Articles in Category: Fixed Rate Mortgage

November 10, 2020

Information You Need To Pre-Qualify Or Get Pre-Approved For A Mortgage

When you go to explore your home loan options, there are two steps you’ll take to get things started and moving forward. One is getting pre-qualified for the loan using some basic (but important) information about your income, credit history, and other variables. The other step is to get pre-approved, which is a more involved process that requires more information building on what you previously submitted in the pre-qualification process. What kind of information does a potential borrower need for these applications? It helps to think like a lender when dealing with questions like these; your loan officer needs information to establish your employment and income history, your patterns of credit use, the size of the loan you need, etc. For pre-qualifying, which is something you can do in your | more...

November 9, 2020

FHA Home Loan Income Rules You Should Know

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA loans, like all mortgage loans, have rules governing the borrower’s income. Your lender is required to verify your income to make sure it is stable and reliable. The lender is also required to ensure you have a minimum amount of job experience; a year or less is not enough for your total amount of time in the job market. What do you need to know about FHA loan income rules? There are a few important factors. For example, if you have been working a job where you are paid a salary and you are switched to commission income, your lender will require a minimum amount of time earning the new type of income (commissions) before it may be counted to qualify for the new loan. There are also rules | more...

November 6, 2020

Can I Get An FHA Loan More Than Once?

By Joe Wallace

One common question about FHA home loans goes something like this: “I bought a home with an FHA mortgage–can I get an FHA loan more than once?” The question is one of many that indicate a series of persistent myths about FHA mortgages. Those myths include the mistaken belief that FHA loans are only for economically disadvantaged people, or that there are restrictions on FHA mortgages that include income caps or that there must be a demonstration of need to be approved for an FHA mortgage. This might be due to confusion about government-backed loans in general. For example, certain USDA mortgage loans DO require a demonstration of need, income caps per household, and other features that clearly indicate that those USDA loans ARE for those who qualify as low | more...

November 3, 2020

When You Apply For Your Mortgage Loan

By Joe Wallace

When you apply for a home loan, whether it’s an FHA mortgage, conventional loan, or any other type of “forward mortgage” used to purchase, your lender is required to check your employment, income, and credit information to make sure you are a good credit risk. Some borrowers assume the lender is only interested in FICO scores–the numbers assigned to you based on your credit patterns, repayment history, and other variables. But that is NOT true–the score is important, yes. But it’s not the only factor that goes into loan approval decisions. And it’s key to understand the factors that go into determining your credit score as those factors are of interest to your lender. TransUnion, one of the “big three” credit reporting agencies, advises consumers that credit scores are determined | more...

October 22, 2020

FHA Mobile Home Loans

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA mortgages can be used to purchase or build a variety of properties and one of those property types is the mobile home. You can use an FHA mortgage to purchase mobile homes, manufactured homes, modular housing and similar types. FHA loan rules in HUD 4000.1 group these types of mortgages together under the “manufactured housing” description. Not all manufactured housing or mobile homes are eligible for an FHA mortgage. HUD 4000.1 has certain criteria that must be met for the loan to be approved. Those requirements include, but are not limited to being a single-family dwelling with at least 400 square feet of floor area; the property must have a HUD Certification Label. Alternately, instead of the label, there must be a letter of label verification issued on behalf | more...

October 19, 2020

Do You Know What Kind Of FHA Home Loan You Need?

By Joe Wallace

Do you know what type of FHA home loan you need? There are many options with an FHA mortgage and not all of them involve purchasing a new home; you can apply for FHA rehab loans, FHA refinance loans, even an FHA reverse mortgage for qualified borrowers aged 62 or older. FHA One-Time Close Construction Loans For Building A New Home FHA loans do not require you to purchase property that has already been built; did you know there’s an FHA construction loan option that features only one loan application and closing date? Many participating lenders offer FHA One-Time Close construction loans; for those who financially qualify this allows you to have a house built for you from the ground up. You may find some lenders willing (or unwilling) to | more...

October 16, 2020

Planning A Home Loan? Beware Holiday Credit Card Use

By Joe Wallace

A borrower’s debt-to-income ratio is an important part of the financial qualifications your lender will look at when trying to decide to approve or deny your mortgage loan application. Some future borrowers don’t help themselves out in this regard during holiday time and as we approach November and December, those in the planning stages of their mortgage loan journey should beware of opening new credit or increasing credit card use on existing accounts. Why? Credit Card Use Spikes At Holiday Time Traditionally, American consumers tend to increase credit use during the holiday season and it never pays to ignore this factor–take your potential holiday spending into account when planning for a new mortgage loan. In some cases the amount of the credit card debt isn’t the problematic factor–timely payments is | more...

October 15, 2020

Who Is Eligible For An FHA Home Loan?

By Bruce Reichstein

Who is eligible for an FHA home loan? To begin, we must point out that FHA mortgages are not need-based loans, feature no income caps, and do not require you to be a first-time home buyer to apply. FHA mortgage eligibility rules are found in HUD 4000.1, including instructions for the lender pertaining to who is allowed to apply for an FHA single-family home loans. Who can apply for an FHA loan and what do the rules say about these applicants? Some of the rules about being eligible for an FHA mortgage have to do with the status of the buyer–does the borrower intend to be an owner-occupier or does the borrower want to purchase property they do not intend to use as the primary residence? FHA mortgage loans to | more...

September 24, 2020

Is Your Credit Report Hurting Your Chances At Loan Approval?

By Joe Wallace

American consumers are entitled by law to a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. This is a valuable resource all potential home loan applicants should take advantage of as early as possible in the home loan planning stages. However, this is only a first step into a larger world. Credit monitoring is, in the age of hackers and rampant identity theft, a necessity for borrowers who want to make certain their credit will be enough to justify home loan approval. And credit monitoring is not the sort of thing you want to start late in the game–you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to review your credit and work on it during the planning stages. How long should that planning be? Your home loan | more...

September 23, 2020

Getting Ready For An FHA Home Loan Refinance

By Joe Wallace

Are you interested in a lower mortgage payment or interest rate on your home loan? Are you looking to convert the equity you’ve built up in your home into cash? There are plenty of reasons to consider refinancing–do you need out of an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and into a fixed-rate loan? All of these options are open to financially qualified borrowers who apply for an FHA refinance loan and you do NOT have to be a first-time homebuyer or first-time homeowner to be approved for an FHA refinance loan. Many of the same steps you took for your original home loan application are applicable when you begin planning to refinance your mortgage; you should pull your credit reports are early as possible in the planning stages. Many consumers find it | more...