December 14, 2015
The FHA has published the new mortgage loan guaranty limits for FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages for 2016. According to FHA Mortgagee Letter 2015-29, the new limits take effect for all FHA HECM loans with FHA case numbers assigned on or after 1 January 2016.
According to the Mortgagee Letter, the 2016 limits are as follows:
“For the period January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, the maximum claim amount for FHA-insured HECMs will remain $625,500 (150 percent of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporations (Freddie Mac) national conforming limit of $417,000). This maximum claim amount of $625,500 is also applicable to Freddie Macs special exception areas: Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.”
FHA publishes new loan guaranty limits every year, making adjustments where necessary for housing market changes and other factors.
According to the Mortgagee Letter, “The Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan limits for Traditional HECM, HECM for Purchase, and HECM-to-HECM refinances are governed by the maximum claim amount limitation” found in the National Housing Act.
FHA HECM loans are much different than FHA “forward mortgages” and the HECM program has its own set of requirements, regulations, and restrictions. FHA HECM loan limits were published separately from the FHA forward mortgage loan limits, which saw increases in the maximum loan guaranty amount for more than 180 housing markets across the United States.
We’ll publish details of the FHA forward mortgage loan guaranty limits in a future blog post.
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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