Articles in Category: Closing Costs

December 14, 2010

FHA Closing Costs and Loan Origination Fees

n our last blog post we discussed FHA loans and interest rates. Contrary to the impression some first-time home buyers may have, the FHA and HUD do not set or regulate interest rates on FHA mortgages. The FHA doesn't "regulate" closing costs but does have requirements which state lenders may charge what is "reasonable and customary". FHA requirements on closing costs also include the following from the FHA official site" "Aggregate closing costs charged to a borrower may not violate the FHA tiered pricing rules which prohibit a lender from charging higher prices for low balance loans than the lender charges for higher balance loans."

November 8, 2010

FHA Downpayment Rules

By Joe Wallace

There is a big learning curve to FHA loans and first time home buyers often don't realize there are rules that govern practically every step of the process from who can appraise a home for sale to acceptable sources of money for FHA mortgage down payments and earnest money.

November 8, 2010

FHA Loan Closing Costs and Other Expenses: Who Can Pay?

By Joe Wallace

When a buyer applies for an FHA mortgage to pay for a new home, they're required to pay a variety of fees associated with getting the loan; there are closing costs, fees, and mortgage insurance premiums to consider. In many cases, the seller might try to make the sale of the home more attractive to potential buyers by offering to pay some of these fees including discount points and closing costs.

November 1, 2010

FHA Loan Features

By Joe Wallace

As the official site of the Department of Housing and Urban Development says, the FHA loan program has been running since 1934. This program is designed to help ordinary people get into affordable home loans with low down payment requirements, low closing costs and credit requirements that are more lenient than conventional loans.