Articles Tagged With: FHA Loan Limits

October 10, 2017

What Are The FHA Loan Rules For Maximum Loan Amounts?

What are the FHA loan rules for maximum loan amounts? It’s an important question many borrowers need to know when looking for homes; knowing how much you can borrow is an important factor in budgeting and planning for your FHA loan. FHA Loan Maximum Mortgage Amounts Defined HUD 4000.1, the FHA loan handbook, describes FHA loan maximum mortgage amounts as follows: “A Mortgage that is to be insured by FHA cannot exceed the Nationwide Mortgage Limits, the nationwide area mortgage limit, or the maximum Loan-to-Value (LTV) ratio. The maximum LTV ratios vary depending upon the type of Borrower, type of transaction (purchase or refinance), program type, and stage of construction.” For most FHA loans, the maximum mortgage an applicant is eligible for involves “the lesser of the Nationwide Mortgage Limit | more...

September 7, 2017

Do FHA Home Loan Limits Change?

By Bruce Reichstein

Do FHA home loan limits change? Borrowers who want to know what the FHA loan limits for a given housing market might be have to contend with the possibility of changing limits depending on what time of year they are house hunting. How FHA Loan Limits Work The Federal Housing Administration calculates new purchase mortgage loan limits based on “the median house prices in accordance with the National Housing Act” according to the FHA official site. “FHA’s Single Family forward mortgage limits are set by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and county and are published periodically.” FHA publishes updated home loan limits for forward mortgages and reverse mortgages on a yearly basis. The FHA official site states, “FHA sets these limits at or between the low cost area and high cost | more...

July 31, 2017

What Is An FHA Loan Limit? Part Two

By Joe Wallace

What Is An FHA Loan Limit? We’ve been exploring this question-in our previous blog post we looked at the basics of FHA loan limits. According to the FHA/HUD official site, “The maximum mortgage amount that FHA will insure on a specific purchase is calculated by multiplying the appropriate LTV percentage by the Adjusted Value. In order for FHA to insure this maximum mortgage amount, the Borrower must make a Minimum Required Investment (MRI) of at least 3.5 percent of the Adjusted Value.” FHA loan limits are set by the National Housing Act and will vary depending on the housing market. Some areas are low-cost markets, some are high-cost, and others are simply “average”. But what does that mean for the typical FHA loan applicant? The FHA loan handbook, HUD 4000.1, | more...

June 20, 2017

FHA Jumbo Loans

By Joe Wallace

FHA Jumbo Loans, also known as non-conforming loans, are mortgages that exceed the county limit for mortgage loans in that area. FHA home loans in excess of these limits (also known as FHA loan limits) are possible, but there are some important factors you should know about before applying. FHA Jumbo Loans Are Like “Standard” FHA Mortgage Loans Some borrowers want to know if they can apply for an FHA Jumbo Loan that exceeds the value of the home and take the remainder of the mortgage loan out in cash at closing time. FHA home loans are specifically designed to prevent cash back to the borrower at closing time except in the form of legitimate refunds. If you paid cash for something up front that was later financed into the | more...

What You Need To Know About Your FHA Home Loan

April 13, 2017

FHA Loan Limits: Low-Cost Areas, High-Cost Areas

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan limits can be puzzling to those unfamiliar with how the program works. FHA loans are calculated based upon the appraised value of the property or the sale price, whichever is lower. There are other factors that will help determine the final amount of the home loan including whether approved closing costs have been rolled into the loan, approved energy efficient upgrades, etc. But housing markets vary across the nation. What is an affordable, modest price for a house in one area won’t be enough to purchase property in a high-cost area. So how does the FHA determine what the proper loan amount should be with this factor in mind? HUD 4000.1 has the answers, listing FHA loan limits, and their requirements and loan guaranty limits for low-cost areas | more...

December 23, 2016

FHA Loan Limits in 2017 Corrected

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan limits for 2017 were posted on the FHA/HUD official site recently, but the Federal Housing Administration has updated the original post with a correction. According to an FHA mortgagee letter, “Mortgagee Letter 16-20 set Federal Housing Administration forward mortgage limits for calendar year 2017, but indicated incorrect ceiling limits for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, which are special exception areas which allow for higher construction costs.” That’s according to Mortgagee Letter 2016-25, which adds the “the correct forward mortgage limit ceiling for those special exception areas”. The Mortgagee Letter is quick to add that there are NO CHANGES for FHA loan limits, including those in the special exception areas. According to the new mortgagee letter: “While ML 16-20 referenced incorrect ceiling limits for the special exception | more...

How much can I borrow with an FHA refinance loan?

December 6, 2016

FHA Loan Limits Rise in 2017: How Much?

By Joe Wallace

In a recent blog post, we discussed the news of FHA loan limits increasing in 2017. Every year the FHA/HUD official site releases the data on FHA loan guaranty limits for the new year. These limits can be affected by legislation, housing market conditions, and other factors so an annual update (at the very least) is required to establish limits for the new year. How much with FHA loan limits increase in 2017? The FHA issued a mortgagee letter (2016-2017) that announces both the new limits for low-cost areas and high cost areas alike. According to the FHA official site, the low-cost area FHA mortgage loan guaranty limits for 2017 are set as follows as described in the mortgagee letter: “The FHA national low cost area mortgage limits, which are | more...

December 5, 2016

Higher FHA Loan Limits For 2017 Announced

By Joe Wallace

The FHA official site has announced higher FHA loan limits for 2017. According to a press release on the official site, The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) today announced the agency’s new schedule of loan limits, and due to an increase in housing prices, most areas in the country will see a slight increase in loan limits in 2017 These loan limits are effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2017, and will remain in effect through the end of the year. The announcement includes word of a higher FHA national loan limit “ceiling”, which is set to increase to $636,150, up from 2016s $625,500 limit. The “floor” is also scheduled to increase in 2016 to $275,665, which is up from the previous years $271,050. Recent changes in | more...

December 2, 2016

FHA Announces 2017 HECM Limits

By Joe Wallace

The FHA official site has been updated recently to include 2017 loan limits for Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, also known as FHA HECM loans or FHA reverse mortgages. According to the press release at www.FHA.gov, “The Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) loan limits for Traditional HECM, HECM for Purchase, and HECM-to-HECM refinances are governed by the maximum claim amount limitation in sections 255(g) and 255(m) of the National Housing Act, which contains cross-references to section 305(a)(2) of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation Act”. The FHA updates HECM loan limits annually, and those updates are effective for the new calendar year; limits may be subject to change depending on legislation, FHA requirements, or other legal factors that may apply before or after the existing year’s update | more...

November 17, 2016

FHA Loan Limits In 2017: The FHA Search Tool

By Joe Wallace

At the time of this writing, FHA loan limits for 2017 have not been published yet, but borrowers who need to know mortgage loan limits can look them up at the FHA official site. No matter whether you’re looking for loan limit information for the current year or for 2017, there is some important information to keep in mind. First, FHA loan limits in general are not uniform across the country. Loan limits vary depending on whether the market you’re buying in is considered a high-cost area or a market where costs are below national averages. When you are using the search tool on the FHA Mortgage Limits page on the FHA official site, you can look up the limits by state, county, or “Metropolitan Statistical Area”. Looking up multiple | more...