Articles Tagged With: APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

March 6, 2023

FHA Home Loan Down Payments: Do You Need Help?

If you want to apply for an FHA condo loan, an FHA mobile home loan, or even an FHA construction loan, you must anticipate the down payment requirements for these mortgages. At the very minimum, all FHA borrowers must put 3.5% down, with a higher down payment required for those with lower FICO scores. One of the first questions many readers will be asking at this point is likely, “What FICO scores require the higher down payment?” That question is one reason you’re reading this article right now; issues can affect your down payment requirements. It’s not safe to assume that you can simply pay what the FHA loan program rules require–lender standards, state law, and other variables can come into play. One variable is your credit score, and another | more...

July 6, 2022

Will My FHA Home Loan Application Be Approved?

By Joe Wallace

Will my FHA home loan be approved? That is a common question for some borrowers who worry that their credit isn’t good enough for a home loan, and for borrowers who may have adverse credit information in their credit history. There is no single answer to this question since much depends on the borrower’s credit history, their patterns of credit use, debt ratios, and other factors. But in general there are some areas you can review to determine whether or not an FHA home loan is in your future. Will My Home Loan Be Approved? Occupancy Matters If you seek an FHA mortgage for a house that you (or at least one borrower obligated on the mortgage) do not intend to occupy as your primary residence, you will not be | more...

June 17, 2022

Who Sets FHA Loan Interest Rates?

By Joe Wallace

Who sets FHA loan interest rates? The answer to that question involves several factors-many potential FHA borrowers asking this question really want to know more than who the regulatory body is for FHA loan interest rates-they also want to know how rates are affected by other factors such as FICO scores and credit history. So who DOES set FHA mortgage loan interest rates? The Fed sets monetary policy for the United States including the current interest rate. But when the Fed sets this rate, it is NOT directly changing mortgage rates. Investor reaction to the Fed’s rate adjustments DOES affect home loan interest rates. Fed action doesn’t directly change interest rates and consumers should know that the Department of Housing and Urban Development doesn’t try to control these rates, either. | more...

June 3, 2022

What Is An FHA Loan Rate?

By Joe Wallace

What Is An FHA Loan Rate? The interest rate that is charged on your 15 or 30-year FHA mortgage. There are some facts you should know about FHA loan rates, discount points, and how the rates may vary. FHA Loan Rates Are Set By The Lender Technically speaking, the mortgage loan interest rate on your loan is something you negotiate with your loan officer. Your access to the most competitive FHA loan rates will be determined by your FICO scores and other financial qualifications. The better your FICO scores are, the more competitive the interest rate offered might be. If you are worried about your FICO scores ahead of your home loan application, begin credit monitoring and work to maintain or establish a record of on-time payments for all your | more...

May 20, 2022

What You Need To Know About FHA Home Loan Interest Rates

By Joe Wallace

What should you know about home loan interest rates? As the home loan market begins to see higher rates than in the last few years, you’ll want to understand some of the aspects of interest rates and how they affect the cost of your mortgage long-term. There are many home loan blogs that discuss the fluctuations of mortgage rates and talk about mortgage rates as they move higher and lower. Some lenders and bloggers discuss mortgage rates as though the ones mentioned apply to anyone who wants a home loan. But is this true? The rates you see advertised on the internet are usually posted as “best execution” interest rates which means that “ideal conditions” are assumed, or that the rates are applied assuming certain conditions including certain FICO score | more...

March 10, 2021

Get A Lower Interest Rate On Your FHA Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

First-time borrowers might not fully understand how they can get a lower interest rate on their home loans; experienced house hunters who have been through the home buying process before aren’t necessarily at an advantage in this area. No matter whether you have owned a home before or not, it’s smart to focus on what can be done to earn a competitive interest rate on a home loan, home loan refinance, etc. Want A Lower Interest Rate On Your FHA Mortgage? Check Your Credit Scores It’s possible to apply for a home loan without ever looking at your credit report. It’s also a very bad idea to do so. Why? Borrowers who are unaware of the information in their credit reports are not ready to apply for a home loan. | more...

March 1, 2021

FHA Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Watch

By Joe Wallace

FHA 30-year fixed rate mortgages have, at press time a 52-week average of 2.25% (best execution or assuming ideal circumstances) at the lowest end and 4.0% at the highest. However, the numbers currently available–the rates for FHA 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at press time–are listed a 2.88%, a definite rise from the lowest point on the 52-week average. Reading this, some future home loan applicants are likely wondering if they should hurry up and apply for a mortgage even if they are not quite ready to do so. If you read finance blogs and mortgage industry writers, you discover that among some industry professionals, there’s a view that the economic stimulus has at least a partial role in creating conditions ripe for mortgage loan interest rates to start going up again. | more...

June 5, 2020

Mortgage Loan Interest Rates Below Three Percent

By Joe Wallace

Financial magazines reported mortgage rates falling below three percent; these reports in early June point to the numbers we’re seeing both for conventional mortgages (depending on the term of the loan) as well as government-backed loans like FHA home loans. Why have mortgage rates continued to fall to historic lows? Market volatility, daily ups and downs over COVID-19, civil unrest, and trade war concerns have contributed to these low rates. But the volatility associated with today’s mortgage loan market makes it hard to predict whether these rates will be with us tomorrow, next week, or ever again. Fortunately, borrowers and lenders use a toll called a mortgage rate lock commitment to protect the loan applicant from future changes. How does it work? When you make an offer on a home | more...

March 24, 2020

Mortgage Rate Trends: The Three Percent Range

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan rates have been on a wild ride since the advent of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak; for a time FHA mortgage loan rates dipped below the three percent threshold. How wild has the ride been? FHA mortgage rates hit a 52-week range of rates between the lowest at 2.75% at the low point during the outbreak and just over 4% at its highest moment in the 52-week range. What does that mean going forward? For the average consumer, not much. It is pure speculation to say we may or may not see rates dip below the three percent range but borrowers should likely assume that those rock-bottom rates are gone and proceed without the temptation to float rather than lock in a mortgage rate commitment with the lender in | more...

December 27, 2019

FHA Rehabilitation Loans In 2020

By Bruce Reichstein

Are you interested in buying and fixing up a home, or refinancing and remodeling your current home? These are projects are possible in 2020 thanks to the FHA Rehabilitation Loan, also known as the FHA 202(k) Rehabilitation Loan or the refinance loan version of it. The FHA has a program that allows borrowers to apply for a mortgage loan in order to improve a property. The FHA 203(k) rehab loan is intended for borrowers who want to buy or refinance the property and do repairs, but not all borrowers have big rehab projects or work that requires a huge sum of money. Two Rehab Loan Options Open To You There are two different types of 203(k) loans-the “full” version is available for larger projects including work on loan-bearing structures, but | more...