December 22, 2014
The FHA and HUD have announced the loan guaranty limits for 2015. FHA Mortgagee Letter 2014-25, which announces 2015 limits and policy for single-family “forward loans” for new purchases, FHA Streamline loans, and Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs).
According to the mortgagee letter, “The minimum FHA national loan limit ‘floor’ is at 65 percent of the national conforming loan limit (which is $417,000 for a one unit property for the period January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015). The floor applies to those areas where 115 percent of the median home price is less than 65 percent of the national conforming loan limit.”
The FHA defines a high-cost area where the typical FHA loan guaranty rate may be different as follows: “Any area where the loan limit exceeds the floor is a high cost area. The maximum FHA national loan limit ‘ceiling’ is at 150 percent of the national conforming loan limit. In areas where 115 percent of the median home price (of the highest cost county) exceeds 150 percent of the conforming loan limit, the FHA loan limits remain at 150 percent of the conforming loan limit.”
The FHA loan rules for HECMS is also addressed. For the whole of 2015, unless otherwise changed by law, “the maximum claim amount for FHA-insured HECMs will remain $625,500 (150 percent of Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s (Freddie Mac) national conforming limit of $417,000). This maximum claim amount of $625,500 is also applicable to Freddie Mac’s special exception areas – Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands.”
FHA Streamline loan guaranty amounts are not affected by the information above. The FHA mortgagee letter states, “Mortgages that meet the requirements for streamline refinance transactions without an appraisal are governed only by the maximum mortgage amounts
under Section 223(a)(7) of the National Housing Act and 24 CFR 203.43(c). These transactions are not subject to the limits described in this ML”
You can learn more about FHA loan limits for 2015 by downloading the FHA mortgagee letter PDF from the FHA official site: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=14-25ml.pdf
Do you have questions about FHA home loans? Ask us in the comments section.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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