Articles Tagged With: First-time Home Buyer

FHA Loan Approval and Late or Missed Housing Payments

February 11, 2025

What Hurts Your Chances For FHA Loan Approval

What can stop your FHA home loan from getting approved? Knowing what the lender will do when confronted with common home loan problems can be half the battle for some. In 2025 house hunters need to be more vigilant than ever to protect their credit and their ability to obtain it. If you can anticipate the lender’s expectations for things like credit, verifiable income, reliable credit history, and other factors you can get a lot closer to loan approval. What You Should Know About FHA Home Loan Minimum FICO Scores Borrowers with FICO scores below 500 are not eligible for an FHA mortgage loan. Borrowers with credit scores above 500 but below 580 may technically qualify but these applicants must put 10% down rather than the lowest down payment possible | more...

January 29, 2025

Can An FHA Loan Be An ARM?

By Bruce Reichstein

There are many choices to make when you want to buy a home. One of those choices is deciding whether a fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage is right for you. In 2025, that choice might be tougher to make depending on interest rates, house prices, and other variables. FHA home loans come with an adjustable-rate mortgage option with an introductory rate followed by an adjustment period that may vary depending on what you and the lender agree upon. When you choose an adjustable-rate mortgage, an ARM loan, the introductory rate is typically more competitive than the fixed-rate FHA option. Some borrowers plan to sell or refinance before the first adjustment or soon thereafter when using an ARM loan. ARM loans are best for those who plan to deal with those adjustments. The | more...

January 14, 2025

What Can Kill An FHA Home Loan?

By Bruce Reichstein

Those who want a home loan have to prepare for the new loan application in several ways–financially, through saving up for the down payment and closing costs, and with credit prep. That can mean working on your record of on-time payments, lowering your overall debt amounts, and avoiding new credit in the meantime. When applying for any large line of credit, there are some things that can stop your loan dead in its tracks. If you want a home loan and are worried about being approved for a home loan, add these issues to your mental not-to-do checklist and make sure you know how to avoid them. Avoid New Debt Your lender pulls your credit when you apply for your home loan–most people know that. But not as many know | more...

January 13, 2025

FHA Home Loans: How Much Income Do You Need To Qualify?

By Joe Wallace

Many future homeowners want to know about the income requirements for an FHA loan–are you worried that you won’t qualify for an FHA mortgage because you don’t earn enough each month? And then there’s the opposite problem–a misconception that you can earn “too much” to qualify for an FHA mortgage as though this program had income limits. FHA loans do NOT feature income limits and this program does not require you to qualify based on financial need. FHA Loans Are For All Financially Qualified Applicants There is no minimum income requirement for an FHA mortgage, and there is no upper limit or income “ceiling”. FHA loans are not targeted for any one income bracket. FHA loans are designed with more lenient FICO score minimums in mind, but that has nothing | more...

FHA Home Loans And The Biggest Credit Mistake You Can Make

December 16, 2024

FHA Cash-Out Refinance Loan Rules You Should Know

By Bruce Reichstein

What should borrowers know about FHA cash-out refinance loans? If you are thinking of cashing in on the equity built up in your home in 2025, there are some important details to know before you get started. There are a few rules to keep in mind, but some of the most important include how you can use the proceeds of a cash-out refinance loan and the rules the lender follows when verifying the borrower’s eligibility for a cash-out loan. Borrowers may wish to pay off credit card debt with an FHA Cash-Out refinance loan, or use the money to pay off nuisance debt, buy a car, go on vacation, etc. What are the rules for FHA cash-out refinance loans and the money back to the borrower? How To Use FHA | more...

December 9, 2024

Higher FHA Loan Limits Coming in 2025

By Joe Wallace

Thinking about buying a home but worried you might not qualify for a loan? The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is making changes in 2025 that could help make your homeownership dreams a reality. Bigger FHA Loan Limits in 2025 The FHA is increasing its loan limits for 2025. This means you can borrow more money to buy a home, which is great news in today’s market. What are the New Limits? For a typical single-family home in most parts of the U.S., the new loan limit is $524,225. But if you’re looking in a high-cost area, like California or the Northeast, the limit may go up to $1,209,750. And it’s not just for single-family homes! The FHA also has options if you’re interested in a duplex or other multi-unit property. | more...

December 5, 2024

FHA Refinance Loan Options

By Joe Wallace

No two refinance loan programs are exactly identical–depending on the program and the lender you may find terms and conditions vary. If you need to refinance in 2025, be sure to check the latest updates to the FHA refi programs offered, including loan limits and other variables that may change from year to year. You’ll want to know the most current qualifying requirements for certain refi loan options. For example, where FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgages are concerned, there is a minimum age you must be (62 or older) to qualify. That is NOT true of FHA Cash-Out Refinancing or FHA Simple Refinance loans. What’s more, FHA refinance loans do not have the same terms and conditions. For example, depending on the participating lender, these refinance loans may allow you to | more...

December 4, 2024

Mistakes First-Time Homebuyers Make

By Joe Wallace

If you are a first-time homebuyer, there are some pitfalls and mistakes you should definitely try to avoid as you enter into the process of planning, saving, and applying for a loan to purchase a new home. If you are thinking of buying a new home in 2025 with higher FHA loan limits, consider the kinds of mistakes some new house hunters make before you commit. What kinds of mistakes do we mean? There is the usual Home Loans 101 type advice you read in every single finance blog ever written–don’t be careless with your credit, don’t apply for new credit while you are trying to apply for a home loan, and don’t start house hunting in earnest without home loan preapproval. But what about some of the less obvious | more...

November 18, 2024

Buy A Condo Unit With An FHA Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offers many loan programs to make homeownership accessible and affordable for a broader range of borrowers. While the FHA 203(b) loan is a popular choice for single-family homes, the FHA also provides options for those who want to buy condominiums, mobile homes, and fixer-uppers. For condominium buyers, FHA financing is available and those funds may be approved even if the condo project is not on the FHA approved list, depending on circumstances. If you’re interested in a condo in a project that isn’t currently FHA-approved, you can work with an FHA-approved lender to see about having the project added to the approved list. In some instances, if a condominium project isn’t FHA-approved, “single-unit approval” may be possible. This allows an individual unit within the complex | more...

October 21, 2024

Are You Ready To Apply For An FHA Mortgage?

By Joe Wallace

How do you know you are ready to apply for an FHA home loan? And by that question, we mean sending the documents to the lender ready for the approval process. Being ready to submit your financial information and other documents for loan approval means having taken certain steps along the way in the planning and saving stages of your mortgage. To apply for an FHA home loan, you’ll want the following things in the list below, and keep in mind that these are needed before you send in your application: Making an offer on a home and having it accepted is the catalyst for getting the actual application paperwork into the system, but some borrowers pre-qualify for a loan before house hunting. That causes some confusion at times because | more...