Articles Tagged With: FHA Mortgage Loans

December 2, 2016

FHA Announces 2017 HECM Limits

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 25, 2016

FHA Appraisal Fees in 2017

By Joe Wallace

If you are considering an FHA home loan in 2017, the FHA appraisal fees and other appraisal issues are likely something you’ll be thinking about soon. Planning and budgeting for a home loan includes anticipating FHA appraisal fees, hazard insurance, and required closing costs that won’t be included in the loan amount. Do you know how much to save up for such expenses? We get many questions about FHA appraisals in our comments section. One common question has to do with the specific amount of the fee and how such fees are determined. We are also asked about refunds of the appraisal cost if the home is ultimately declared unsuitable for an FHA mortgage, or if the borrower chooses not to purchase the property for some reason. The key to | more...

November 22, 2016

FHA Appraisal Standards In 2017

By Joe Wallace

If you are house hunting at the tail end of 2016 but don’t have a house selected yet, chances are good you’ll be very interested in learning about loan requirements and FHA appraisal standards for 2017. What does the FHA do on a yearly basis that can affect the appraisal process? After all, FHA loan limits for 2017 will be published soon, and the agency does do a review of market conditions in order to set and/or maintain those limits. What about appraisal rules? The truth is, FHA appraisals are a set of standards that basically get changed when they are required to because of new laws, changes in housing standards, or other factors. There is no need to revise FHA appraisal rules on a yearly basis; changes come when | more...

October 31, 2016

FHA Loan Rules: Commuting Distance

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “We are trying to get a loan and the lender is claiming that the requirements say she cant commute for two hours one way to work..My wife is the qualifying buyer and I have never heard of such a thing.. Is this discrimination cause she is a woman? They want verification from transfer store that wife will get same pay when transferred too. This would cause grief at current employment because they would not want to see her go. We do not want to do anything like that, transfer, until loan is finalized.. this all came up the day we were supposed to close…seems like discrimination, time to call a lawyer?” Let’s work backwards on this reader question from the last issue to the first; FHA loan | more...

Buying A Fixer-Upper With An FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan

October 26, 2016

FHA Appraisal Guidelines: Heating and Plumbing

By Joe Wallace

FHA appraisal rules are found in HUD 4000.1, which is the rule book for all FHA single family mortgage loans, refinancing, and reverse mortgages. There are some specific instructions where aspects of the appraisal are concerned, including systems found in the home such as heating, cooling, and plumbing. For example, where heating the home is concerned, FHA loan rules begin by stating, “The Appraiser must examine the heating system to determine if it is adequate for healthful and comfortable living conditions, regardless of design, fuel or heat source.” There may be situations where the heating system installed is not quite up to the task of managing the entire residence. Rules for the FHA appraisal address this directly: “The Appraiser must notify the Mortgagee of the deficiency of MPR or MPS | more...

October 18, 2016

Appraisals: FHA Loans and MPR Rules

By Joe Wallace

We get many questions about FHA appraisals, and there are some critical issues to keep in mind when considering this mandatory part of the FHA loan process. A home to be purchased with an FHA mortgage loan must pass an FHA appraisal, which is intended strictly to assess the fair market value of the home and insure the property meets FHA minimum standards. Note the use of the use of the word, “minimum”. Appraisals are NOT intended as INSPECTIONS of the property. A home that passes an FHA appraisal is not guaranteed to be free of problems, and the FHA makes it clear that borrowers should not accept the appraisal as any sort of stamp of FHA approval. In all cases, a borrower purchasing a home with an FHA mortgage | more...

October 10, 2016

Adding To The FHA Loan Amount

By Joe Wallace

When preparing to fill out an FHA loan application, many borrowers wonder how much FHA loan they will be permitted to get, and whether they can increase that amount. The basic FHA loan rules in HUD 4000.1 state that the loan amount is determined by either the appraised value of the property or the asking price, whichever is lower. Some want to know if they can get cash back on an FHA new purchase single family home loan, but the rules prevent a borrower from receiving cash back on new purchase loans except in the form of a legitimate refund. There are ways to increase the loan amount, however, that do not result in cash back to the borrower. For example, the borrower who chooses to finance the Up Front | more...

September 20, 2016

Down Payment Rules For FHA Loans

By Joe Wallace

FHA home loans differ from conventional mortgages in many ways, and one of those ways is that a lower down payment is required with FHA mortgages than for many conventional loans. A conventional mortgage may require a down payment of ten percent or more, depending on the borrower’s financial qualifications and other factors. But the FHA loan minimum down payment is (in most cases) 3.5% of the adjusted value of the property. But there are specific rules governing the down payment for mortgage loans, and FHA mortgages are no exception. The borrower’s “minimum required investment” or MRI (as HUD 4000.1 describes the down payment) must come from approved sources. Those sources can include a borrower’s own funds, gift funds that meet FHA requirements, cashed-out investments, proceeds from retirement accounts that | more...

August 24, 2016

FHA Loan Basics You Should Know

By Joe Wallace

If you are thinking about buying a home and are weighing your options for an FHA home loan, there are some basics you should know about FHA mortgages that can help you better prepare for an FHA loan application. FHA home loans are for all financially qualified applicants; there are no income minimums OR maximums. Borrowers should know that FHA mortgages are designed to help borrowers at all income levels find an affordable home. Your debt to income ratio (the amount of money coming in each month compared to your monthly expenses and financial obligations) is an important factor in loan approval, but you will not be disqualified because of an income threshold based on your annual income or monthly income alone. FHA mortgages allow you to purchase a home | more...

August 3, 2016

FHA Loan Questions: Divorce, Refinancing

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “My husband is a co-borrower on a 2nd mortgage or loan with his ex-wife. In the divorce decree, it stated that she was to have the loan refinanced so his name would no longer be on the loan. Its almost been a year, and she has been late several times.” Three weeks ago she moved out of county and allowed their ex-daughter-in-law to move it and make the payments. What steps should my husband take at this time?” FHA loan rules in HUD 4000.1 don’t specifically factor into a question like this, except where specific requirements of the new loan are concerned. The real issues here are legal ones, and for that, the reader will need to discuss the situation with a lawyer with expertise in divorce | more...