December 31, 2020
We hope your holiday season has been safe and fun. We pause from our usual posts about FHA home loans to enjoy New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day 2021, and our regular posting schedule resumes on Monday. Thanks for reading and have a great holiday.
December 30, 2020
Are you interested in buying or building a home in the new year? Be informed about several issues that may apply to you when building or buying a new home. With a little information you can become better prepared to explore your FHA home loan options in 2021 5. FHA Loan Limits Are Higher in 2021 FHA loan limits go up again for the majority of housing markets in the USA again in 2021; higher loan limits may make the difference for some trying to decide where to purchase or build as well as for what kind of property to buy. Don’t forget that FHA loan limits are higher for multi-unit properties. Those interested in building a home using an FHA One-Time Close construction mortgage should ask their lenders how | more...
December 29, 2020
Are you thinking about your first home loan for 2021? Are you considering your options for your very first refinance loan? There are some important resources you should know about that can help you in the planning stages. Know Your FHA Loan Limits If you don’t know what the FHA loan limits are for your county for 2021, you can look at the FHA.gov official site, but you can also look at home loan websites to view both the rundown of 2021 home loan guaranty limits but also get information in getting pre-qualified, etc. When exploring your area FHA loan limits, don’t forget that the limits increase if you purchase a multi-unit property. The single-unit FHA loan limit is lower than the four-unit FHA loan limit and borrowers are permitted | more...
December 28, 2020
Do you want to own your own home in 2021? The FHA Single-Family home loan program is an excellent option for future homeowners who want to build or buy a home in the new year. What are your options for buying a house with an FHA mortgage? Those who have good credit (620 or better) and are not in a hurry to move in as soon as possible should consider applying for an FHA One-Time Close (OTC) construction loan to build a home from the ground up on your own land or on a lot you buy in conjunction with the construction loan. Another option for those who aren’t in a hurry to move in is the FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation mortgage, which is intended to help you buy a fixer-upper | more...
December 24, 2020
Happy Holidays! Thank you for reading our posts this year. We hope you have a happy and healthy holiday season. Our regular posting schedule resumes on Monday. See you then!
December 23, 2020
Are you looking for a house to buy in the new year? If you are new to house hunting and the home loan process in general, you won’t notice the changes coming to FHA loan paperwork in 2021, but you’ll definitely be affected by the changes. The FHA and HUD issued a press release in late 2020 announcing the publication of a revised Form HUD-92900-A, (92900-A) HUD Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA). The revisions change certain consent forms, remove a requirement for new construction, and modify other aspects of the home loan process for FHA mortgages. The modifications are applied to documents considered typical for the FHA home loan process. Why are they changing? The move is part of a process dictated by something the FHA and HUD | more...
December 22, 2020
Millions of homeowners with FHA mortgages in need of mortgage relief during the coronavirus pandemic are getting an extension on their options to avoid foreclosure. That is thanks to a recent move by the Department of Housing and Urban Development; the agency has announced an extension to coronavirus relief measures intended to help borrowers financially affected by COVID-19. FHA and HUD official sites announced this week that they have approved a two-month extension to the COVID-19 related foreclosure and eviction moratorium. The new expiration date for the moratorium is listed as February 28, 2021. There is now more time for FHA borrowers to request what the FHA calls an “initial COVID-19 forbearance” which must be obtained from the borrower’s mortgage servicer. This forbearance is meant to “defer or reduce” FHA | more...
December 21, 2020
Do you own land you want to build a home on with a low down payment? Do you want to build a house from the ground up and purchase the land at the same time? There is a construction loan that can allow you to do both–the One-Time Close construction mortgage. These loans, also known as OTC mortgages or single-close mortgages, are offered as FHA mortgages (with a low 3.5% down payment requirement for any financially qualified borrower), USDA loans (need-based mortgages with income caps and other requirements) and VA construction loans with no down payment required in most cases. Some potential homeowners may be hesitant to commit to a construction loan–the process is unfamiliar to them, and to some it just seems a bit overwhelming. But getting started is | more...
December 18, 2020
Investing in a vacation home is tempting for many. Some borrowers don’t want a vacation home but need a second home because of changes in job requirements, family size, or other factors. Do borrowers have the option of purchasing a vacation home or a second home with an FHA mortgage? FHA loan requirements for loan approval include a rule stating that the home be used as the primary residence; occupancy is a condition of loan approval for an FHA single family forward mortgage loan. You must be plan to use the house you buy with the FHA mortgage as your main address, and in cases where there’s an increase in family size or a change in job location. But a vacation property? Not permitted under the rules in HUD 4000.1 | more...
December 17, 2020
Some borrowers are surprised that you can choose an FHA condo loan; some view condo units as more of a luxury-type housing option or somehow otherwise out of their price range. But FHA home loans include a condo loan option and the FHA official site explains how it works; “Section 203 (b) of the National Housing Act provides authority to insure any mortgage covering a one-family unit in a project coupled with an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities which serve the project.” FHA home loans can be approved for condo units for up to 30-year terms (purchase or refinance) for units in an FHA-approved condominium project OR, as FHA.gov describes, “in a project that is not FHA-approved but meets the Single-Unit Approval requirements”. How does a condo | more...