Articles Published in: 2021

March 10, 2021

Get A Lower Interest Rate On Your FHA Home Loan

First-time borrowers might not fully understand how they can get a lower interest rate on their home loans; experienced house hunters who have been through the home buying process before aren’t necessarily at an advantage in this area. No matter whether you have owned a home before or not, it’s smart to focus on what can be done to earn a competitive interest rate on a home loan, home loan refinance, etc. Want A Lower Interest Rate On Your FHA Mortgage? Check Your Credit Scores It’s possible to apply for a home loan without ever looking at your credit report. It’s also a very bad idea to do so. Why? Borrowers who are unaware of the information in their credit reports are not ready to apply for a home loan. | more...

March 9, 2021

JP Morgan Chase Settles Housing Discrimination Complaint

By Bruce Reichstein

A press release issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development announces a Conciliation Agreement between JPMorgan Chase Bank and a homeowner who alleged her appraisal was undervalued due to racial discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Discrimination in the housing industry creates a hostile environment for all house hunters and future home owners. It becomes very difficult to find affordable housing when you have potential landlords and mortgage industry professionals trying to decide whether or not your non-financial “qualifications” are good enough for them to accept your business. The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate against those who seek homes to rent or buy–turning away someone who needs housing for non-financial reasons. Fair Housing regulations also make it a crime to discriminate against any | more...

March 5, 2021

Questions You Should Be Asking About FHA Refinance Loans

By Bruce Reichstein

Refinancing your home loan can be a smart move for some homeowners, especially in times where rates are low. At press time, the rates in March of 2021 are rising, but FHA mortgage loan rates have up to this point still remained below the three percent line, so it’s still a good idea to consider your refinance loan options if you want a lower interest rate. Remember, rates are subject to change and in 2021. We’re going to see a LOT of rate changes if current indicators provide any clues to the future or mortgage loan interest rates. Mortgage loan interest rates last year back in 2020 hit three-year interest rate lows due to a variety of factors including hangovers from trade war woes with China, the coronavirus, and other | more...

March 3, 2021

Which Construction Loan Is Right For You?

By Joe Wallace

There is a kind of home loan called a One-Time Close construction loan that lets you build a home on your own lot. There are government-backed One-Time Close construction loans offered including a USDA version of the One-Time Close construction loan, a VA Loan allowing you to do the same thing, and an FHA One-Time Close construction loan. The One-Time Close mortgage features a single application and closing date for the entire process–compare that to construction loans that feature one application and one closing date for the construction phase plus a separate application and closing date for the purchase of the property once it has been built. This is NOT how the process works with the One-Time Close loan which makes this process easier for borrowers and lenders by eliminating | more...

FHA Construction Loan Rule Changes In 2021

March 2, 2021

One-Time Close Construction Loan Advice

By Bruce Reichstein

If the idea of building a home instead of buying somebody else’s property appeals to you, the One-Time Close construction loan allows you to build a home from the ground up on your own lot (or on land you buy in conjunction with the mortgage). Building a home with plans you approve has plenty of advantages, but it also requires some extra consideration. It’s not terribly complicated to anticipate some important factors associated with your construction loan but it does take some time to get the information you need to make the most informed choices possible for your new home. If you want to build a home on your own lot instead of buying an existing house, the FHA One-Time Close construction mortgage is an option you should seriously consider. | more...

March 1, 2021

FHA Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Watch

By Joe Wallace

FHA 30-year fixed rate mortgages have, at press time a 52-week average of 2.25% (best execution or assuming ideal circumstances) at the lowest end and 4.0% at the highest. However, the numbers currently available–the rates for FHA 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at press time–are listed a 2.88%, a definite rise from the lowest point on the 52-week average. Reading this, some future home loan applicants are likely wondering if they should hurry up and apply for a mortgage even if they are not quite ready to do so. If you read finance blogs and mortgage industry writers, you discover that among some industry professionals, there’s a view that the economic stimulus has at least a partial role in creating conditions ripe for mortgage loan interest rates to start going up again. | more...

Construction Loans For First-Time Home Buyers

February 26, 2021

Home Loan Approval: Documents You Need To Get There

By Joe Wallace

What’s the most important thing you can do in the planning stages of a new home loan? It really does not matter whether you might be contemplating buying a home with an FHA mortgage or building one on your own lot using an FHA Construction Loan known as the One-Time Close mortgage; there are some documents you will need to gather in the planning stages to help you get closer to loan approval. Some of these documents are no surprise–your most recent pay information is a good example. Your lender will want to see verification of your current income. What is not so obvious? The reality that your loan officer might ask you to provide details about a salary or other income information from your previous employer, especially if you | more...

February 25, 2021

HUD Announces Further Modifications Of Home Loan Policy During COVID-19

By Joe Wallace

The pandemic has forced many business owners, consumers, house hunters, and home sellers to rethink their approach to the task at hand. The FHA and HUD have modified many FHA loan rules to accommodate the need to socially distance and implement other coronavirus mitigation procedures and prevent the spread of the virus. And in 2021, those modifications must continue. On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, the HUD official site announced extensions of already-modified Single Family mortgage loan policies–modifications that would allow the FHA to help “maintain new mortgage originations for homebuyers and allow 203(k) rehabilitation projects to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic”. Extending these policies insures continued flexibility in certain guidelines for single family home loans. Why is it needed? To ensure home loans are available via the FHA program for | more...

February 23, 2021

Buying And Repairing A Home With An FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan

By Joe Wallace

Are you considering home repairs and renovation? In 2021 some are as part of disaster recovery. Other homeowners need a home repair or upgrade, or they want to purchase a fixer-upper house. Whether you want to replace your current home, or remodel it, the FHA 203(k) rehab loan can help These rehabilitation loans (which are also available as a refinance loan) are for any home owner who wants to buy or refinance a property and repair or renovate it at the same time. There is a standard version of the 203(k) purchase and refinance loan, and a limited version of both for smaller renovation projects. Some Won’t Use An FHA 203(k) But some borrowers won’t use an FHA 203(k) rehab loan. They either cannot, due to the nature of the | more...

February 22, 2021

Texas Home Owners Get Federal Disaster Relief

By Bruce Reichstein

Millions of homeowners in Texas were affected by severe winter weather and unprecedented freezing conditions there; On Monday, February 22, 2021 Texas residents woke up having had their state declared a federal disaster area. Those with FHA mortgages who own homes in the state of Texas are getting help from the federal government in the wake of deadly winter storms in the area affecting some half a million homeowners in the Lone Star State. President Biden has declared the state of Texas as a federal disaster area, and that means federal assistance for state and local recovery efforts. It also means Texas homeowners have access to disaster relief to help repair or replace homes damaged by the winter weather there. Do you have an FHA home loan? Contact your loan | more...