Articles Tagged With: FHA Loan Application

What Credit Score Is Needed For An FHA Mortgage?

December 30, 2022

Are You Ready To Buy A Home With An FHA Mortgage?

Are you ready to buy a home with an FHA mortgage? There are ways to tell how close you are to being ready to start house hunting and move out of the planning stages of your new home loan. Do You Know Your FHA Loan Limit? FHA loan limits are higher in 2023, you will want to know how much higher the limit may be in your housing market compared to last year. FHA home loan limits vary depending on the housing market; some areas are more expensive than others and have a higher loan limit, while others are “average” and conform to the median FHA loan limit nationwide. Some housing markets may be less expensive than others and feature a lower FHA loan limit, but the only way to | more...

August 17, 2022

FHA Loans And Surplus Land

By Joe Wallace

What do FHA loan rules say about surplus and/or excess land? It’s not an issue for someone who wants to buy a condo unit, but for those looking for homes in rural areas, excess or surplus land could be an important detail at appraisal time. FHA loan rules in HUD 4000.1 discuss appraisals where there may be surplus land or excess land involved, and while the section referencing this issue is short, it does give us an idea of what to expect in these cases; a big question addressed in FHA loan rules here is how the excess or surplus land affects the valuation of the property. What Is The FHA Definition Of Surplus or Excess Land? HUD 4000.1 states, “Excess Land refers to land that is not needed to | more...

June 24, 2022

Planning Your Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

The planning stage of your home loan is extremely important. This is where you will determine what kind of home you might want, the price range you can afford, and how much down payment you need to save up to make. One big choice you face in the planning process? Decisions about issues related to long-term occupancy of the home, whether you plan to sell within a short or long amount of time and how you should arrange your financing to accommodate those needs. What kind of arrangements? Some borrowers don’t apply for a fixed-rate mortgage. They know they are not keeping the home for the long term and choose to take advantage of lower interest rates offered in the introductory period of an FHA Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) instead | more...

Five FHA Home Loan Questions To Ask Your Lender

February 24, 2022

FHA Home Loan Issues For Veterans

By Joe Wallace

Veterans interested in buying a home have many choices including a VA home loan, but also FHA loans that function in much the same way as their VA counterparts. While it is true that VA loans require no down payment in most cases but FHA home loans always require one in most cases, some veterans explore their FHA loan options just the same. Some want existing construction loans, others want a One Time Close mortgage to build a suitable home from the ground up. One Time Close mortgages are available in both VA and FHA versions, so military and veteran borrowers have options with either type of mortgage. But some military members and veterans may enter the service after already having purchased a home, or after having assumed an FHA | more...

October 20, 2021

Who May Contribute To My FHA Home Loan? Interested Party Contributions

By Bruce Reichstein

Who my contribute to my FHA home loan? That is a question many want to know, and the answers don’t always point to the most obvious type of contribution the borrower may seek-the FHA mortgage loan required down payment. How much and to which areas can an interested party contribute to for the borrower’s FHA mortgage? FHA loan rules governing this topic are found in HUD 4000.1, the FHA Loan Handbook for single-family mortgage loan transactions. To begin, it should be noted that down payment source funds are strictly regulated and must come from a verifiable source the lender can investigate to make sure FHA loan rules have been followed. In general, down payment contributions cannot come from interested parties to include “sellers, real estate agents, builders, developers or other | more...

August 20, 2021

Buying Your First Home

By Joe Wallace

What kinds of questions should you ask before you make an offer to buy your first home? There are many areas to think about when getting ready to make a big financial commitment like a mortgage. Is Your Financial House In Order? Can you realistically afford the home you are buying? The answer to this question goes further than whether you have enough money after your other monthly expenses to pay your mortgage. For example, having the ability to save for your upfront expenses (down payment and closing costs) is important. But what happens AFTER those fees and expenses are taken care of? It is a good idea to include saving some cash reserves above and beyond your cash to close–having some extra funds to help out in case times | more...

July 28, 2021

FHA Loan Limits: Fact and Fiction

By Joe Wallace

When it’s time to commit to buying a home, you’ll need to know what the conforming loan limit for the county where you want to buy the home is for the current year. FHA loan limits in 2021 are determined annually and occasionally there is an update posted during the year when circumstances warrant. That’s one reason to investigate the loan limits early in the new year after they change–you don’t really know if they have changed or not until you check or are told by a lender or other authority what the going loan limits are. Fact: FHA Loan Limits Vary Depending On The Market Some counties are located in high-cost areas and have subsequently higher FHA loan limits than typical-cost or low-cost areas. Some housing markets have loan | more...

July 27, 2021

FHA Loans: Credit Score Tips

By Joe Wallace

What is a good FHA loan credit score? In general, the obvious advice is that you should try to come to the home loan process with as high a FICO score as you can for best results. But not everyone has the advantage of an Excellent credit rating. What do future homeowners need to know about FHA loan requirements and their credit score? To start, you should know that no two lenders are exactly alike and it is a bad idea to assume you will get the same results from all of them. Don’t assume you can’t qualify for a loan–have a loan officer help you determine what kind of mortgage is right for you. FHA Credit Score Tip: Shop Around Why do we say “shop around” when it comes | more...

July 12, 2021

Documents You’ll Need To Apply For A Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

Do you know the paperwork and documentation you’ll need to complete a home loan application? There are plenty of things you’ll need to gather–what follows is a list of items that are easy to overlook when you’re thinking about filling out an online loan application. This list is not exhaustive–you should ask your loan officer for a complete list of that financial institution’s requirements–they aren’t always the same. Authorization The first thing to know about some home loan documentation requirements? Some of them are fairly non-negotiable. For example, your lender must get copies of your credit report to complete your mortgage application. This requires all borrowers named on the mortgage application to give permission to the lender to do so and you cannot supply your own credit data to the | more...

June 25, 2021

Reasons You Might Be Denied A Mortgage

By Bruce Reichstein

There are many reasons why a mortgage underwriter might deny your home loan application. There are some very obvious, Mortgage 101 reasons that you’ll read about in most finance blogs or mortgage loan blogs. Among the most obvious answers? Low credit scores, a borrower with a history of late or missed payments for housing obligations, and homes that do not pass the appraisal process. But what about the not-so-obvious ones? Red Flags For The Lender: Recent Career Changes Could you be denied a home loan if you have recently changed jobs and the switch resulted in you earning less money or moving downward (career-wise) rather than upward? It’s possible, depending on a variety of factors. It’s also possible to be turned down for a mortgage loan if you have recently | more...