Articles Tagged With: HUD

May 3, 2011

FHA Loans, Appraisals and Refinancing

FHA loan applicants who find a suitable home and want to buy it must wait out the required FHA appraisal process before a loan can be approved. The FHA appraiser’s job is to make sure the home meets minimum property requirements and to assign the fair market value. The fair market value establishes a baseline for the FHA loan amount and is a very important part of the process. That appraisal has an expiration date. According to FHA rules, ” Effective for all case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2010 the validity period for all appraisals on existing, proposed, and under construction properties, including HUD REO appraisals that have an effective date of on or after April 1, 2010, will be 120 days.” That doesn’t give the borrower | more...

May 2, 2011

FHA Loans: The Non-Purchasing Spouse

By Joe Wallace

First-time home buyers looking into an FHA mortgage soon learn about a variety of requirements. Some are the rules set by a particular lender, others are dictated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, while others are established by state laws that govern retail banking procedures. Of these guidelines, often the state laws vary the most from place to place. One example of this is the

April 29, 2011

How Does the Bank Approve FHA Loan Applicants? (Part Two)

By Joe Wallace

In our last blog post we discussed how the lender processes applications and the information on them when approving FHA home loans. The FHA has a strict set of rules covering what must be used to underwrite the loan and how the borrower’s personal data must be verified in order to process the loan paperwork. Three areas are explored at length by the lender;

April 28, 2011

FHA HECM Loans and Required Counseling Facts

By Joe Wallace

The FHA Reverse Mortgage program, also known as a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, is a type of loan product available to borrowers age 62 and older and with sufficient equity built up in the property. The reverse mortgage program offered by the FHA has terms that include no monthly payments. The HECM is paid off when the owner dies or sells the property. The borrower gets the proceeds from the HECM loan dispensed according to the loan agreement, which can include a line of credit, installment payments or a combination of the two. Because of the unique nature of an FHA HECM loan compared to other mortgage loans, the FHA requires the applicant to get loan counseling before the loan may be approved. The FHA wants borrowers to be fully | more...

April 28, 2011

FHA LOANS: HECM Loan Terms and Conditions

By Joe Wallace

The FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM loan, also known as a reverse mortgage, has terms and conditions that must be clearly understood in order to get the most out of the loan. HECM loans have strict rules that must be followed in order to avoid violating the terms and conditions, which is why the FHA requires HECM loan borrowers to get counseling on reverse mortgages before they can be approved for an FHA HECM loan. The reason understanding these terms and conditions are so important has much to do with the nature of the loan itself–no payments are due from the borrower at any time unless he or she dies or sells the home. But if the borrower violates the terms of the loan, the lender is able | more...

April 27, 2011

FHA Loans: How Does the FHA Help?

By Joe Wallace

“How can the FHA help me buy a home?” That’s one of the most frequently asked questions about the FHA home loan program. There is plenty of information about FHA home loans, but if you’re a first-time home buyer and don’t know where to look, having that question answered may be the most important part of the decision making process when trying to choose between a conventional loan and an FHA home loan. FHA loans are different than conventional mortgages in several basic ways. To start, FHA-insured loans are more attractive to lenders because the U.S. government backs the loan. That means lower risk for the lender. Because the government insures the loan in case of default or foreclosure, applicants with past credit trouble may have an easier time getting | more...

April 25, 2011

FHA Loans: What Costs Can the Seller Pay for the Buyer?

By Joe Wallace

Negotiating isn’t easy, no matter which side of the table you’re sitting on. The buyer wants to get the best deal for money spent, but doesn’t want to make an offer that is too low for fear of scaring off the seller. From the seller’s point of view, getting the most out of a major investment like a house is crucial, but ask too much and the buyer may look elsewhere. When it comes to buying a home with a FHA guaranteed mortgage, the FHA loan program has some options buyers and sellers alike should consider to make the purchase more attractive. In the course of buying a home with a FHA-guaranteed mortgage, buyers and sellers can negotiate a sales price, but what if that price is higher than the | more...

April 22, 2011

Does the FHA Impose Minimum Employment Standards?

By Joe Wallace

When an FHA loan applicant fills out the loan app, employment and

April 20, 2011

FHA Loans and Retirement Income Verification

By Joe Wallace

When applying for an FHA home loan, the borrower must list all sources of income so they can be verified as part of the loan approval process. The lender is required to check all sources of income to insure they are dependable and “likely to continue” into the future, according to the FHA official site. Income verification helps the lender accurately determine a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio; without knowing that ratio it’s impossible to issue a loan with any degree of certainty that it would actually be repaid.

April 19, 2011

FHA and HUD Turn Up the Heat on Mortgage Scammers

By Joe Wallace

Recent announcements by the FHA and HUD have increased the pressure on housing market scammers, but consumers should still be on the lookout for warning signs of a scam artist at work. The most recent announcement from FHA/HUD comes in Mortgagee Letter 2011-17, which revises HUD