Articles Tagged With: FHA Loan Rules

September 22, 2015

Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Trends: Higher On Monday

You might have noticed more of these types of posts recently–we’ve expanded our coverage of FHA mortgage loan interest rate trends because of the attention to last Thursday’s Fed announcements on the future of interest rates and the potential for volatility in the markets that directly affect those rates as a result. Things seem to be settling back down to normal and our coverage on mortgage loan rate trends will do likewise, but Monday was significant because it was the first day rates moved higher following the Fed’s Thursday announcement that no rate hike was coming, at least for now. 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan interest rates are still in a range between 3.875% and 4.0% best execution at the time of this writing. It was hoped that another | more...

September 21, 2015

FHA Loan Appraisal Questions

By Joe Wallace

There are many readers who ask us appraisal-related questions in the comments section here; some are general questions, while others get quite specific. Here’s an example of one of the more specific FHA appraisal questions we’ve been asked recently: “If a bedroom has two windows with keyed burglar bars do both have to be replaced with quick release burglar bars?”. The FHA has recently issued HUD 4000.1, which is a comprehensive policy guidebook for FHA single family loans including references to FHA appraisal standards. Those references do include a mention of bars on windows: “The Appraiser must report when the Property has security bars on bedroom windows or doors.” Note that this reference says nothing about replacement or removal, however state or local building code might. So what all borrowers | more...

September 21, 2015

FHA Mortgage Rate Trends: Lower On Friday

By Joe Wallace

FHA mortgage rates continued a move lower on Friday–a move that started on Thursday following the Fed announcement stating that there would not be a hike in interest rates for now. The Friday momentum–if it carries into Monday–could result in rates dropping to a best execution 3.75% best execution for 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages. That would also likely mean a drop in the FHA best execution rates, too. Those rates have held out in their best execution comfort zone of 3.75% up to now, so we’ll be watching what rates do and where they stand at the end of the business day. Industry professionals last week were advising borrowers to consider locking in a mortgage loan interest rate prior to Thursday’s Fed announcement, but now the advice is taking | more...

September 18, 2015

HUD Announces 2015 Relief For Victims Of Hurricane Sandy

By Joe Wallace

You read that correctly–the Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced further relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. It’s been quite some time since we ran any Sandy-related news, but a recent decision by HUD gives these home owners some much-needed assistance. Many FHA borrowers were affected by that hurricane, and according to a press release issued by the FHA/HUD official site, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today decided that HUD will not force thousands of New York and New Jersey homeowners to repay federal disaster recovery funds following a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to increase flood insurance claim payments to families it initially underpaid following Hurricane Sandy.” According to HUDNo.15-144, federal law gives the Department of Housing and Urban Development the | more...

September 17, 2015

Mortgage Loan Interest Rate Trends: Holding Steady Ahead Of Big Fed Announcement

By Joe Wallace

Thursday is a very important day for mortgage rates, thanks to the much anticipated Fed announcement later today that could bring news of an interest rate hike…or not. That announcement, at the time of this writing, has not happened so we await the news from the Fed and will write a post about the announcement and its effect on the mortgage loan interest rate environment–look for that update on Friday morning. On Wednesday mortgage loan rates held steady, which was not the case on Tuesday as nervous investors made choices in the markets that directly affect mortgage loan rates that sent those rates higher. But for now, at the time of this writing, 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan interest rates held steady (best execution) at or near 4.0%. FHA | more...

September 16, 2015

Mortgage Rate Trends: Moving Higher Ahead Of Fed

By Joe Wallace

You may notice us posting more this week about FHA loan interest rate trends; that’s because this is a major week for mortgage loan rates since the Fed announcement due Thursday on a possible interest rate hike is a major news item. Yesterday we reported that it is very likely that rates might go into a holding pattern ahead of the Fed, but as anxiety builds, investor behavior is putting upward pressure on the markets that directly affect mortgage rates. On Tuesday rates moved higher, pushing many lenders aggressively offering sub-four percent rates on 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgages (best execution) back into the 4.0% zone. Some borrowers may have noticed the difference in closing costs rather than an actual rate move depending on the lender. FHA mortgage loan rates | more...

September 16, 2015

FHA Loan Questions: Can Only One Spouse Be Obligated On The FHA Loan?

By Joe Wallace

We get lots of questions about FHA loans where spouses may or may not wish to apply for the loan together. Here’s one such recent question where the couple only wants to have one spouse apply for the mortgage: “Can my wife be the only person on the mortgage? If so do you only use her income to qualify or can you use both incomes. I have a judgment on my credit, but I have more income then she does and that would give us more of a mortgage to work with.” Unfortunately the answer to this question depends greatly on whether or not the couple reside in a state where community property laws apply. Community property laws, which vary from state to state where applicable, have a great deal | more...

September 15, 2015

Mortgage Rate Trends: Holding Pattern Until The Fed Announcement?

By Joe Wallace

Monday kicked off a wait-and-see week with rates holding steady ahead of Thursday’s Federal Open Market Committee’s announcement with regard to a possible hike in interest rates. In years past, this type of FOMC announcement has had great power to move rates, and there is “no consensus among economists” according to a recent Business Insider article as to whether or not the rate hike will be announced this week. So markets are playing the waiting game, and that means, at least on Monday, that mortgage loan rates were in what some might categorize as “defensive mode”. Rates don’t seem to be budging, and that means that best-execution, we see reports of 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loan interest rates hovering at or near 4.0%. FHA mortgage loan rates are still | more...

What if my home was damaged in a natural disaster?

September 15, 2015

FHA 203(k) Rehab Loans

By Joe Wallace

Not all borrowers want to get an FHA home loan for a home that is perfect and fully ready to occupy. Some are interested in fixer-upper properties, and we commonly receive reader questions in our comments section about them. Here’s a good example of a recent query: “… If I was interested in purchasing a property below market value and having a contractor repair the existing home on the property is there a loan that could potentially work in this situation?” The FHA/HUD official site has a page of information about the FHA 203(k) rehab loan that addresses this issue directly. According to the FHA official site: “Section 203(k) fills a unique and important need for homebuyers. When buying a house that needs repair or modernization, homebuyers usually have to | more...

September 14, 2015

FHA Home Loans and Legal Questions

By Joe Wallace

From time to time we get questions in the comments section about legal issues associated with an FHA home loan transaction. One of the most recent involved a situation where a reader tells us: “…the underwriter denied loan due to not enough in account for closing. The sellers realtor contacted our loan officer and asked if we had enough money to pay the closing costs our loan officer told her no, at that point the sellers realtor stated they did not know if they wanted to deal with us. Is that legal for our loan officer to give the sellers realtor this information…” It cannot be stressed enough that in situations where there is a legal question, a lawyer with experience in real estate law should be consulted. We cannot | more...