roof must be in good repair, that the electrical and plumbing system | more...

What you should know about FHA 203(h) Loans For Disaster Victims

June 7, 2017

FHA Loan Refinance – When Is it Allowed?

By Joe Wallace

It’s a very common FHA refinance loan question, but “How soon can I refinance an FHA loan?” doesn’t have a single answer. Much depends on two important things-what kind of FHA refinance loan you’re interested in, and how long you’ve lived in the home to be refinanced. If you are interested in an FHA cash-out refinance loan, page 409 of HUD 4000.1 has rules you should know: “Cash-out refinance transactions are only permitted on owner-occupied Principal Residences. The Property securing the cash-out refinance must have been owned and occupied by the Borrower as their Principal Residence for the 12 months prior to the date of case number assignment.” That would seem to hint that one year is the minimum time you can own the home before applying for an FHA | more...