Articles Tagged With: FHA Mortgage Loan

April 13, 2021

Buy Your First Home With An FHA Mortgage

Do you want to purchase your first home? Borrowers looking for a starter home often turn to the FHA loan program because of its low 3.5% down payment requirement for borrowers with qualifying FICO scores. And thanks to protections for the borrower such as no penalty for early payoff of the loan and the ability to refinance the FHA mortgage into a new FHA loan that can result in a lower mortgage rate or monthly payment when using an FHA Streamline Refinance loan. Qualify For An FHA Mortgage What do you need to qualify for an FHA loan? For best results, at least two years in the job market and FICO scores that are in the 600s or better. FHA loan rules say you can technically qualify for an FHA | more...

January 28, 2021

Low FHA Mortgage Rates In 2021

By Joe Wallace

January of 2021 brought some anticipation about what might happen with home loan interest rates. Would conditions become less volatile and more stable? Would rates start to rise along with investor certainty in the markets that influence mortgage rates? Does fear and uncertainty persist in the new year? Some professional market watchers wrote (in the early days of January 2021) that mortgage rates got started this year minus volatility (at least early)…FHA loan rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are reported in January 2021 below the three percent range–so far, fairly “typical” of what people have come to expect during the pandemic. At the time of this writing, you’ll find FHA mortgage loan interest rates are reported at 2.25% for “best execution” loans which have ideal conditions including a well-qualified borrower. | more...

January 20, 2021

FHA Loan Interest Rates: January 2021

By Joe Wallace

The previous year was historic in many ways and the performance of home loan mortgage rates was no exception. They moved decisively below the three percent range and stayed there, moving higher occasionally but stubbornly resisting certain norms however temporarily. In 2021, people who write about mortgage loan interest rates note that while not directly tied to the performance of U.S.Treasuries, mortgage rates do trend together with Treasuries (typically speaking). In the opening month of the new year mortgage rates have not moved directly in tandem with the ups and downs of Treasuries, but that a correction of sorts has been predicted even before New Year’s Eve. That correction is coming–it’s safe to assume higher rates are in the future. What we don’t know is how long it will take | more...

December 18, 2020

FHA Home Loan Rules For Second Homes, Vacation Homes

By Joe Wallace

Investing in a vacation home is tempting for many. Some borrowers don’t want a vacation home but need a second home because of changes in job requirements, family size, or other factors. Do borrowers have the option of purchasing a vacation home or a second home with an FHA mortgage? FHA loan requirements for loan approval include a rule stating that the home be used as the primary residence; occupancy is a condition of loan approval for an FHA single family forward mortgage loan. You must be plan to use the house you buy with the FHA mortgage as your main address, and in cases where there’s an increase in family size or a change in job location. But a vacation property? Not permitted under the rules in HUD 4000.1 | more...

Home Loans For Building On Your Own Land

December 15, 2020

What Is A Home Construction Loan?

By Bruce Reichstein

Construction loans have different names–you may read them referred to as home construction mortgages, and depending on the terms and conditions of the loan you may find them referred to as One-Time Close mortgages or Construction-To-Permanent mortgages. If you want to build a home on your own land or on land you buy in conjunction with your construction loan, you should ask your loan officer about the FHA and/or VA One-Time Close construction loan programs. These loans feature a single mortgage for the construction phase and the mortgage portion of the transaction–unlike other construction loans that require two loans, two applications, two closing dates, etc. Myths about the construction loan process include who can buy–even a first-time home buyer can be approved for a One-Time close mortgage if they qualify | more...

October 12, 2020

Applying For Your Home Loan With Other Credit Applications Recent or Pending

By Bruce Reichstein

Here is a variation on a common question asked about applying for an FHA home loan. “I recently applied for financing for a vehicle. Do I still qualify for an FHA mortgage?” In general, borrowers should avoid opening new lines of credit ahead of a mortgage loan application. FHA mortgages, like other home loans, require the lender to justify the loan as a good credit risk. If a borrower is opening new lines of credit at or near the time the home loan application is turned in, it may make the lender think twice about approving the mortgage. One reason for this is that entering into other types of debt while applying for a home loan may give the impression (right or wrong) that the borrower isn’t disciplined with credit | more...

August 24, 2020

FHA Loan Credit Questions: Co-Signing

By Bruce Reichstein

Here is a variation on a common question about FHA home loans: “I think my credit is fairly good but I have two cars in my name–one of which I thought I was only the co-signer. I’ve recently found a property that is fairly reasonable and my question is will my co-signing affect the loan approval decision? I do not make the payments on the second vehicle.” HUD 4000.1 has a great deal to say about credit, financial liabilities, and related issues. What does it say about this reader’s question? The general philosophy of the FHA is toward applicant credit information includes the notion that your credit history is the “most useful guide” determining things like: The loan applicant’s attitude toward credit obligations; The ability to predict a borrower’s future | more...

May 6, 2020

Home Loan Forbearance Options

By Bruce Reichstein

Are you one of the many Americans in need of mortgage loan forbearance during COVID-19? There are many different types of mortgages; FHA, VA, USDA, conventional…the options available to you may vary depending on the type of mortgage you have, whether you are current on your home loan payments at the time you request the help, and other factors. If you need to apply for mortgage forbearance, it is important to know the range of choices open to you not just for the forbearance period itself, but also for repaying the money you don’t pay now if you are approved. Some loan forbearance options may allow you to choose to stop making payments for up to a full year and choose a method to repay the year’s worth of delayed | more...

February 10, 2020

FHA Purchase and Refinance Loan Interest Rate Trends And Your New Home

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA home loans have a low minimum required down payment of 3.5%, which makes them perfect for both experienced homeowners and first-time homebuyers alike. With an FHA mortgage it’s possible to purchase or refinance a fixer-upper (with an FHA 203(k) rehab loan), buy or refinance a condo, mobile home, existing construction houses, and you can even apply to have a home built for you on your own lot with an FHA One-Time Close construction loan. As we head into the second month of 2020, we are reminded that 2019 was the best year for mortgage loan interest rates in almost a decade and the trends that kept rates low last year continue to exert some influence as new issues also conspire to push mortgage rates lower. At least in the | more...

August 8, 2019

Home Buying, FHA Loans, And Mortgage Trends

By Joe Wallace

Is 2019 the best time to consider buying a home? Recent mortgage loan interest rate trends and the news agencies that report on them seem to indicate that conditions are very good for first-time home buyers looking to purchase a home in the remainder of the year. One indication? Headlines during the week of August 4, 2019 that included phrases like, “Lowest Rates Since November 2016”. And then there are reports by agencies that monitor house prices in the United States. Consider the First American Real House Price Index (RHPI), which tracks the prices of single-family homes and the effects of factors like changes in mortgage loan interest rates on consumer borrowing power. The May 2019 report by First American includes this quote: “Consumer house-buying power, how much one can | more...