Articles Tagged With: HUD-1 Settlement Statement

April 18, 2012

Prison Time For Reverse Mortgage Scammers

From time to time, we report news of housing scams that can affect FHA borrowers. It’s a way of raising the awareness that such scams exist, a reminder of the necessity of being careful in the loan process. The latest news from the FHA and HUD includes a report of three loan officers and a title agent who have been barred from doing business with the FHA/HUD following their convictions on fraud charges. The action was announced in a press release at HUD.gov, HUDNo.12-069: “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced the indefinite debarment of three South Florida mortgage loan officers and a Pittsburgh title agent following their criminal convictions on charges they defrauded elderly borrowers, mortgage lenders and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Marcos Echevarria, | more...

July 22, 2011

FHA Loans and Appraisals: Who Sets the Appraisal Fee?

By Joe Wallace

The appraisal process is one of the most important steps toward buying a home with an FHA-insured mortgage. Borrowers cannot be approved for an FHA loan without the FHA appraiser doing his or her work to establish fair market value of the property and make sure the home meets FHA requirements. Like almost everything else in the FHA insured loan process, there are rules and regulations that guide appraisers, the lender who hires them, and how the work is to be done. One area the FHA is quite clear about in the rules is the appraisal fee. FHA does not have a fee structure or table for appraisers–there are no fixed dollar amounts for appraisal services. But that does not mean the FHA doesn’t have rules covering how high these | more...

June 23, 2011

FHA Loan Down Payments

By Joe Wallace

The down payment issue is one that brings many would-be conventional borrowers to an FHA lender. After seeing what some conventional loans require for a down payment, the FHA minimum 3.5% is a definite advantage to a first-time home buyer. But when a borrower is doing research on FHA loans versus conventional equivalents, sometimes the details can be a bit confusing. One area some have trouble understanding (at first) is the difference between the required 3.5% FHA loan down payment for a typical home purchase and the $100 down payment required on some HUD home purchases. A HUD home purchase is not the same as taking out an FHA mortgage in the usual way. HUD homes are properties owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development–homes that have been | more...

May 24, 2011

FHA HECM Loans and Fees For Required Counseling

By Joe Wallace

An FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage or HECM loan lets qualified borrowers age 62 or older get a loan on their home which is not paid back in any way until the borrower dies or sells the property. Borrowers can get a line of credit or cash payments (or combinations of the two) depending on how the loan is set up. There are specific rules and requirements for HECM loans, and borrowers must get mandatory HECM loan counseling through an FHA-approved agency before the loan will be approved. The FHA is strict about the counseling requirements–an informed borrower is able to make the right choices for their circumstances. But HECM counseling is not free, and the counseling agencies are not government entities. Because the borrower is required to pay a | more...

February 9, 2011

FHA Home Loans: The HUD-1 Settlement Statement

By Joe Wallace

Buying a home with an FHA loan involves a process with a set of milestones along the way. The first of set of milestones includes finding a suitable home, negotiating a price, applying and being approved for a home loan and agreeing to the terms and conditions. When it's finally time to close the deal, sign on the dotted line and get ready to take possession of the property, there's another important part of the process--getting a HUD-1 Settlement Statement.

December 17, 2010

What is the HUD-1 Settlement Statement?

By Joe Wallace

he HUD-1 Settlement Statement is a document used to show buyers and sellers the full financial details of the transaction for the purpose to documenting who has paid or agreed to pay what costs, adjustments, etc. It also shows how much money the buyer needs to bring to the transaction up front in order to close the deal. The first page of the Settlement Statement provides the buyer with a list of all costs and related figures for both buyer and and seller. The area called Section J is for the FHA borrower while Section K lists the seller's part of the deal. Buyers are required to get Section J but they may not necessarily be furnished a copy of Section K, the seller's portion.