Articles Tagged With: FHA Mortgage

September 24, 2018

Lower Your Monthly Mortgage Payment

Do you need to lower your monthly mortgage payment? There are several FHA refinance loan options to help you do that, and depending on your financial needs and goals you may find that an FHA refinance is exactly what you need to get into that lower monthly obligation. Lower Mortgage Payments Before They Begin Some applying for an FHA home loan have the option of not financing certain up front costs such as the FHA Up-Front Mortgage Insurance Premium. Any expense you add to the loan amount potentially increases your monthly payments. One of the best things you can do when looking for a new home loan is to try to avoid adding more funds to the loan amount if you do not need to. For some, it’s already too | more...

August 29, 2018

HUD Announces Updated Disaster Policy For Puerto Rico And Virgin Islands Home Owners

By Joe Wallace

In 2017, Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated many U.S. territories; in the aftermath home owners in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands many people are still recovering from the disaster. In August 2018 the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced updates to FHA foreclosure prevention options to allow borrowers with delinquent FHA home loans “easier access to bring their mortgages current without increasing their interest rates or monthly payments” according to HUD.gov. The Federal Housing Administration is also offering a final 30-day extension of its foreclosure moratorium for FHA-insured homeowners in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In February 2018, FHA introduced the Disaster Standalone Partial Claim option, intended to help borrowers in the affected disaster areas a way to catch up on pre-disaster mortgage payments without experiencing “payment | more...

July 11, 2018

What You Need To Know About FHA Loan Applications And Loan Approval

By Joe Wallace

What should you know about FHA home loan applications and FHA loan approval? Before your home loan gets final approval from the underwriter, it will go through a series of processes including the credit check, appraisal, employment verification, and much more. But FHA home loan approval depends on more than one set of standards, which makes these check and approval processes more complex. To approve your loan, the lender must answer a variety of questions about the borrower’s ability to afford the loan. FHA Loan Approval Questions Your Lender Must Answer There are several areas the lender must have answers in to give you final loan approval: What is the borrower’s current or expected income? What kind of assets does the FHA loan applicant have? What is the FHA borrower’s | more...

June 14, 2018

FHA Home Loan Questions And Answers About The Appraisal Process

By Joe Wallace

The FHA loan appraisal process is potentially confusing to a new borrower. If you are serious about purchasing a specific property with an FHA mortgage, the appraisal is an important step in the loan approval portion of your house hunting experience because it tells the lender whether the property is suitable for an FHA mortgage. What Is The FHA Appraisal And What Does It Do? FHA appraisals are performed when you want to purchase a specific property with a home loan. The appraisal is not done for a house you are “just looking” at; this process is reserved for the home you specifically want to buy. An FHA approved appraiser, assigned by your lender, will come to the property and give it a general review. This process is not as | more...

June 4, 2018

What Does It Mean To Get An FHA Mortgage Loan Case Number?

By Bruce Reichstein

For those new to the home loan process, or just new to FHA mortgage loans, the question, ‘What Does It Mean To Get An FHA Mortgage Loan Case Number?” is a good one to ask. What is this process and how does it work? It does not matter if you are applying for an FHA 203(k) rehab loan, a typical new purchase FHA mortgage, or even an FHA One-Time Close construction loan; when a borrower is serious enough to start the loan application paperwork the FHA case number process will begin. HUD 4000.1, the FHA Loan Handbook, says an FHA case number is ordered by the lender when there is an active mortgage loan application for the property a borrower wants to purchase. What is required of the borrower to | more...

May 24, 2018

FHA Loan Rules For Property Types

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan rules in HUD 4000.1 spell out the rules for approved property types that can be purchased or built using an FHA mortgage. Some borrowers may not realize they can buy, build, or refinance properties aside from the typical suburban home. The list of property types you can choose from include mobile homes, manufactured housing, condos, town homes, row houses and more. Specifically, HUD 4000.1 lists the following: detached or semi-detached dwellings Manufactured Housing townhouses or row houses individual units within FHA-approved Condominium Projects Borrowers can use an FHA One-Time Close construction loan to build a home, but there are restrictions on the type of dwelling you can build. In general homes built using these loans must be single-family residences and not multi-unit properties; your lender will explain what | more...

May 18, 2018

FHA One-Time Close Construction Loans: What’s Required At Closing Time

By Bruce Reichstein

In addition to the usual requirements to close, FHA One-Time Close / Single-Close construction loans (FHA OTC) have some additional FHA documentation requirements borrowers should anticipate. One Time-Close construction loans are more complex than existing construction loans for a few obvious reasons-when a borrower has a home built from the ground with an OTC loan, builders must be paid, there are escrow requirements and procedures which must be followed, and there are unique requirements for this type of loan. Do you know what additional documentation may be required to close the deal? According to page 446 of HUD 4000.1, the FHA loan handbook, the additional documents to close include (but are not limited to) a construction rider, a disclosure agreement related to final inspections, a fully executed contract between the | more...

the importance of credit for home loan approval

April 20, 2018

FHA Refinance Home Loans: Getting Ready

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you know what you need to get ready for an FHA refinance home loan application? There are several areas you can prepare in before it’s time to sign the loan application paperwork. Check Your Credit Reports-EARLY FHA refinance loans should be treated in the same way your original home loan application was handled in terms of checking credit, avoiding new lines of credit before and during the refinance loan process, and trying to lower your debt ratio before the application. Decide The Right Refi Loan For You Your preparations for the new loan may depend greatly on the type of FHA refinance loan you are looking for; cash-out, no cash out, Streamline Refinancing, rehab refi loan, etc. How are these loans different? There are too many aspects to discuss | more...

April 19, 2018

FHA Loan Down Payment Sources: Retirement Funds

By Joe Wallace

We’ve been discussing FHA home loan down payment sources and the rules that govern them. FHA mortgage loan rules in HUD 4000.1 have strict requirements when it comes to the sourcing of down payments; since most FHA forward mortgages require a down payment, the rules in this area are very important to know ahead of your loan application. FHA Loan Down Payment Source Rules: Retirement Funds FHA loan rules permit the borrower to use retirement funds as a source of down payment money. According to HUD 4000.1: “The Mortgagee may include up to 60 percent of the value of assets, less any existing loans, from the Borrower’s retirement accounts, such as IRAs, thrift savings plans, 401(k) plan, and Keogh accounts, unless the Borrower provides conclusive evidence that a higher percentage | more...

April 19, 2018

Where Can My FHA Loan Down Payment Money Come From?

By Joe Wallace

Where can my FHA loan down payment money come from? It’s an important question to ask, and some borrowers might not understand the difference between closing costs that are not part of the down payment compared to what is allowed to be counted toward it. FHA Loan Down Payment Requirements For most forward FHA mortgages, the down payment requirement includes a minimum of 3.5% of the adjusted value of the home. Some FHA home loans such as refinance mortgages don’t require a down payment; FHA rehab loans for those in Federally declared disaster areas are not required by the FHA to make a down payment regardless of whether the rehab loan is a forward mortgage or a refi. Is My Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium Part Of My Down Payment? | more...