Articles in Category: FHA Loan Types

FHA Home Loans And First Time Home Buyers

May 11, 2022

Three Things To Know About FHA Loan Choices

If you have never used an FHA home loan before, there are some things to consider when you’re comparing your options. One of those areas involves your basic needs and goals for the home, and another involves the costs of the loan. A third is related to the choices you have when it’s time to sort out how much to pay upfront and what to consider including in the loan amount. FHA Loans: Fixed Rate Or Adjustable? When interest rates go up, it may be tempting to compare your options between fixed-rate mortgages and adjustable-rate or ARM loans. But don’t look at the rates alone; decide how long you think you may keep the home and make your decision about ARMs afterward. Why? Because if you plan to keep the | more...

May 5, 2022

FHA Home Loan Planning For First-Time Home Buyers

By Bruce Reichstein

If you’re considering an FHA home loan to purchase your first home, there are some issues you might not think about right away when planning and saving for your loan. Anticipating some of these issues can help you make smarter choices about your home, the home loan, and the features of the mortgage. Think Like A Lender That is advice commonly reserved for the credit check, and it’s good advice. Learning to think like a loan officer can help you better determine whether you are truly ready to apply for the loan. For this article, “think like a lender” also extends to things like the type of home you want to buy. What does this mean? When a home is appraised, your lender’s review of the appraisal report will include | more...

May 3, 2022

FHA Loan Income And Employment Rules You Need To Know

By Joe Wallace

Here’s a variation on a common question about FHA loan approval. “I recently switched employment types from salary to commission. How long do I have to earn on a commission basis to qualify for a mortgage?” If you have recently changed the way you earn, that change may complicate your FHA loan process depending on how recently the change happened and other variables. Switching to commission from salary is one of the best-known examples, but some borrowers may have changed from being full-time, in-house employees, to being contractors or consultants. In other cases, an FHA loan applicant may have quit working for someone else to be their own boss as a small business owner. In all cases, the lender requires proof of employment and income in the form of W2s | more...

May 2, 2022

The FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage Program

By Joe Wallace

In April 2022, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced support for a Washington D.C. program called “Solar For All”, a program HUD says will help, “ensure that residents of HUD-assisted properties in the District are able to access the program without experiencing an increase in their housing costs.” According to a press release on the HUD official site, the “Solar for All” project is intended to bring solar energy to 100 thousand low-to-moderate-income families in the D.C. area. This announcement is part of a Biden administration push to “address climate concerns, and create benefits for residents of HUD-assisted households through equitable deployment of community solar” according to HUD. But did you know that you don’t have to live in Washington D.C. to consider a solar upgrade with an | more...

April 29, 2022

True Or False? FHA Home Loan Issues You Should Know

By Joe Wallace

How much do you really know about the home loan process? If you are interested in buying a home with a low-down-payment FHA mortgage, there are a few things that are good to know before you start house hunting. True Or False? FHA Home Loans Are For First-Time Homebuyers Only False. It’s one of the most common persistent myths about FHA mortgages. True Or False? You Don’t Need A Down Payment With An FHA Home Loan False, but the down payment requirement for FHA mortgages is lower than some conventional equivalents. While it’s true that there are conventional mortgages that offer down payments in the three percent range similar to FHA home loans, you may find the FICO score requirements for these loans to be higher than the FHA minimum | more...

April 25, 2022

Before You Fill Out An FHA Home Loan Application

By Bruce Reichstein

How can a new borrower prepare for a home loan application? There are some important steps to take and not all of them are as obvious as others. For example, do you know where your down payment money will come from? If you are still trying to figure out how to budget and save for it, you might consider investigating local down payment assistance programs in your area. But there are other things to do before you turn in a home loan application. Check Your Credit Use That’s a no-brainer, right? But there are issues you should consider when examining your credit that may not be so obvious. For example, some first-time homebuyers don’t realize that it’s not just your credit scores, but also your credit utilization that gets scrutinized | more...

April 20, 2022

Buying Your First Home: What To Remember

By Joe Wallace

There is a little checklist of things not to do when buying a home. The top of the list? Not shopping around for a lender. FHA home loans have multiple options including the type of loan (fixed-rate, adjustable-rate mortgage) and the loan term (15 years or 30 years). But there are also multiple options based on the property you want to buy; a suburban home, a townhouse, condo unit, or even a multi-unit home. That variety of options brings with it a need to know more specifics about the type of loan you seek, and there are definitely things NOT to do when you are considering these options. And not all the considerations are directly related to applying for and getting approved for an FHA mortgage. Some have a lot | more...

April 6, 2022

Your First Home: Buying With An FHA Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

Buying your first home with an FHA mortgage is a good option if you want to save money on down payment expenses up front, if you want a loan with no early payoff penalty, and you want one that allows you to purchase a brand new home, a fixer-upper, or build one from the ground up on your own lot. What do you need to know about FHA loans as a first-time homebuyer? Down Payments Are Low FHA mortgages have a minimum down payment requirement of 3.5%. You are also required to pay for mortgage insurance, but the Up-Front Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) can be financed into the loan amount if you need to save money up front on the loan. Think About Where Your Down Payment Might Come From | 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 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...