Articles Tagged With: FHA MIP

August 22, 2024

Comparing FHA Mortgage Insurance to Conventional Mortgage Insurance

There are two types of mortgage insurance: private mortgage insurance (PMI) and Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance. Each has a specific use and purpose and its own price tag, which may vary depending on circumstances. We examine some important facts about each type below. What To Know About Mortgage Insurance Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) PMI protects lenders if a borrower defaults on a loan with less than a 20% down payment. Lenders consider this insurance necessary for loans that are viewed as higher risk. PMI typically has stricter eligibility criteria than FHA mortgage insurance. Borrowers often need good credit scores (680 or higher) and a debt-to-income ratio of 43%. The cost varies depending on the borrower’s credit score, down payment amount, loan term, and the insurance provider. It is | more...

June 13, 2018

Is There Such A Thing As A Refund For FHA UFMIP Mortgage Insurance?

By Joe Wallace

Is there such a thing as a refund for FHA Up-Front Mortgage Insurance or FHA UFMIP? This mortgage insurance premium is required on FHA loan transactions and must be paid either in cash at closing time or must be financed into the loan amount. FHA loan rules do not allow a borrower to pay a portion and finance a portion of the FHA UFMIP, it must be paid in full using financing or cash. Borrowers have many questions about this FHA mortgage insurance requirement, including whether or not a refund is possible under the right circumstances. FHA forward mortgages require UFMIP as a condition of the loan no matter if the transaction is an FHA One-Time Close construction loan, existing construction purchase, or whether the borrower is buying a manufactured | more...

January 11, 2017

FHA MIP Rates For 2017: Revised

By Joe Wallace

The FHA/HUD official site has announced changes to the FHA MIP fee structure for 2017. According to the latest FHA mortgagee letter, “FHA continuously strives to achieve the appropriate balance between meeting the housing needs of the borrowers that FHA’s mortgage insurance programs were created to serve, and also the requirement of minimizing the level of risk to the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund undertaken relative to the insurance of those mortgages.” “FHA has determined that the appropriate balance of its statutory operational goals now requires a reduction of the rate of annual MIP charged pursuant to Section 203(c)(2)(B) of the National Housing Act (NHA). As provided in this ML, the total annual MIP charged pursuant to NHA sections 203(c)(2)(B) and (C) for most Title II Single Family forward mortgages has | more...

December 14, 2016

Mortgage Insurance Premiums, Down Payments, And FHA Loans

By Joe Wallace

Some borrowers get confused about the FHA’s required mortgage insurance premium (MIP), the Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) required to be paid at closing or to be financed into the loan, and private mortgage insurance (PMI). The FHA loan rulebook says of UFMIP, “Most FHA mortgage insurance programs require the payment of UFMIP, which may be financed into the Mortgage. The UFMIP is not considered when calculating the area-based Nationwide Mortgage Limits and LTV limits.” UFMIP is considered a standard cost of an FHA mortgage loan and is a separate expense entirely from the down payment, also known as the minimum required investment. FHA loan rules, as stated above, do permit the financing of the UFMIP, but the amount must either be financed entirely into the loan or paid | more...

September 28, 2016

FHA Loan Mortgage Insurance Premiums

By Joe Wallace

Here’s a version of a common question we’ve been asked recently about FHA mortgage insurance premiums: “I closed an FHA mortgage on a house I purchased in December 2014. The following month FHA reduced the mortgage insurance premium (MIP). Can I get the lower mortgage insurance rate and a reduced monthly payment without totally refinancing my mortgage?” The FHA/HUD official site published a .pdf file that addresses this question directly. Back in 2015 the FHA lowered it’s mortgage insurance premium. The pdf states, “The reduction is effective as of January 26, 2015. Borrowers with case numbers assigned on and after January 26, 2015 will be eligible for reduced annual mortgage insurance premiums.” Note the specific date when the lower premiums become effective-borrowers who have loans prior to these dates will | more...

December 24, 2015

FHA Loans And The Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP)

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan rules published in HUD 4000.1 include instructions to the lender on how FHA single family mortgages are to include the Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium, also known as UFMIP. This is an expense borrowers should plan and budget for in the pre-application phase of preparing for an FHA mortgage loan. Borrowers can choose to finance the UFMIP or pay the cost at closing time. The UFMIP is not to be confused with the monthly mortgage insurance premium, also known as MIP, or private mortgage insurance commonly called PMI. According to HUD 4000.1: “FHA collects a one-time Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) and an annual insurance premium, also referred to as the periodic or monthly MIP, which is collected in monthly installments.” Of UFMIP, the rulebook says that “most | more...

June 11, 2015

FHA Policy On Cancelling Monthly Mortgage Insurance Premiums

By Joe Wallace

One commonly asked question about FHA loans involves when and how a borrower can stop paying FHA Monthly Mortgage Insurance Premiums. The information we’re discussing here does not apply to Private Mortgage Insurance, which something different than FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums. Since we’ve mentioned Private Mortgage Insurance, borrowers who have it, (called PMI for short) should know the following as published on the government website, ConsumerFinance.gov: “The Homeowners Protection Act gives you the right to request that your lender cancel PMI when you have reached the date when the principal balance of your mortgage is scheduled to fall to 80 percent of the original value of your home. This date should have been given to you in writing on a PMI disclosure form when you received your mortgage. If you | more...

May 23, 2015

FHA MIP Rates: A Reader Question

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “I closed an FHA loan on 02/18/15 and was charged a rate of 1.689% for Mortgage Insurance Premium. The rates were reduced in January-15. Was I charged an incorrect rate?” This is a common question for some borrowers because their loans happened during a period of time where the change from the old FHA MIP rates to the new rates occurred. The short answer to this reader question is, “It depends”. The timing of the assignment of a borrower’s FHA case number is key in cases like these. According to a Frequently Asked Questions page found at HUD.gov, the deciding factor on whether a borrower got the old rate or the new one is the date when the FHA case number was assigned. According to HUD.gov, “The | more...

January 30, 2015

FHA Mortgage Loan Rules For The New Mortgage Insurance Premium Cuts

By Joe Wallace

A great deal of reader questions have come in about the FHA’s recent move to cut the annual mortgage insurance premium on FHA loans with case numbers assigned on or after January 26 2015. We thought it was a good time to remind our readers and clarify what the FHA has announced with respect to mortgage loans affected by this new rule. Which mortgage loans are affected by the FHA MIP cuts? According to the FHA mortgagee letter (ML) announcing the cuts, “This ML reduces the rate for annual MIP for all Title II forward mortgages, with terms greater than 15 years, except; –single family forward streamline refinance transactions that are refinancing existing FHA loans that were endorsed on or before May 31, 2009; –Section 247 mortgages (Hawaiian Homelands) Borrowers | more...

January 28, 2015

FHA Mortgage Loan Trends

By Joe Wallace

FHA mortgage loan rates kicked off the week more or less unchanged, best execution-wise–the previous two business days had some improvements in rates following a “consolidation” ahead of a highly anticipated announcement from the European Central Bank that had great potential to affect mortgage loan rates depending on investor reaction to the contents of that announcement. With the ECB announcement come and gone, and rates improving after another highly watched announcement by the Fed here at home, we find rates moving back to lows some sources report going down to 2013 levels. That’s great news for those looking for 30-year fixed rate conventional mortgage loans as the best execution rate for those loans has moved to about 3.625% depending on the lender. That rate is not available to all borrowers | more...