Articles Published in: 2018

April 23, 2018

FHA Home Loan Options: Build, Buy, Or Rehab

Build, buy, or rehab? Those are among the options open to FHA home loan applicants. Do you know what is possible with an FHA mortgage loan? The options range from purchasing an existing 1-4 unit home to having a single-family house built from scratch using an FHA One Time Close construction loan. FHA Home Loans: The “Forward Mortgage” “Forward mortgage” is a fancy way of describing the new purchase loan-an FHA mortgage that will help you buy a home. “Forward mortgages” are described as such to distinguish them from Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) or as they often called, Reverse Mortgages. A forward mortgage can include purchase of land and funds for a construction phase when an FHA One Time Close loan is being used to build to suit. FHA | more...

the importance of credit for home loan approval

April 20, 2018

FHA Refinance Home Loans: Getting Ready

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you know what you need to get ready for an FHA refinance home loan application? There are several areas you can prepare in before it’s time to sign the loan application paperwork. Check Your Credit Reports-EARLY FHA refinance loans should be treated in the same way your original home loan application was handled in terms of checking credit, avoiding new lines of credit before and during the refinance loan process, and trying to lower your debt ratio before the application. Decide The Right Refi Loan For You Your preparations for the new loan may depend greatly on the type of FHA refinance loan you are looking for; cash-out, no cash out, Streamline Refinancing, rehab refi loan, etc. How are these loans different? There are too many aspects to discuss | more...

April 19, 2018

FHA Loan Down Payment Sources: Retirement Funds

By Joe Wallace

We’ve been discussing FHA home loan down payment sources and the rules that govern them. FHA mortgage loan rules in HUD 4000.1 have strict requirements when it comes to the sourcing of down payments; since most FHA forward mortgages require a down payment, the rules in this area are very important to know ahead of your loan application. FHA Loan Down Payment Source Rules: Retirement Funds FHA loan rules permit the borrower to use retirement funds as a source of down payment money. According to HUD 4000.1: “The Mortgagee may include up to 60 percent of the value of assets, less any existing loans, from the Borrower’s retirement accounts, such as IRAs, thrift savings plans, 401(k) plan, and Keogh accounts, unless the Borrower provides conclusive evidence that a higher percentage | more...

April 19, 2018

Where Can My FHA Loan Down Payment Money Come From?

By Joe Wallace

Where can my FHA loan down payment money come from? It’s an important question to ask, and some borrowers might not understand the difference between closing costs that are not part of the down payment compared to what is allowed to be counted toward it. FHA Loan Down Payment Requirements For most forward FHA mortgages, the down payment requirement includes a minimum of 3.5% of the adjusted value of the home. Some FHA home loans such as refinance mortgages don’t require a down payment; FHA rehab loans for those in Federally declared disaster areas are not required by the FHA to make a down payment regardless of whether the rehab loan is a forward mortgage or a refi. Is My Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium Part Of My Down Payment? | more...

April 18, 2018

Switching FHA Lenders, Part 2

By Bruce Reichstein

In our previous blog post, we discussed borrowers who need to know FHA home loan rules for switching lenders, and when a new appraisal might be permitted under such circumstances. Borrowers do have the right to change lenders, the same way they have the right to refinance a mortgage loan using the same lender or a new one. If you need an FHA One Time Close construction loan, appraisal issues are quite different. The FHA will require inspections of the finished property to insure it complies with FHA standards and state/local code, but obviously the approach to a new construction home isn’t the same as an actual appraisal to determine the fair market value of existing construction properties. But for those who need a new purchase loan on an existing | more...

April 18, 2018

What You Need To Know When Switching FHA Lenders

By Joe Wallace

There are several reasons why a borrower might decide to switch FHA lenders during a home loan transaction. In cases where the switch happens, borrowers should know certain FHA guidelines that can affect the transaction-especially if an appraisal has already happened. Some borrowers think about switching lenders because they have had an unsatisfactory experience. Others may simply be offered a better deal. But there are some instances where the borrower is tempted to switch lenders because of an appraisal issue-namely that the appraisal did not value the property as expected. In such cases, when a borrower is tempted to get a new lender and a new appraisal, what should be known about that process? The first thing borrowers should know is that new FHA appraisals are not possible simply because | more...

April 17, 2018

Streamline Refinance Loan Rules: Is Cash Back Permitted?

By Bruce Reichstein

Do FHA Streamline Refinance Loans permit cash back to the borrower? Can you apply for “more” refinance loan than you need to pay off the original mortgage and take that cash at closing time? The FHA Streamline Refinance loan is for existing FHA mortgages; borrowers who have an FHA loan who want to refinance in order to get a financial benefit such as a lower payment, shorter loan term, or get out of an adjustable rate mortgage should consider this as an option. But is one of the financial benefits offered the ability to get cash back? FHA refinance loan options do include cash-out refinancing, intended for FHA and non-FHA loans alike. Let’s examine what the FHA loan handbook, HUD 4000.1, has to say about cash back to the borrower | more...

April 17, 2018

FHA Streamline Refinance Loans: Tangible Benefits

By Joe Wallace

What are the tangible benefits of an FHA Streamline Refinance Loan? Believe it or not, that phrase is not just a clever way to say “Streamline refinance loans can help you lower your payments.” The phrase “tangible benefits” is found in the FHA loan handbook to describe an outcome of getting the loan. “Tangible benefits” means some distinct help for the FHA Streamline Refinance loan borrower in the form of a lower mortgage rate, a lower monthly payment, the ability to get into a fixed rate mortgage and out of an adjustable rate loan, etc. In most cases an FHA Streamline refi is meant to give the borrower one or more of these benefits. In fact, HUD 4000.1 has specific instructions to the lender on this issue; “The Mortgagee must | more...

April 16, 2018

FHA Home Loans For New Construction, Existing Construction Homes

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA home loans are available for a variety of different types of property. You can use an FHA mortgage to buy a typical home in the suburbs, a condo, a town home, mobile or manufactured homes, etc. FHA home loans are also for properties classified in one of several ways; existing construction, new construction, proposed or under construction, etc. What do these terms mean and how does the property type affect the FHA home loan? In some cases the nature of the property may dictate whether a builders’ warranty must be provided. New construction homes, for example, must include a 10-year warranty. This is true for all property types that fall under the FHA definition of new construction property including proposed construction homes, under construction homes, and those that have | more...

April 13, 2018

What Is My FHA Home Loan Interest Rate?

By Joe Wallace

What is my FHA home loan interest rate? Borrowers want to know because it affects the overall cost of the mortgage for the lifetime of the loan, and when you are buying a home with an FHA mortgage (or any other kind of home loan) it’s important to think long-term; knowing how the interest rate affects your loan costs is a detail worth learning more about. But interest rates on FHA home loans are not (to the surprise of some) set or regulated by the FHA or HUD. The only real guidelines for basic FHA loan interest rates are that the rates must be applied in a manner that is reasonable and “customary” for the housing market you are buying in. The FHA does have regulations on how Adjustable Rate | more...