August 26, 2015
There are many home loan options for veterans of the United States military, including the VA loan program.
But some veterans choose the FHA home loan program instead–there are many reasons why some might choose FHA over a VA loan, and for those who are considering the option, there are some important things to remember about the FHA mortgage loan or refinance loan program.
The first is that FHA home loans and refinance loans offer many similar features to VA loans. For example, veterans applying for an FHA mortgage have the option of getting an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) option added to the loan, much in the same way as the VA loan program.
An FHA EEM requires the lender and borrower to work together to determine the cost effectiveness of any energy efficient improvements to the home paid for under the EEM program, and like the VA version of the EEM, all such improvements must be approved.
FHA loans, similar to VA loans, feature a streamline refinance option. Like the VA program, FHA streamline refinancing is for existing FHA loans only and permits a transaction with no FHA required appraisal or credit check. Unfortunately there is no such thing as a VA-to-FHA streamline refinance option, but those who buy a home with an FHA mortgage can later refinance using the FHA streamline loan.
Like VA mortgages, FHA loans permit a variety of choices when it comes to the type of loan. You can get a 30-year fixed rate or an adjustable rate mortgage. Depending on lender options and borrower qualifications, you can also explore your options for graduated payment mortgages and also refinancing out of adjustable rate loans into fixed rate mortgages.
FHA loan rules permit veterans with existing VA loans to refinance into FHA mortgages. This may be especially tempting for those who have adjustable rate loans and want to get into fixed rate mortgages instead.
Do you work in residential real estate? You should know about the free tool offered by FHA.com . It’s designed especially for real estate websites–a widget that displays FHA loan limits for the counties serviced by those websites.
It’s simple to spend a few seconds customizing the state, counties, and widget size for the tool; you can copy the code and paste it into your website with ease. Get yours today at http://www.fha.com/fha_loan_limits_widget.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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