Articles Tagged With: FHA 203k Mortgage

January 21, 2021

Why You Should Consider A Limited 203(k) Rehab Loan

Do you want to buy or refinance a fixer-upper home? The FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation loan and the FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation Refinance loan can help if you would rather buy a fixer-upper or renovate an existing home you’re living in as your primary residence. You don’t have to buy a property to use the FHA 203(k) rehab loan; you can use it to refinance your current home and get money to accomplish FHA and lender-approved improvements or other projects associated with remodeling or renovation. That said, not every borrower needs to fully refinance a home to repair or improve it. Are you thinking of smaller projects that don’t require a huge sum of money? The Limited 203(k) Rehab loan lets you accomplish smaller projects without committing to a full refinance or | more...

January 19, 2021

Home Loans And Your Credit Score: The Cost Of Your Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

Did you know that credit scores affect more than the simple approval or denial of your mortgage? Your overall costs for the mortgage over the long term will depend in part on your FICO scores, as we’ll explore below. FICO Scores And Your Down Payment You have not one, but TWO FICO score standards to meet when you want to apply for a large loan such as a mortgage. The first standard is from the FHA itself (these are the FHA minimum requirements for the Single Family home loan program) and the second is your lender’s standards. Naturally these will vary from lender to lender. And your lender’s standards may or may not be higher than the FHA minimum. FHA FICO score minimums begin at 580 or better for maximum | more...

Buy or Build a House On Your Own Lot in 2020

January 14, 2021

What Are FHA Energy Efficient Mortgages?

By Joe Wallace

What is an FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM)? Whether you want to buy existing construction or choose to build a house on your own lot using an FHA One-Time Close mortgage, the FHA EEM can add funds to your loan. You read that correctly–these funds are added only after the loan amount has been calculated–this is an add-on to your loan and not a higher loan amount to qualify for (see below) Are you a first-time home buyer? Don’t mistake an Energy-Efficient Mortgage as a type of home loan option like an FHA Construction Mortgage or FHA Rehabilitation Mortgage. As mentioned above, an EEM is quite different. Why EEM Funds Are Added After Your Loan Amount Is Calculated The Energy Efficient Mortgage is an add-for purchase loans including FHA Rehab | more...

January 11, 2021

FHA Mortgage Rates In Early 2021

By Joe Wallace

All eyes are on 2021 and what the new year could bring for housing markets, including what might happen with mortgage loan interest rates. FHA loans and other government-backed home loans saw sub-three-percent mortgage loan interest rates in 2020, and the earliest days of 2021 those rates did not rise above three percent. Mortgage rates for FHA home loans including FHA One-Time Close construction loans, FHA Rehab loans, and others remain below the three percent line (assuming ideal conditions including a well-qualified borrower) where they sat, more or less, for a significant amount of time in years past. American political chaos, the coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty, nervous investors, and other variables have all worked together to keep mortgage loan interest rates below three percent for the time being. Did the | more...

Don't Make These Mistakes With Your One-Time Close Construction Loan

January 8, 2021

Monitoring Your Credit Ahead Of Your Rehab Loan Or One-Time Close Loan

By Bruce Reichstein

Credit monitoring is important for any consumer but borrowers interested in building a home on their own lot using a One-Time Close (OTC) construction loan or even an FHA 203(k) Rehab loan should give serious thought about investing in credit monitoring as early as possible in the planning stages. This can be a big advantage for those seeking rehab or construction loans; participating FHA lenders may require higher FICO scores for construction loans and you’ll want every advantage in that department including knowing the contents of your credit report and the changes to it as they happen. FHA Rehab Loans allow borrowers to buy fixer-upper loans and have work done to bring them up to code and FHA standards; FHA One-Time Close (OTC) mortgage loans allow borrowers to build a | more...

December 29, 2020

FHA Home Loan Resources For New Borrowers

By Joe Wallace

Are you thinking about your first home loan for 2021? Are you considering your options for your very first refinance loan? There are some important resources you should know about that can help you in the planning stages. Know Your FHA Loan Limits If you don’t know what the FHA loan limits are for your county for 2021, you can look at the FHA.gov official site, but you can also look at home loan websites to view both the rundown of 2021 home loan guaranty limits but also get information in getting pre-qualified, etc. When exploring your area FHA loan limits, don’t forget that the limits increase if you purchase a multi-unit property. The single-unit FHA loan limit is lower than the four-unit FHA loan limit and borrowers are permitted | more...

December 10, 2020

Important Questions To Ask About Your Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

If you are considering a home loan, the Federal Trade Commission has some advice for you. The FTC, a government agency charged with providing consumer protection, advice, and free credit reports (among many other things), advises house hunters that there are some important questions you should be asking when it’s time to commit to a mortgage loan. Some issues the FTC warns about are not problems for those who apply for FHA home loans to buy or refinance a home. For example, the FTC advises borrowers to ask about any applicable penalties for early payoff of the mortgage loan. And don’t forget, the early payoff of your mortgage doesn’t just happen when you pay off the note before the loan term ends. It can also happen when you refinance your | more...

FHA One-Time Close Construction Mortgage Basics

December 7, 2020

Get An FHA Mortgage In 2021 To Build Your Dream Home

By Bruce Reichstein

Are you considering your home loan options for 2021? There are a variety of choices but those who do not want to buy somebody else’s house and want to build their own can turn to an FHA One-Time Close mortgage to build from the ground up. Even first-time homebuyers can qualify to do this. If you’re planning on a mortgage in 2021, there are higher FHA home loan limits available, and those who explore their options to build on their own land and choose not to have a range of other FHA home loan options you should seriously consider that can provide alternatives you might not be aware of. What are those options? House hunters can apply for an FHA mortgage to purchase a fixer-upper (using an FHA rehabilitation mortgage) | more...

December 2, 2020

Steps To Buying A House

By Joe Wallace

Do you know the ten steps to buying a house? Each one can be considered its own phase of your home loan journey and if you want to buy a house with an FHA mortgage, these are the steps you should anticipate: Check your credit score Calculate how much FHA mortgage you can afford Choose a real estate agent (where applicable) Get pre-approved with a participating FHA lender Start house hunting Make an offer on the house you want Schedule a home inspection Secure your financing Purchase a homeowners insurance policy Close your loan and move into your new home Note that the first steps are squarely in the planning stages of your mortgage; you should know the contents of your credit report and your FICO scores long before you | more...

November 27, 2020

FHA Fixer-Upper Loans For Smaller Home Improvement Projects

By Joe Wallace

There is a type of FHA home loan that lets you get a mortgage to simultaneously buy and repair or modify a home. These fixer-upper mortgages are known as FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgages and this is an option you can also get as an FHA refinance loan. It’s a great alternative to the standard FHA home loan. Any borrower needing to repair, upgrade, or renovate an existing home can apply for this mortgage–you can refinance an FHA or non FHA loan with the FHA 203(k). But some borrowers don’t have ambitious, large-scale work to be done and a “full” 203(k) rehab loan might not be the right loan if you don’t have a huge project to deal with. And fortunately there is a smaller version of the FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation | more...