Articles in Category: FHA Loan Types

December 16, 2021

Shop Around For An FHA Lender

Why should you shop around for your home loan or refinance loan? Aren’t all mortgages and refinance loans pretty much the same? No, actually, you may find a larger degree of variation among lenders in several ways including what kinds of loan they are willing to offer. Shopping around for a lender is always a good idea even if you are fairly certain you want to continue using your current financial institution to get the new loan or refinance. In the same way you want to shop around for the best-used car dealer you can find, you want to find the lender offering the best deal to you for the money you are spending on closing costs, lender fees, etc. FHA home loans may be standardized in many ways–the types | more...

December 13, 2021

Qualifying For An FHA Loan

By Joe Wallace

Here’s a great example of a common question we are often asked: “How much is the minimum downpayment required for FHA loan? How do I qualify?” The main issue with questions like these is that the question isn’t specific enough to answer to the reader’s satisfaction. Why? Because good credit scores aren’t enough, and lender FICO score requirements, in general, can vary between one financial institution and another. Essentially, what a borrower needs to know when preparing to apply for an FHA mortgage includes (but is not limited to) a list of items. For starters, you DO NOT have to be a first-time homebuyer to qualify for an FHA mortgage. You also don’t have to worry about income caps or household income restrictions for this type of home loan. Some | more...

December 6, 2021

Thinking About A Mortgage Loan?

By Joe Wallace

If you are considering a home loan but aren’t quite ready to commit yet, you are said to be in the planning stages of your mortgage. That planning phase is quite important and should begin as early as possible so you have plenty of time to save money for your FHA mortgage loan down payment (a minimum of 3.5% down is required), your closing costs, and other loan expenses. There are three basic areas you should pay attention to in the planning stages of your home loan–your savings, your debt, and your credit scores. The credit score portion of the process is obvious–if you don’t start monitoring your credit, work actively to reduce your credit usage and get your credit card balances as far below the 50% line of your | more...

December 3, 2021

What Are FHA Rehab Loans?

By Joe Wallace

What are FHA rehab loans? Simply put, these are home loans you can apply for to buy or refinance a fixer-upper property. FHA rehab loans come as “standard” mortgages but there is also a special FHA rehab loan program for those who have homes located in a federally-declared disaster area. The FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan HUD 4000.1, the FHA loan handbook, describes the FHA 203(k) rehab loan as follows: The Section 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Program is used to: -rehabilitate an existing one- to four-unit Structure, which will be used primarily for residential purposes; -rehabilitate such a Structure and refinance outstanding indebtedness on the Structure and the Real Property on which the Structure is located; or -purchase and rehabilitate a Structure and purchase the Real Property on which the Structure | more...

November 29, 2021

New to FHA Loans? Things You Need To Know

By Joe Wallace

What are the FHA loan basics you should know as a first-time homebuyer? The first thing you should remember is that FHA loans are not restricted to first-time buyers, but there ARE state-level down payment assistance programs and closing cost assistance programs that may be able to help you with your FHA mortgage as a first-time buyer. Those programs can help save you thousands of dollars in up-front costs on the down payment and other expenses with your loan. Remember that FHA loans permit your seller to contribute up to six percent of your closing costs as an incentive to close the deal, but any amount valued above that six percent results in a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the FHA loan amount. First-time home buyers are sometimes not aware that they | more...

November 23, 2021

Problems That Can Stop Your Mortgage Being Approved

By Joe Wallace

Do you know what can stop your home loan or result in your being denied a mortgage? There are multiple factors that can complicate the mortgage process and you should know about the ones you can control and those issues that may be beyond your ability to anticipate. What kills a home loan dead in its’ tracks? One serious issue is associated with the appraisal. To buy a home with an FHA mortgage, you need to select a property that has a remaining “economic life” that will last the entire duration of the mortgage. OR you need to buy a fixer-upper with an FHA Rehabilitation loan to simultaneously buy and renovate the property to bring it up to local building code and FHA minimum standards. But no matter which way | more...

November 22, 2021

How To Get Cash Back On An FHA Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

Do you need to know how to get cash back on an FHA home loan? If you want to purchase a home with an FHA “forward mortgage” you might be tempted to ask your lender if it’s possible to apply for more mortgage loan money than is required to complete the transaction. This question usually comes with the hope of being allowed to take the extra loan funds out in cash similar to a personal loan. Some borrowers want to know if they can do this, but that specific scenario is definitely NOT possible under FHA home loan rules. Borrowers are not permitted to get cash back in such cases (we’re discussing FHA purchase loans here and NOT FHA cash-out refinance loan options) except in the form of a refund | more...

November 10, 2021

Get Ready For Your New Home In 2022

By Joe Wallace

Are you considering a home loan in 2022? There are many options and while the FHA home loan limits for the new year have not been announced at press time, borrowers should know the FHA loan limits for 2021 were increased over the previous year. Will that happen again in 2022? Time will tell but it’s a good idea to start thinking about your home loan as early as possible to get ready with a budget and a plan. FHA Forward Mortgage Options In 2022 The “forward mortgage” is the kind of loan you will use to buy your dream home. They are also known as “purchase loans” and simply as “home loans”. And with the FHA Single Family Home Loan program, your forward mortgage loan options are not just | more...

November 5, 2021

Who Can Apply For An FHA Mortgage?

By Joe Wallace

Who can apply for an FHA mortgage? Anyone can apply. Not all are accepted, obviously but there are few restrictions on who can be considered for an FHA mortgage. One of the main restrictions? Applicants with FICO scores below 500–FICO scores below that can never qualify for an FHA mortgage. Another restriction–you must be in the country legally. You do NOT have to be a citizen of the United States to qualify for an FHA mortgage loan, but you do have to provide documentation that shows your status as a resident, non-resident alien (the official term at press time) refugee, or asylum seeker. Your ability to qualify for the FHA home loan program depends on being able to show documentation of your status as a legal resident, etc. Another restriction | more...

November 2, 2021

Buying A Second Home?

By Joe Wallace

There is a myth about FHA home loans you might even believe yourself. Some believe that FHA home loans, with their low 3.5% down payment, are set aside strictly for first-time homebuyers who need help via a lower down payment than many conventional loans might require. What is the reality about the notion that FHA home loans are for first-time buyers only? FHA mortgages are NOT restricted to those who have never owned a home before. They are also not restricted to low or moderate-income applicants. One reason for these prevailing myths about FHA mortgages? Likely that many state or local first-time homebuyer programs may be commonly used with government-backed mortgage programs like the USDA and FHA home loan programs. By association, some might assume that the loan is intended | more...