November 16, 2011
In a troubled economy, it’s easy to see why an FHA refinancing loan would be widely used–who doesn’t want to lower their monthly mortgage payments? Even in the best of times, a lower monthly commitment is attractive; when money is tight refinancing is on the minds of homeowners across the U.S.
On Tuesday, November 15, 2011, the FHA and HUD released a financial report to Congress which included some figures that might surprise you. In 2011, the FHA “Served more than 1.2 million households and insured $218 billion in single-family mortgages, bringing the active single family portfolio to more than $1 trillion” according to an FHA press release.
The press release, HUD No. 11-270, also noted that the FHA “…enabled more than 585,000 families to become homeowners for the first time. This represents 56 percent of all first-time buyers in the nation” and also helped more than 360 thousand families avoid foreclosure “through loss mitigation actions.”
But the figure some borrowers will be most interested in concerns refinancing loans. In 2011, the FHA “helped 440,000 families to refinance their mortgage at lower interest rates, saving households an average of more than $160 per month.” FHA refinancing loans, both Interest Rate Reduction Refinancing and FHA Cash-Out Refinancing, are available to qualified borrowers through participating lenders.
Those who have considered FHA refinancing in the past but haven’t spoken to a lender should consider the above figure. Is now the right time to refinance? There are some restrictions on when you can apply–for example, with FHA streamline refinancing, you are required to make at least six payments on the mortgage being refinanced and wait until
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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