Articles Tagged With: FHA Handbook

July 22, 2013

FHA Loan Reader Questions: A Few Basics:

A reader asks, “Why is there no website that shows you what income qualification rules might apply for an FHA loan ? Is there a maximum income allowed for a first-time, unmarried, home buyer?” There’s a simple reason where there is no website that details income qualification rules for FHA home loans when it comes to maximum loan amounts, first-time home buyer preferences and whether marital status itself affects an FHA home loan application: these are generally not factors. That’s NOT to say that your marital status or income might not affect your FHA loan. Far from it. Married borrowers applying for a loan together may have a better chance based on income factors and other aspects than a single borrower. (Two applicants applying together may also have its share | more...

July 15, 2013

FHA Loan Reader Questions: Mortgage Insurance and Down Payments

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “If a buyer is making a 25% down payment on a home purchase, is the mortgage insurance premium mandatory? This down payment is for a home sale that is appraised for the sale price or higher.” FHA loan rules for mortgage insurance premiums changed in early 2013. There were several changes, but one of them was to eliminate the exemption for mortgage insurance for those making a large down payment. According to the FHA/HUD official site, FHA mortgagee letter 2013-04 “rescinds the automatic cancellation of the annual MIP collection” announced in previous mortgagee letters (ML) and also “rescinds ML 2011-35, under which mortgages with terms of 15 years or less and LTVs of less than or equal to 78 percent at time of origination were exempt from | more...

July 8, 2013

FHA Loan Rules For Earnest Money

By Joe Wallace

In previous posts, we’ve discussed the rules for FHA loans when it comes to the sources of your required minimum cash investment or downpayment. But did you know the FHA has rules concerning the source of your earnest money, too? In some cases the source of your earnest money may be scrutinized in a manner similar to the verifications required for down payment funds. FHA loans require downpayments from approved sources such as personal savings, cashed-in investments, bona fide gifts that meet FHA loan rules, etc. So what are the rules for earnest money paid for a home to be purchased with an FHA mortgage? According to the FHA loan rules found in HUD 4155.1 Chapter Five, Section B, “The lender must verify and document the deposit amount and source | more...

July 3, 2013

FHA Loan Reader Questions: FHA Rules on “Flipping”

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “Hello, can you help us with a couple of questions please. What does the FHA consider as a “Flip-it” property? How many days does this involve from an original sale of a property?” “Flipping” is defined by the FHA as the sale of a home purchased with an FHA loan within 90 days of the original sale. Under normal circumstances the FHA has anti-flipping rules in place that forbid this practice with homes purchased with an FHA-insured mortgage. But the FHA issued a waiver to these rules back in January 2010. It has since been extended more than once and the current waiver of FHA anti-flipping rules doesn’t expire until 2014. According to a November 2012 edition of The Federal Register, “FHA is extending the availability of | more...

June 25, 2013

FHA Loan Answers: All About Seller Concessions

By Joe Wallace

Seller concessions are a commonly asked-about topic related to FHA home loans. FHA loan rules permit a seller (or a “third party”) to contribute up to six percent of the sales price or appraised value of the property toward closing costs, discount points or “other financing concessions” according to the FHA official site. The six percent limit would be the lesser of the two amounts–the sale price or appraised value. What specifically can the seller or third party contribute? According to FHA loan rules spelled out in Chapter Two of HUD 4155.1, that six percent limit may include: third party payment for permanent and temporary interest rate buydowns, and other payment supplements payments of mortgage interest for fixed rate mortgages mortgage payment protection insurance, and payment of the upfront mortgage | more...

June 19, 2013

FHA Loan Rules for Non-Purchasing Spouses

By Joe Wallace

One of the most commonly asked questions about FHA home loans is whether or not a spouse is required to sign, co-sign, or otherwise be committed to an FHA home loan. Can one spouse by a home with an FHA insured mortgage without participation of the other? That depends greatly on state law. FHA loan rules cannot and do not override state laws, but there are clauses found in the FHA loan rules written in HUD 4155.1 that address this issue. These items are found in Chapter Four, Section A under a section titled Non-Purchasing Spouses. It says in part; “If required by state law in order to perfect a valid and enforceable first lien, a non-purchasing spouse may be required to sign either the security instrument or documentation indicating | more...

June 18, 2013

FHA Loan Approval or Rejection: The Rules

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan rules cover a lot of ground, including specific procedures that are supposed to happen when an FHA single-family mortgage loan is approved or denied. Did you know the FHA loan rules, listed in HUD 4155.1, give instructions on how approvals and rejections are handled? Those rules are found in Chapter One, Section A of HUD 4155.1. When an FHA loan application is approved, the rules instruct the lender: “When a borrower is approved, the Direct Endorsement (DE) underwriter • records the results of the credit analysis on the HUD-92900-LT, FHA Loan Underwriting and Transmittal Summary • enters any modification of the mortgage amount or approval conditions under “Underwriter Comments” on the form, and • approves the borrower and authorizes closing, if the case is a DE case.” The | more...

June 6, 2013

FHA Loan Rules: Contingent Liability

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan rules cover a wide range of circumstances and situations. Many of these rules were written in anticipation of needs that, while not as common as some, still might be in demand many times over the course of a single fiscal year based on the sheer volume of FHA mortgage loan applications. One set of rules governs something known as “contingent liability”, which the FHA loan rulebook describes in HHUD 4155.1 Chapter Four, Section C. “A contingent liability exists when an individual is held responsible for payment of a debt if another party, jointly or severally obligated, defaults on the payment.” This sort of obligation may be known as a co-sign agreement, a co-borrower or co-obligor arrangement. FHA loans require any borrower who has a contingent liability to list | more...

June 3, 2013

FHA Credit Score Rules

By Joe Wallace

We’ve gotten a lot of reader questions lately about FHA loan standards for credit, FICO scores and more. Many readers want to know what the FHA FICO score requirements are and whether their credit reports are good enough to qualify for an FHA mortgage. There are two important things to understand about FHA loan credit requirements. The FHA loan rules spell out the minimum FICO scores required by the FHA; those minimums are found in HUD 4155.1 Chapter Four, Section A. According to the FHA, “The table below describes the relationship between the borrower’s minimum credit score and the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for which he/she is eligible.” The FHA minimum for maximum financing is listed in the table above at 580. But many borrowers don’t understand that the FHA | more...

June 3, 2013

FHA Loan Reader Questions: Bankruptcy Issues

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “I recently completed a debt reorganization on ch 11 bankruptcy. My plan is 5 years. I will not be discharged until then (5 years).” “However, I would like to refinance my mortgage loan. my credit score is bad because I am in bankruptcy for the next 5 years. Can I refinance ? Can a FHA loan help me and would they refinance my existing loan?” FHA loan rules have plenty to say about bankruptcy issues. For example, in HUD 4155.1 Chapter Four, we find the following: “A Chapter 7 bankruptcy (liquidation) does not disqualify a borrower from obtaining an FHA-insured mortgage if at least two years have elapsed since the date of the discharge of the bankruptcy. During this time, the borrower must have • re-established good | more...