Articles Tagged With: FHA Mortgage

July 29, 2024

FHA Loans And Multi-Unit Properties

FHA home loans are intended for owner-occupiers. The FHA loan occupancy requirement states that the borrower must begin using the home purchased with an FHA loan within a specified time after closing (usually within 60 days.) But FHA loan rules also permit owner-occupiers to buy multi-unit properties. For multi-unit homes, the borrower must occupy at least one unit but is free to rent out the unused spaces in the house to others. FHA loan rules limit the number of units to four in these transactions. If a borrower intends to apply for an FHA loan for a home with multiple units, it may be tempting to try to convince the lender to factor in any potential income from such rental as part of the applicant’s debt-to-income ratio. Is this permitted? | more...

July 25, 2024

HUD Proposes Final Rule on Sale of Delinquent FHA Mortgages

By Joe Wallace

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a new rule to oversee the sale of delinquent single-family mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This initiative aims to increase the availability of affordable housing and enhance community stability. According to HUD.giv, this move is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to “expanding affordable housing options,” and the proposed rule is intended to assist struggling homeowners. Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia Gordon was quoted in a HUD press release about the proposed rule. Gordon notes the proposed rule is meant to create stability. It establishes standardized regulations for future delinquent home loan sales and prioritizes neighborhood stabilization. HUD has been experimenting with selling off delinquent mortgages since 2002. The July 2024 | more...

July 17, 2024

FHA Loans: What To Do After Closing Day

By Joe Wallace

Buying your home with an FHA mortgage involves finding the right lender, making a down payment, saving for and paying closing costs, and taking the keys to your new home on closing day. However, it’s crucial to anticipate potential challenges that may arise after moving in. Did You Get A Home Inspection And An Appraisal? It’s highly recommended that you get a home inspection as a standard part of buying a house. Making the purchase contingent on the inspection and appraisal outcomes can offer protection that you won’t realize until long after closing the loan. While an FHA mortgage safeguards against lower appraised values through an “escape clause” for situations where the house appraises lower than the asking price, adding a contingency clause for inspection issues is wise. Inspectors might | more...

July 16, 2024

Do You Need Help Understanding Your FHA Loan?

By Joe Wallace

The variety of FHA home loan programs, including construction loans and reverse mortgages, can be overwhelming for many borrowers. HUD-approved housing counseling offers invaluable support to help borrowers make informed decisions about these complex programs. You can get a free referral to a HUD-approved housing counselor by calling 1-800-CALL FHA. FHA Loan Counseling: Your Path to Homeownership The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insures mortgages, reducing lender risk and expanding access to homeownership for individuals with lower credit scores or limited down payment funds. However, understanding the nuances of certain FHA loans, such as reverse mortgages and construction loans, can be challenging. Did you know you can call HUD to get a referral to an approved housing counselor to help you through the process? Housing counselors can help you in the | more...

July 3, 2024

Planning Your First Home

By Joe Wallace

Are you looking for your first home? Applying for an FHA loan might seem intimidating, but there are some things you can do to help reduce those feelings of being overwhelmed by unfamiliar details. This is especially true in an age of confusing information about changing interest rates, modified credit qualifying standards, and options to save your home if disaster strikes. Start Early The key is to start early and plan ahead. Before you fill out loan application paperwork, consider making your planning phase for the loan last a year or more. This takes some immediate pressure off borrowers to save up for the down payment and closing costs. It also provides adequate time to work on your credit and cut your monthly debt. What other things can first-time home | more...

July 1, 2024

Comparing Home Loan Offers

By Joe Wallace

Are you planning to buy a new home? You can find the right home loan by applying a similar process you use to find the right house. In fact, shopping around for the right mortgage loan is just as important as shopping around for the right house. If you are considering an FHA mortgage to buy, renovate, or build a home, you’ll want to make the same kind of informed decisions about the lender and the loan. Comparing lenders and loans is the way to do that. But there are some tips you can follow to make that process more streamlined. Research Multiple FHA Lenders While on paper, FHA loan terms and conditions such as FICO score requirements seem to be standardized, the FHA minimum FICO score requirements are just | more...

June 27, 2024

What You Can Do With Your FHA Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

Borrowers sometimes assume things about home loan programs that aren’t entirely accurate. In the same way some assume that FHA single-family home loans can be used to buy an investment property (they cannot) or that the FHA loan program requires you to be a first-time home buyer, there are flawed assumptions about the kinds of home you can buy with an FHA mortgage and the acceptable uses of these home loans. FHA Loans To Build A Home The FHA One-Time Close construction loan is what borrowers choose when they want to build a home from the ground up. These FHA mortgages also allow land purchase with the loan if you don’t already have it to build on. FHA Loans Can Be Used To Install A Home FHA loans can be | more...

June 25, 2024

What To Look For When House Hunting

By Joe Wallace

If you are looking for your first home, there are areas of every house you should consider including in your mental checklist of features to look at during a real estate open house or a private viewing of a sale property. What follows is not a complete list but a great place to start when looking for potential deal-breaker problems lurking in the house you want to purchase with an FHA mortgage. The Condition Of The Walls And Ceiling Homes that have been flooded or experienced significant plumbing issues could have signs of water damage in areas like the basement, stairs, and walls throughout the house. Look for stains, patches of wall that don’t quite match the others, warped wood, poorly closed doors, etc. Staining and the smell of mold | more...

June 20, 2024

Using A Real Estate Agent To Buy A Home

By Joe Wallace

There are many types of homes, home loans, and house hunters. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for FHA loans. Knowing the right options for the right transaction is essential. Whether or not to use a real estate agent is another area where there is no single ideal answer to the question, Is it worth it to use an agent? Some will definitely need one, while others may be able to get the work done independently. Some House Hunters Don’t Need An Agent The borrower who buys a home in their hometown may have a good grasp of their housing market. If you have lived in an area long enough to spot an overpriced house, you might not be as keen on getting the help of an agent. But if you are | more...

June 18, 2024

FHA Loan Options: What To Ask The Lender

By Joe Wallace

If you have never purchased a home and aren’t sure where to begin, you’ll find plenty of advice about what to do, but some steps are more important in the early stages of the process than others. One common loan planning step is to compare multiple financial institutions to see who offers the most competitive rates and terms. Some borrowers are tempted to skip this step or truncate it. But that’s not a good idea. The home loan process should always include comparing multiple lenders, but if you’ve never tried that before, here are some things you should know that may help you save valuable time in the planning process. Choose The Right Loan For You Decide early what type of home loan is best for your situatiuon. Remember that | more...