Articles in Category: FHA Loan Types

November 6, 2020

Can I Get An FHA Loan More Than Once?

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 29, 2020

HUD Announces Changes To Exterior-Only Appraisal Guidelines For FHA Purchase Loans

By Bruce Reichstein

When the FHA and HUD began adjusting policies to accommodate social distancing requirements meant to mitigate COVID-19, one of the measures it started was the use of desktop-only and exterior-only appraisals. This meant that an FHA appraiser conducting a home inspection was no longer required (temporarily) to step into the home to perform the appraisal. The appraisal could be accomplished in person from the exterior only (hence the name of the “exterior-only” appraisal) or by using a computer in a desktop-only type of review of the property. These measures were meant to be strictly temporary and had expiration dates when these modifications to FHA policy would expire. But later, the FHA and HUD decided to extend the deadlines in light of the fact that coronavirus emergency did not abate in | more...

October 28, 2020

Why Did My Mortgage Payment Increase?

By Joe Wallace

Some borrowers discover their monthly mortgage payment has gone up and wonder why. Regardless of whether your home loan is an FHA mortgage, a VA home loan, or a conventional mortgage, there are reasons why you might have experienced an increase in your monthly mortgage payment amount. If you see changes in your mortgage payment that you don’t recognize or understand, the first thing you should do is to reach out to your loan servicer to get more information. Don’t simply accept the change if you don’t understand why it happened; consumer advocacy groups such as the government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau remind home owners that sometimes a change in your mortgage payment could be a simple mistake by the lender and one that could be immediately addressed with a | more...

October 27, 2020

FHA Loan Questions: Eligible Property Types

By Bruce Reichstein

There are some common questions about what is permitted with an FHA mortgage and what is not permitted. All borrowers should make the most fully informed decision about buying a home possible–know your options before you apply! Remember that there’s not one catch-all loan for all property types–there are different FHA home loan products for different property types. Can I Use An FHA Loan To Buy A Condo Unit? The short answer is yes, but FHA condo loans are allowed when the condo unit is on (or added to) a list of FHA approved condo projects. Once that requirement has been verified, the condo must also meet FHA minimum standards and local building code. The condo project must not require the FHA borrower to agree to restrictive covenants that limit | 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...