Articles Tagged With: FHA Lenders

February 5, 2019

FHA Home Loan Approval For First-Time Home Buyers

What should you know about FHA home loan approval? Buying a first home or a larger property after purchasing a starter home with an FHA mortgage can be less stressful if you remember a few important things right at the start. FHA Home Loans Require A (Lower) Down Payment FHA mortgage loans require a minimum of 3.5% down. Compare that with other mortgage loans such as a conventional mortgage, or other government backed mortgage loans such as the USDA program. Yes, when you do research on USDA loans, you will find a no-down payment option offered to some qualified borrowers. But USDA loans are need-based, and FHA home loans are not. Any financially qualified borrower can apply for an FHA loan if they intend to use the house they buy | more...

FHA Home Loan Credit Score Requirements: FICO Scores And More

February 4, 2019

Questions To Ask Your FHA Lender

By Joe Wallace

There are many questions to ask your participating FHA lender when you are getting ready to purchase a first home or a replacement home. If you are looking at working with a realtor and begin your house hunting process, make sure you create a list of questions for your lender so you can go into the home loan process as informed as possible. Do FHA Home Loans Require Me To Have A Financial Need To Qualify? Your lender will explain that no, FHA home loans are not need-based. There are government-backed need based loans that feature income requirements and maximum income rules; USDA home loans are a good example. But FHA mortgages have no income limit, are not need based, and do not require the borrower to be a first-time | more...

January 28, 2019

FHA Loans And The Government Shutdown: What’s Next?

By Bruce Reichstein

Headlines in the earliest part of 2019 about the government shutdown gave way at the end of the third full week to those discussing the interim re-opening of the government for three weeks so that negotiations on the federal budget may continue. On Friday, January 5, 2019, the partial shutdown ended, bringing furloughed workers back on the job and ending the question of how long nearly one million American workers would have to do without a paycheck. What does all this have to do with FHA mortgage loans? Many wondered if the FHA would stop the home loan program during the partial shutdown, and while that did not happen, some aspects of the FHA mortgage program were affected including the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program and certain aspsects of the | more...

January 19, 2019

Are The Same FHA Home Loans Offered To A First-Time Home Buyer As Experienced Borrowers?

By Joe Wallace

There are plenty of misconceptions about the FHA home loan program and first-time home buyers may assume some of them are true. One such misconception is that the FHA home loan program is only for first-time home buyers. Another is that the FHA loan program offers perks for those who are searching for their first home or a starter home. The reality is much different. Three Things First-Time Home Buyers Should Know About FHA Loans FHA Home Loan Facts You Should Remember FHA down payments can be supplemented by a down payment gift from a family member, friend, or employer. These funds must be properly sourced so make sure that your down payment gift is made with a check, deposited into your account, and the payment details are furnished to | more...

November 14, 2018

FHA Home Loan Basics: Who Qualifies?

By Joe Wallace

Are you looking for a home loan? Do you want to buy a home with a mortgage loan in 2019? The FHA Single-Family Home Loan program offers a wide variety of options for qualifying borrowers, but some future home owners make the wrong assumptions about FHA mortgages. How much do you know about this important home loan option? FHA Home Loans Are For Any Financially Qualified Borrower Regardless Of Past Home Ownership If you have applied for a home loan in the past, owned a home before, or are a current home owner, you are not excluded from consideration for an FHA mortgage under the rules of the FHA program. This is true of all FHA mortgages including One-Time Close construction loans, FHA condo loans, and FHA mortgages for multi-unit | more...

November 2, 2018

Five Reasons Lenders May Deny Your Home Loan Application

By Joe Wallace

There are many reasons why a home loan application might be denied. If you seek an FHA home loan, credit requirements and other rules may be more forgiving of past credit mistakes, but lender standards and other factors do mean the borrower is held to certain minimums for FICO scores, debt ratios, and other financial qualifications. #5: FHA Loan Rules Require A Minimum FICO Score Requirement If your FICO scores are below 500, FHA loan rules say you are not eligible for an FHA mortgage loan. But that 500 minimum score is the FHA requirement, NOT the lender’s. Your participating lender’s requirements may be higher than 500 as a minimum, and meeting the bare minimum can result in a higher down payment. FHA FICO score requirements for the lowest down | more...

October 19, 2018

Finding A Lender For An FHA Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

How do you find the right lender for your home loan needs? If you seek an FHA mortgage, the first step is to find a participating lender who is willing to write an FHA loan. After that, the process of weeding out has a lot to do with finding the services you need, the most competitive interest rate, and a lender that has the kind of loan you need. FHA Lenders: They Are Not All Alike The reason it’s important to shop around for an FHA lender includes finding one that is willing to do the kind of mortgage for the property you want to purchase. Not all participating lenders offer all FHA loan products. Depending on your housing market, certain kinds of mortgages may not be popular and may | more...

January 25, 2018

FHA Loan Options For New Construction Homes: FHA One-Time Close Mortgages And More

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA loan options for buying new construction homes include the FHA One-Time Close / Single-Close Construction Mortgage, which allows a borrower to apply once and have a single closing date for a house built from the ground up. FHA One-Time Close mortgages differ from other construction loans because this type of construction loan eliminates the two-step construction loan application process where the borrower applies once for the costs of construction, and has a closing date for that loan, then applies a second time for the mortgage on the property itself. It’s definitely an advantage to have a single application and closing date. But what are the other options to compare this type of loan to? It’s good to know what you can get from multiple options-making an informed choice to | more...

Rent Or Buy? Arguments For Purchasing A Home With An FHA Mortgage

October 31, 2017

Income Requirements For An FHA Loan Part Two

By Joe Wallace

In a recent blog post we discussed income requirements for an FHA loan including basic debt-to-income (DTI) ratio issues, the fact that your income must be stable and reliable, and that you can’t earn “too much” to qualify for an FHA mortgage. One question some FHA loan applicants have at this point involves how the lender arrives at things like the debt to income calculation, how job reliability is determined, etc. How Does The Lender Calculate My Debt To Income Ratio For An FHA Home Loan? Simply put, the loan application will ask. You will have places in your application which ask about your monthly obligations, and the lender will also check your credit reports to see what active accounts you have. Some borrowers may be tempted to omit certain | more...

October 27, 2017

What Are The Lender Requirements For An FHA Loan?

By Bruce Reichstein

What are the lender requirements for an FHA loan? The answer to that question varies depending on the lender, but in general there are many areas the lender will examine to determine if you are able to afford an FHA home loan. FHA Lender Requirements For Employment And Income The FHA loan handbook, HUD 4000.1, requires your chosen participating FHA lender to verify your most recent two years of employment history. Those two years do not have to be with the same employer, but the lender will be looking for patterns of reliability where income and employment are concerned. The lender wants to know that your current income is stable, reliable, and likely to continue. FHA loan rules provide for the fact that not all income is employment-based. You cannot | more...