Articles Tagged With: FHA Streamline Refinance

October 1, 2024

Intro To FHA Refinance Loans

The Fed announced a substantial rate cut in 2024. That action has more homeowners thinking about their refinance loan options and how they can take advantage of potentially lower rates to come. Refinancing helps some borrowers save money in interest payments over the long term. It can also, depending on circumstances, help you get into a lower monthly payment. Once rates have fallen to the right levels (for some borrowers) these options get more realistic than they have been in the past two to three years. Refinancing can also result in cash back to the borrower once the original loan has been paid off and the associated closing costs dealt with. Not every refinance loan offers this, but FHA loan programs do include cash-out options. If you need to refinance | more...

May 9, 2022

Refinancing A Mortgage Without A Credit Check

By Joe Wallace

Is there such a thing as a no-credit-check FHA loan? There are zero-down payment home loan options offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs and USDA, is there a similar type of loan for those who don’t want a credit check? When it comes to purchase loans, FHA mortgages require a credit check, employment verification, and other financial information to approve or deny the loan. You won’t find a home loan issued by a traditional lender that has no credit pull. That does not mean you cannot purchase property without undergoing a credit check. A 100% cash transaction between borrower and seller would technically not require one unless some kind of credit was needed. And depending on the state where you live, community property laws may or may not require | more...

January 6, 2022

Getting A Lower Monthly Payment With An FHA Mortgage

By Bruce Reichstein

If you want a lower mortgage rate, refinancing your home loan can help if the interest rates offered to you at the time are more competitive than what you pay under the original home loan. Lower rates can result in lower monthly payments. There are also options to refinance for the express purpose of getting a lower payment but for some, this issue is complicated by an option known as mortgage recasting. When you refinance, you apply for a new loan to replace the old one. The new loan may be for a shorter term or for the same number of years you committed to originally. If you refinance an FHA mortgage using an FHA Streamline Refinance loan, one of the benefits from doing so can be a lower monthly | more...

December 30, 2021

Qualifying For An FHA Loan Or Refinance Loan

By Joe Wallace

FHA home loans and refinance loans feature similar requirements in terms of FICO scores, credit history, and responsible credit use. When you want to refinance a home loan, it’s smart to treat the process exactly the same as you did when you applied for your first mortgage where applicable. But not all borrowers have the luxury of taking a year or more to plan and save for the loan. Some must act quickly because their homes have been damaged or destroyed in a natural disaster, or they have a job-related relocation or some other issue that requires a faster approach to the loan. Some borrowers need a new purchase loan; a job relocation or an increase in family size may warrant buying a larger home. Knowing the FHA loan policy | more...

October 13, 2021

FHA Streamline Refinance Tips

By Bruce Reichstein

Are you interested in a lower interest rate on your home loan? What about a lower monthly payment? Or perhaps you are in an adjustable-rate mortgage and are looking for a way out before your next rate adjustment? These are all motivations to refinance. You’ll read plenty online about what it means to apply for an FHA Streamline refinance, but what do you need to know aside from the things EVERY home loan website talks about? Yes, FHA Streamline Refinance loans are for existing FHA borrowers only. Yes, FHA Streamlines normally require the borrower to get a tangible benefit from the loan like a lower rate, a lower monthly payment, etc. Yes, FHA Streamlines have no FHA-required credit check or appraisal requirement. And yes, the lender is free to require | more...

July 22, 2021

The FHA Streamline Refinance Loan: No FHA-Required Credit Check

By Joe Wallace

FHA refinance loan options are looking more attractive to some borrowers with FHA loan rates still well below the three percent line at press time after some ups and downs in 2021. But the range of options confuses some. What do you need to know about the Streamline FHA Refinance loan option compared to FHA cash-out refinancing or FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation Loan refinancing? Streamline FHA Loan Facts You Should Know First-time applicants may be surprised to learn there is no FHA-require appraisal. Your lender is allowed to require one, but if they choose to process your FHA streamline refinance without one, you’re spared the appraisal fee. Most FHA loans require a credit check and have a set of minimum qualifying scores. What about FHA Streamline? FHA Streamline loans allow your | more...

May 28, 2021

Which Refi Is Right For You?

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you need to refinance your home loan? There are plenty of choices, but two FHA loan products stand out for those who need lower payments or who want to get cash back on their refinance transaction. There are several FHA loan options available when it is time to refinance a home loan. Two of those are FHA cash-out refinancing and FHA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance loans, also known as an FHA IRRRL. Which loan should you apply for? This choice should be informed by your specific needs or goals. Do you want to refinance to get a lower monthly payment? Or do you want to take equity out of the to pay for home improvements, pay off credit cards or student loans? One type of refinancing is definitely better | more...

February 16, 2021

Refinancing Your Mortgage With An FHA Loan

By Joe Wallace

If you have been looking at home loan interest rates in 2021 and considering your refinance loan options, it’s a good idea to take some steps that will help you get closer to refi loan approval. Borrowers who need or want to refinance should shop around for their new loan, and get all the information possible about how much their refinance loan will cost over the loan run and up front. Addressing Credit Issues Before applying for ANY loan, refinance or not, review your credit report in detail. You may have credit problems associated with the pandemic, there may be COVID-19-related factors in your credit that can be accounted for as a one-time problem created due to circumstance. And the Federal Trade Commission advises borrowers that such unique issues will | more...

February 8, 2021

FHA Refinance Loan Options: Why You Should Consider A Streamline Refinance

By Joe Wallace

Do you need to consider refinancing your current FHA home loan? Interest rates are still very low in the earliest weeks of 2021 and while there is no guarantee mortgage rates will remain quite this low for the duration of the year, now is a great time to consider your options for a lower mortgage payment via an FHA Streamline Refinance loan. Interest rates in the opening weeks of 2021 are still at the time of this writing below the three percent line for 30-year fixed rate government-backed mortgages such as FHA loans. A mortgage industry company, Black Knight, has issued a report that noting that at the end of January 2021 there were some 45 thousand people exiting home loan forbearance programs and another nearly 50 thousand loan forbearance | more...

April 27, 2020

Save Money On Your FHA Mortgage With Streamline Refinancing

By Joe Wallace

How can refinancing your FHA mortgage help save you money? Not every refinance loan can lower your interest rate or your monthly mortgage payments, but the FHA Streamline Refinance loan is designed to provide some benefit to the borrower, which can include a lower payment. How does it work? Streamline Refinance loans have no FHA-required appraisal, and no FHA-required credit check. That is a very important factor to consider as cash-out refinancing always requires both, and most other refinance loans will too. Features of the FHA Streamline Refinance loan include the following: Streamline loans refinance existing FHA mortgages; FHA Streamline Refinance loans allow an add-on called the FHA Energy-Efficient Mortgage which provides extra loan funds for approved energy-saving improvements to the home; Streamline loans normally must result in a tangible | more...