Articles Tagged With: Borrower’s Rights

January 30, 2013

New Hampshire Real Estate Agency Settles Housing Discrimination Case

Those viewing FHA.gov will find a recent press release by HUD announcing a settlement in a New Hampshire housing discrimination case that many families looking for homes should definitely read. According to the press release HUDNo.13-009, Scott Walker and his company Premiere Real Estate, LLC, in Concord, New Hampshire, have agreed to pay $9,000, “to settle allegations that they refused to rent to families with children in violation of the Fair Housing Act.” The press release adds, “The days of ‘no children allowed’ are long over,” according to John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “For 25 years, the federal Fair Housing Act has guaranteed families with children the same rights to housing as those without children, and HUD will continue to take swift enforcement action | more...

January 28, 2013

FHA Loan Reader Questions: First Time Home Buyers and Down Payments

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “Is it true the first time buyer with an FHA Loan can purchase the home with no money down?” The FHA loan program is similar in some ways to another government-backed loan program–VA loans. VA guaranteed loans are for eligible veterans and feature a no-down payment option unique to that program. FHA home loans, which are also government guaranteed mortgage loans issued by a private lender, do not feature a no downpayment option. According to FHA home loan rules as described in Chapter Two of HUD 4155.1, says the following about down payments on FHA loans in a section titled Maximum Mortgage Amount For A Purchase: “The maximum mortgage amount that FHA will insure on a purchase is calculated by multiplying the appropriate loan-to-value (LTV) factor by | more...

January 25, 2013

FHA Loan Reader Questions: How Do FHA Loans Differ From Credit Union Mortgages?

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “What is the difference between an FHA loan and a loan from a credit union?” FHA loans differ from other types of loans for many reasons. Conventional mortgages, for example, often require much higher down payments and credit score requirements for conventional lenders. When it comes to credit unions, there may be many differences or similarities depending on which lender you’ve compared the FHA terms and conditions with. It’s not possible to say across the board how FHA loans may vary–credit unions are all different–but a quick look at some terms and conditions of individual credit unions can be revealing. For example, some credit unions we looked at offered qualified first time home buyers conventional loans with low down payments but did not offer at or near | more...

January 23, 2013

FHA Loan Credit Requirements: A Reader Question

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “My wife’s uncle just passed away not to long ago and I want to keep his property in the family. I make very good money,but i only have a 590 credit score.How can I go about buying his property and keeping everything the way it always has been?” Without addressing the credit score issue, in general one good way to go about buying a home with an FHA home loan is to get pre-approved for a loan amount–fill out the online application at FHALoan.com (a private company, not a government agency) and work with the loan officer to get the property appraised. This process–pre-approval, appraisal, and etc.–is fairly typical for many borrowers. Credit scores are a separate issue. The FHA Loan program has minimum credit score requirements | more...

January 22, 2013

U.S. Bank Settles Discrimination Claim

By Joe Wallace

A press release on the FHA/HUD official site announces a settlement in a disability discrimination claim brought by HUD against U.S. Bank. According to HUDNo.13-008, “Minnesota-based U.S. Bank National Association will pay $12,000 to a loan applicant with disabilities under a Conciliation Agreement settling allegations that the bank required him to provide unnecessary documentation to establish he would continue receiving disability income for three years before they would approve his mortgage loan.” As the press release states, the Fair Housing Act makes it an offense to discriminate “in the terms and conditions of a loan based on a person’s disability, including by imposing different loan application or qualification criteria.” According to the press release, a complaint was filed with HUD after U.S. Bank required a borrower to show proof that | more...

January 18, 2013

FHA Home Loans On Investment Properties: A Reader Question

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “As a homeowner, can I purchase an investment property with a FHA loan? FHA loans for single-family homes are designed for principal residences, which means the borrower must intend to live in the home as his or her primary residence. FHA loan rules state, “To prevent circumvention of the restrictions on FHA-insured mortgages to investors, FHA generally will not insure more than one mortgage for any borrower (transactions in which an existing FHA mortgage is paid off and another FHA mortgage is acquired are acceptable). Any person individually or jointly owning a home covered by a mortgage insured by FHA in which ownership is maintained may not purchase another principal residence with FHA mortgage insurance except under the situations described below. Properties previously acquired as investment properties | more...

January 17, 2013

Virginia Beach-based Realty Company Settles Discrimination Case with FHA

By Joe Wallace

The FHA and HUD have issued a press release announcing the settlement of a housing discrimination case involving a company in Virginia Beach, VA. According to HUDNo.13-006, “Virginia Realty Company of Tidewater, Inc., a property management company based in Virginia Beach, VA, will pay $82,500 to settle allegations that it refused to allow a Hispanic woman to apply for an apartment because she did not speak fluent English. Virginia Realty had a policy of not renting to persons with limited English proficiency. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the rental of housing on the basis of national origin.” The press release adds a quote by John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, who states, “Denying housing because a person does not speak English well violates | more...

January 16, 2013

FHA Loan Rules For Applications: Your Tax Returns

By Joe Wallace

As part of the home loan application process for FHA insured mortgages, applicants are required to furnish a set of paperwork that includes tax documents. According to the FHA loan rulebook, HUD 4155.1, in a section titled “Federal Income Tax Returns”, the rules tell the lender to get the applicant’s: • federal income tax returns for the most recent two years, both individual and business, including all applicable schedules, for self-employed borrowers, and • individual federal tax returns for commissioned individuals. ” The phrase “all applicable schedules” refers to things like Schedule C and other forms required. If you don’t know what Schedule C is, you likely have not needed to file one. (It’s for borrowers who report business income or self-employment income. FHA loan rules also state that the | more...

January 15, 2013

FHA Loans For Manufactured Homes: A Reader Question

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “My wife, 5 year old and I live in North Carolina with her parents b/c it simply costs too much to rent. Her parents purchased a manufactured home that is over 10 yrs old (1998) 3 years ago as well as the roughly 3/4 acre lot it sits on.” “The house itself does have a permanent foundation (Strapped or bolted to a PIP or masonry perimeter foundation, with no tow gear left in the crawl). They currently still owe significantly on the mortgage. I’ve been looking at the FHA sites out there for information but I haven’t learned an answer to my question. My question is, can my wife and I buy her parents house and land through a manufactured home loan when the house itself is | more...

January 14, 2013

FHA Loan Questions on Legal and Tax Issues Related to FHA loans

By Joe Wallace

There have been several questions lately about legal issues. Here’s one–a reader asks: “I live in a Michigan condominium that will have a special vote of our co-owners on 1/24/12 to determine if our association will make application under the HUD Review and Approval process (HRAP) to obtain FHA certification for our Association.” “In advance of this vote, our Board of Directors issued an opinion letter to our co-owners urging them to vote NO citing outdated 2008 FHA guidelines as the basis for their opinion, even though they are aware of the HRAP requirements that went into effect in 2010. If this proposal is defeated in our election, has by Board of Directors exposed my association to a potential discrimination suit because they intentionally mislead our co-owners in their opinion | more...