Articles Tagged With: FHA Mortgage

July 13, 2021

FHA Loan Down Payment Facts

Some borrowers get nervous about having to come up with a down payment. It is more than some have spent on one thing in their adult lives all at once, who can blame them for worrying? FHA home loans permit down payment gifts and grants and that can be a huge help for the first-time homebuyer. The rules for these programs must clearly explain the conditions of the grant or gift, under what conditions it might be required to be paid back–those payback terms of often triggered by violating the terms of the agreement. It can also happen when the home is sold, paid off, or no longer used as the primary residence. Such gifts may come from state or local housing development agencies or other local entities–remember that the | more...

July 12, 2021

Documents You’ll Need To Apply For A Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

Do you know the paperwork and documentation you’ll need to complete a home loan application? There are plenty of things you’ll need to gather–what follows is a list of items that are easy to overlook when you’re thinking about filling out an online loan application. This list is not exhaustive–you should ask your loan officer for a complete list of that financial institution’s requirements–they aren’t always the same. Authorization The first thing to know about some home loan documentation requirements? Some of them are fairly non-negotiable. For example, your lender must get copies of your credit report to complete your mortgage application. This requires all borrowers named on the mortgage application to give permission to the lender to do so and you cannot supply your own credit data to the | more...

July 9, 2021

Pro Tips For FHA Home Loans

By Joe Wallace

There is still time to take advantage of the higher mortgage loan limits for FHA home loans in 2021, and if you don’t know what it takes to be approved for an FHA single family loan this year, there are some pro tips you can use to get much closer to home loan approval. Pro Tip: Are you worried about your FICO scores? Remember that FHA standards include a requirement of a 580 FICO score or better for the lowest down payment. But the FHA standards are not the only minimum credit score requirements at work–the lender’s own standards also play a part. That is why you should start getting your credit ready early–at least a year ahead of your application for a single-family home loan. That’s not something many | more...

July 6, 2021

Buy A Fixer-Upper With An FHA Rehab Loan

By Joe Wallace

Do you know what an FHA 203(k) rehab mortgage loan is? This is the loan to ask for from a participating FHA lender if you want to buy a home to renovate instead of purchasing a “like new” home. What You Can Do With An FHA Rehab Loan Borrowers are allowed to apply for a new purchase loan or an FHA refinance loan under the 203(k) program, which the FHA loan handbook says may be used to buy and rehabilitate an existing one- to four-unit Structure, which will be used primarily for residential purposes. It can also be used to rehabilitate / refinance outstanding indebtedness “on the Structure and the Real Property on which the Structure is located” or to purchase and rehabilitate “a Structure and purchase the Real Property | more...

July 2, 2021

Down Payment Help For Your Home Loan

By Bruce Reichstein

If you need a home loan but worry about the down payment, you may be able to take advantage of state-run or locally operated down payment assistance programs in your area. The FHA home loan program itself does not offer down payment assistance so you will need to find a local program that can help. What should you know about down payment assistance programs? For a start, these programs can be used with an FHA mortgage to purchase an owner-occupied single-family residence. In some cases you may be able to purchase a home with more than one living unit, but occupancy is a requirement both for the FHA loan program for single families as well as many down payment assistance options. For FHA loans, the minimum required 3.5% (of the | more...

June 30, 2021

The End Of National Homeownership Month

By Joe Wallace

The month of June is National Homeownership Month, and now that the month is over, the FHA and HUD are reminding potential FHA borrowers about government initiatives to encourage homeownership, prevent discrimination, and enable first-time homebuyers to consider purchasing a new house. The HUD official site announced at the end of June that there are more initiatives coming to improve free access to housing and further prosecute violations of the Fair Housing Act. According to a press release on HUD.gov, this process began in the first days of the Biden Administration with the newly-sworn-in President of the United States issuing a memorandum to the Department of Housing and Urban Development “to address discrimination in our housing market”. Since those earliest days, HUD has issued a proposed rule “on countering housing | more...

June 28, 2021

Start Getting Ready For Your FHA Home Loan

By Joe Wallace

FHA home loan resources abound–you should know about using online mortgage calculators, pre-qualification for a home loan, and the availability of free credit reports to help you in the research and planning stages of your new home loan or refinance loan. Let’s start with those free credit reports–the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), reminds home loan applicants that they are entitled to “a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion)” according to the CFPB official site. Getting your credit report from all three agencies is an excellent way to begin your planning stage of the loan. Get your credit reports a year in advance of your loan application and remember to keep monitoring your credit afterward. This gives | more...

June 24, 2021

What Are The Benefits Of An FHA Loan?

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA home loans are for any financially qualified borrower. You don’t have to be a first-time homebuyer, and you don’t have to worry about income caps or household income limits when applying for an FHA mortgage. And there are plenty of other FHA loan benefits, too. Consumer Protections With AN FHA Loan One important benefit and protection for the FHA borrower is an FHA requirement for a home to be approved for an FHA mortgage, it must have a remaining economic life for the full duration of the loan term. That is important–what good is owning a home you cannot sell? The home’s condition at closing time must be such that it is suitable to re-sell at any point during the mortgage. If the home’s basic condition would not support | more...

June 21, 2021

FHA Mortgage Or USDA Home Loan: Which Is Best For You?

By Joe Wallace

What makes FHA mortgages different than USDA home loans for the same kind of property? Both FHA and USDA mortgages are offered for single-family homes and you can apply for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage under both programs with lower interest rates and more flexible credit requirements than some conventional loans. What makes FHA and USDA mortgages so different? One important factor is who qualifies for each kind of loan. USDA mortgages are intended specifically for low to moderate income borrowers who are looking for affordable housing. USDA mortgages feature price limits and household income limits that will affect the borrower’s overall loan eligibility. FHA mortgages do not feature such restrictions and are for any financially qualified borrower regardless of the upper limit of their household income. USDA loans feature | more...

Conventional Loan Interest Rates Make History, FHA Loan Rates Still Incredibly Low

June 14, 2021

More FHA Mobile Home Loan Advice

By Joe Wallace

Did you know that you do not have to own the lot your new mobile home will be placed on in order to be approved for an FHA home loan? FHA mortgage loans for mobile and manufactured homes permit you to purchase a mobile home, modular home, or manufactured home that will act as your primary residence and that will be attached permanently to an approved foundation. There is more than one type of mobile home loan you can get from a participating FHA lender who offers them. You can apply for an FHA mortgage to buy the mobile home alone, or you can apply to purchase land in conjunction with the mobile home purchase. Your lender may even allow you to apply for a home loan to purchase the | more...