Articles Published in: 2018

July 13, 2018

Should You Sell Your Home? The FHA Cash-Out Refinance Option

There are a lot of websites urging home owners to consider selling your home, especially for those who own homes on the West Coast. Home owners on the West Coast and other increasingly profitable housing markets have the potential (at the time of this writing) to earn more than ever by selling a house. But borrowers looking to get cash from their homes in a housing market where property values are going up have another option to consider. It doesn’t matter if your home is in San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, or Nashville, if your home could appraise for more money today due to the influence of a hot housing market? It could be worth an amount worth considering in the form of an FHA cash-out refinance. If you are | more...

July 12, 2018

FHA Mortgage Loan Closing Day Tips

By Bruce Reichstein

Need some tips to help you navigate your closing date for your FHA home loan? There are some important things to do and things NOT to do on closing day. When your sale is final the seller or the real estate agent will give you the keys to your new home, but before you can get your hands on those keys, some important things must happen. Read All Home Loan Closing Documents Carefully FHA mortgage loans, like all other home loans, feature initial estimates of expenses and payments; the final numbers should be represented accurately at closing time and should not be estimates. If the numbers you were expecting don’t line up with what is in the closing documents, don’t let it go-ask for clarification. Don’t sign incomplete mortgage closing | more...

July 11, 2018

What You Need To Know About FHA Loan Applications And Loan Approval

By Joe Wallace

What should you know about FHA home loan applications and FHA loan approval? Before your home loan gets final approval from the underwriter, it will go through a series of processes including the credit check, appraisal, employment verification, and much more. But FHA home loan approval depends on more than one set of standards, which makes these check and approval processes more complex. To approve your loan, the lender must answer a variety of questions about the borrower’s ability to afford the loan. FHA Loan Approval Questions Your Lender Must Answer There are several areas the lender must have answers in to give you final loan approval: What is the borrower’s current or expected income? What kind of assets does the FHA loan applicant have? What is the FHA borrower’s | more...

July 10, 2018

Before Your FHA Home Loan Closing Date: What You Should Know

By Bruce Reichstein

Before your FHA home loan closes and you sign on the dotted line, there are some things you should know. Home closing paperwork spells out the agreements you have made on the mortgage and these documents are legally binding. It’s a very good idea to be familiar with them and know their contents before you sign. What kind of paperwork will you get with a new purchase mortgage loan at or before your closing date? One very important document is known as the Closing Disclosure and it should be compared to another document you received earlier in the FHA loan process known as the Loan Estimate. The estimate is not an indication that your FHA loan has been turned down or approved, it is simply a way to add up | more...

July 9, 2018

Can I Get An FHA Loan With A Debt Collection In My Credit History?

By Joe Wallace

Can I get an FHA home loan approved even if I have a debt collection in my credit history? That is an important question on the minds of some FHA loan applicants going into the home loan process. This type of credit issue is commonly referred to as having a collection account, which HUD 4000.1 (the FHA Loan Handbook) defines as follows: “A Collection Account refers to a Borrower’s loan or debt that has been submitted to a collection agency by a creditor.” Collection accounts can be an issue for an FHA loan applicant; generally it is strongly recommended to come to the application process with 12 months of on-time payments for all financial obligations. Depending on circumstances (such as when the lender is required to manually underwrite the loan), | more...

July 6, 2018

Home Buying Tips For The First Time FHA Borrower

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you need house buying tips as a first time home buyer? If you are ready to stop using rental units and are interested in becoming a home owner, there are some very important steps to take before you apply for an FHA home loan. Consider Home Prices In Your Area: How Good Or Bad Is Your Real Estate Market? Are prices in your area reasonable? Within your budget? It’s a very good idea to become literate in the average prices for a home in your area so that you can tell if a seller is asking a reasonable price for the property you want to buy. It is just as important to know how much home you can afford. A two-bedroom property may be within your financial reach, but | more...

July 5, 2018

Cash To Close An FHA Home Loan: What You Need To Know

By Joe Wallace

What kind of cash to close do borrowers need with an FHA mortgage loan? The amount and nature of the cash to close the FHA loan will vary depending on several factors including the amount of your down payment, whether you have financed the Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium or not, etc. FHA Loans Cash To Close: Your Down Payment For new purchase home loans, FHA loans cash requirements to close the deal will include the minimum 3.5% down payment for borrowers who qualify for that lowest down payment with FICO scores that meet both FHA minimums and lender requirements. 10% down is required for borrowers with FICO scores that don’t fall into the ranges specified by FHA loan rules and lender standards. But the exact amount of cash needed | more...

July 4, 2018

Happy 4th of July 2018!

By Bruce Reichstein

Today we pause from our regular posts on FHA home loans, FHA refinance loans, and FHA Reverse Mortgages to observe the 4th of July Independence Day holiday. Thank you very much for reading, have a safe holiday and we will resume our regular posting schedule on Thursday July 5th. Thank you for reading!

July 3, 2018

Seven Facts About FHA Home Loans

By Joe Wallace

Seven facts about FHA home loans you should know include lower credit score requirements and down payments than conventional mortgage counterparts. The other five facts are just as useful to a house hunter as the low down payment and FHA credit score rules. FHA Home Loan Limits Are Adjusted Yearly And Vary Depending On The Housing Market Not all housing markets have the same costs or median house prices. A Zillow.com report for home values in 2018 says houses in California may average around $500,000 while homes in Pennsylvania average around $160,000. FHA home loan limits for high-cost and low-cost areas are adjusted rather than featuring an one-size-fits-all approach. FHA Loan Down Payment Requirements Compared To Conventional Mortgage Loan Requirements FHA loans specify down payment minimums between 3.5% of the | more...

July 2, 2018

Should I Consider An FHA Reverse Mortgage?

By Bruce Reichstein

Should I consider an FHA reverse mortgage? Many qualified borrowers are asking that question now in light of recent housing market stats indicating rising property values well into 2019. A Zillow.com report (through May 2018) indicates that housing is on an upward trend at the time of this writing. Home values have increased more than eight percent according to the Zillow report, and the same report says values could go up another 6.5% in the next year. Rising home values in U.S. housing markets means that borrowers applying for appraisal-required refinancing or FHA Reverse Mortgages (also known as FHA HECM loans) may discover their home is worth more than they realized. Naturally, this won’t apply in every single housing market, trends vary nationwide and your experience may vary based on | more...