Articles Published in: 2022

March 23, 2022

HUD Announces New Fair Housing Initiative

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a major effort aimed at reducing violations of the Fair Housing Act in the home loan appraisal process. The agency has submitted a PAVE action plan to President Biden. PAVE is also known as the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity. This plan is designed to help end what the FHA and HUD describe as “racial bias in the home lending and appraisal process” and is considered by the designers to be one of the most ambitious Fair Housing reforms in this part of the housing industry. PAVE is a multi-agency cooperative effort and includes cabinet-level leadership as well as independent entities. According to the HUD press release, the PAVE task force was announced on June 1, 2021, | more...

March 22, 2022

FHA Home Loans And Closing Day Delays

By Joe Wallace

Getting to your closing day can be challenging. There are fees and expenses to pay for, credit checks to submit to, negotiations with the seller, and more. And on top of all those details, there are issues that could slow down your home loan, and may in some cases even affect your closing day. Don’t assume that such issues are always the borrower or seller’s fault. There are many reasons why your closing day could be delayed or otherwise affected by circumstances. What Can Delay Closing Day? Many issues can affect your ability to close the loan. For example, what if the appraisal comes back with corrections or with a value that is lower than the asking price of the home? Those things may or may not require a rethink | more...

March 21, 2022

FHA Refinance Loan Q&A

By Joe Wallace

Thinking about a refinance loan but not sure where to start? There are some common questions about refinancing your home loan, we provide some answers to them below from cash-out refinancing to rehabilitation loans. When Can I Refinance My FHA Mortgage? That may depend on the type of refinancing you seek. You can get an FHA Cash-Out Refinance loan once you have owned and occupied the property for 12 months. For FHA Rate-And-Term Refinances, you can own the home for less than 12 months but the loan-to-value ratio will be lower than if you apply after having owned and occupied the home for more than 12 months. FHA Streamline Refinance options require you to own the home for at least six months. Can I Refinance A Non-FHA Mortgage Into An | more...

March 17, 2022

FHA Home Loan Options You Should Know

By Joe Wallace

How many different FHA home loans are there? Some people assume there is only one loan program addressing a variety of different housing types. In many cases that is true. The FHA 203(b) loan is offered for a variety of different home loans including one-to-four unit homes that you would find in a typical suburban area. But that loan can also be used to purchase a condominium unit, a townhouse, duplex, or mixed-use properties which are primarily residential. Some borrowers want to know if they can use an FHA 203(b) mortgage to purchase a manufactured home or modular home. FHA loans under the 203(b) program are also known as Title II mortgages. The FHA home loan you need to purchase a manufactured home is called a Title I mortgage. FHA | more...

March 16, 2022

Building Credit Before Your FHA Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

If you want to buy a home, especially if you are shopping for a house for the very first time, you may need to build credit in the year or more leading up to your application. First-time homebuyers who do not have a long credit history do well to consider building credit, which is not quite the same thing as repairing credit. That said, the procedures for building and repairing are often similar. One important thing to remember; you don’t need a credit card to build credit. Some credit reporting agencies give you the option of having recurring payments (such as cell phones, utilities, etc.) added to your credit report. These recurring payments can help establish a pattern of reliable payments, and you will need to make arrangements with each | more...

March 15, 2022

Fixing Your Credit Before Your FHA Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

If you are considering an FHA home loan, you’ll want to begin working on your credit as soon as possible. This is true even if you feel you have good credit–there are issues a lender sees on many credit reports that may complicate the loan approval process. These issues may or may not interfere with your credit score numbers but they could be a factor in the lender’s decision to approve the loan, offer a certain interest rate, etc. If the numbers aren’t the issue, some borrowers want to know what IS the issue? In some cases, there may be errors or information that should be disputed on the report because you don’t want your loan officer making decisions about your loan based on information that isn’t accurate. The credit | more...

March 11, 2022

Issues That May Complicate Your FHA Home Loan Application

By Joe Wallace

There is a lot of advice out there about starting early when it’s time to plan and save for your mortgage. When you are preparing for an FHA loan application you naturally want to check your credit, pay your bills on time, and reduce your credit card use. But even when you are busy with taking care of these things, there may be issues that can complicate the home loan process. Knowing these issues can help you navigate them if there is one that applies to you. It’s easy to assume you don’t have a hidden problem waiting to slow do your home loan process, but some of these issues are a surprise to future borrowers and they spend additional time sorting them out. Do You Owe Any Tax Liens? | more...

March 10, 2022

FHA Mortgage Loan Planning: Fixed Or Adjustable-Rate Mortgage?

By Joe Wallace

When you are in the planning stages of an FHA mortgage there are some considerations you’ll want to make about which upfront costs to pay out of pocket and when it is smart to consider financing certain costs. What do you need to know about these decisions? We’ll explore below. Planning your home loan means deciding a number of things including how long you plan to stay in the home. That factor will play an important part in choices like whether to apply for a fixed-rate mortgage (better for long-term owners who don’t plan to sell at some point) or an adjustable-rate mortgage (better for those who know they won’t own the home for a very long time). An adjustable-rate loan typically features an introductory rate that changes at the | more...

March 9, 2022

Your FHA Refinance Loan Options

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA home loans feature a refinance option. There are multiple options to refinance with an FHA mortgage and you can choose to refinance out of a conventional mortgage into an FHA loan, get cash back at closing time, and more. What do you need to know about FHA refinance options? FHA Cash-Out Refinance loans are not the only option to refinance a non-FHA mortgage. You can also apply for a no-cash-out version and get out of your current loan and into a new FHA mortgage. Some choose to do this because they want out of an adjustable-rate mortgage, others choose an FHA loan because they are interested in a lower rate. When you are reviewing your refinance options, it pays to have an idea of your financial goals for the | more...

March 8, 2022

FHA Loan Questions And Answers

By Joe Wallace

There are a lot of myths that are still circulating about FHA home loans. What do you need to know about these loans to separate the facts from the fiction? True Or False? FHA Home Loans Are For New Buyers Only False. Some people mistakenly believe you can only qualify for a mortgage guaranteed by the FHA if you are a first-time homebuyer. This is not true. You must financially qualify for the loan like any other mortgage program but you do not have to be buying a house for the first time. True Or False? FHA Loans Require Mortgage Insurance True. FHA mortgages issued today have mortgage insurance requirements for either 11 years or the full duration of the loan depending on how much you put down, the term | more...