Articles Tagged With: Mortgage Insurance

January 7, 2013

Adding Repair Costs To An FHA Home Loan

When you want to purchase a home with an FHA guaranteed home loan, the property you want to buy must be appraised to determine its eligibility for the loan. A home that does not meet FHA minimum property requirements may not necessarily be ruled out for an FHA loan–an appraiser may note certain corrections that should be made to bring the home up to standard. In such cases, the loan may be approved contingent on those corrections being made. But can the expense of those corrections, when not paid by the seller, be included in the FHA loan amount? FHA loan rules provide for this, stating under what circumstances repair or improvement costs can indeed be added to the loan. According to HUD 4155.1 Chapter Two, “Repairs and improvements may | more...

January 3, 2013

Canceling An FHA Case Number: A Reader Question (Part Two)

By Joe Wallace

In our previous blog post, we addressed a question from a reader who asked, “Is it possible for the previous lender to cancel the FHA Case Number?” FHA case numbers may be canceled–there are rules that govern how this procedure is to be handled by the lender. The case number must be canceled in writing according to the procedure spelled out on the FHA/HUD official site. “The lender must notify the appropriate FHA Homeownership Center in writing to close outstanding files and cancel the FHA case number if the origination and closing of a loan will not be completed or if FHA mortgage insurance endorsement will not be sought.” The rules also remind lenders, “Please note that you cannot request a case number cancellation for an endorsed (insured) loan or | more...

January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!

By Joe Wallace

2013 is here! We look forward to helping you learn more about your FHA loan options, refinancing and related topics in the new year. Thank you very much for reading, for submitting your questions, and your replies. We wish you a safe and prosperous new year. Banks, stock markets, the U.S. post office and many other services are closed for the holiday…as are we. We’ll be back tomorrow for more answers to your questions and discussion of the issues. Happy New Year!

December 28, 2012

What You Should Know About FHA Loan Rules For Investment Property Vs. Single Family Homes

By Joe Wallace

While there are some exceptions described in the FHA loan rulebook, FHA loans for single-family homes are limited to what the FHA describes as “owner-occupied principal residences only”. The FHA describes “principal residences” as a property that “will be occupied by the borrower for the majority of the calendar year”. We’ve covered this topic elsewhere in previous posts; what we’re discussing today is situations where the borrower may perceive a gray area in the rules–what situations are considered purchases for investment purposes versus single-family home loans as described above? In general, any loan where the following applies to the borrower may be considered a non-investment type purchase: “FHA security instruments require a borrower to establish bona fide occupancy in a home as the borrower’s principal residence within 60 days of | more...

December 27, 2012

FHA Loan Applications: Verification of Employment

By Joe Wallace

From time to time we get questions about FHA loans including variations on the commonly asked, “How long do I have to spend on the job to get an FHA loan?” The short answer is that FHA loan rules require the lender to verify at least two years of employment, though not necessarily two years with the SAME employer. According to HUD 4155.1 Chapter One Section B, “The lender must obtain a Verification of Employment (VOE), and the borrower’s most recent pay stub” as part of this verification. But there are alternatives to this; FHA loan rules say “As an alternative to obtaining a written VOE, the lender may obtain the borrower’ s: • original pay stub(s) covering the most recent 30-day period, and • original IRS W-2 forms from | more...

December 26, 2012

FHA Loan Applications: What Your Loan Officer Needs

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan applications are designed to give the lender the information needed to start the approval process. It’s true that a loan application can be lengthy–it’s a major line of credit, after all. What does the bank need from the borrower to move forward? The application is designed to help the lender obtain a range of details including: • general mortgage credit analysis documents • evidence of Social Security Number • verification of deposit • verification of employment (VOE) • federal income tax returns, and • appraisal documentation. That’s reprinted from the FHA loan rulebook for lenders, HUD 4155.1, which adds, “Lenders must obtain the most recent documents required to perform the mortgage credit analysis. “Most recent” refers to the most recent document available at the time the loan application | more...

December 26, 2012

FHA Loan Rules For Loan Documents

By Joe Wallace

If you are new to the house hunting process, there are some guidelines you should know that directly affect your search for a home to buy with an FHA guaranteed mortgage. Some of these guidelines are in place for your protection, some have been created to prevent tampering with the loan approval process–or the appearance of such tampering. For example: one common bit of “legal advice” you can get from any reputable source on contracts and credit agreements includes the warning never to sign a contract with blank spaces or agreements that seem to be incomplete. This is sound advice–what is to prevent one party or the other from filling in those blank spaces later with terms that are favorable only to that person or persons? The FHA takes the | more...

December 20, 2012

FHA Loan Rules: Third Party Contributions

By Joe Wallace

FHA loan rules state that a borrower must provide a minimum down payment–3.5%–as a requirement of FHA loan approval for a single-family property. For some borrowers, that down payment takes up a good amount of the available cash on hand. What can a borrower do when he or she can afford a down payment, but may struggle to come up with some of the cash needed for closing costs, pre-paid expenses or other costs of an FHA loan? The FHA has a rule stating that the borrower can have assistance in this area in the form of a third party contribution. FHA loan rules state that the seller, “or third party” may contribute, “up to six percent of the lesser of the property’s sales price or the appraised value toward | more...

December 19, 2012

FHA Loans, Scams, and Standard Procedures

By Joe Wallace

In today’s world, protecting your identity, personal information, credit card numbers and Social Security data is crucial. There are plenty of warnings of identity fraud scams across all types of business, but lending and credit are especially vulnerable areas. Borrowers should always take steps to protect themselves against scammers; beware of third parties who contact you requesting your personal data by phone, e-mail, or even in person. All that said, there are some standard operating procedures borrowers should be prepared for that are NOT attempts to harvest your personal data. The key to knowing which is which–a scam versus a legitimate business transaction–is often how and when these procedures occur. For example, FHA loan rules state that a lender may need or require something called a “blanket authorization” in order | more...

December 12, 2012

Are Military Members Eligible For FHA Home Loans?

By Joe Wallace

Members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps have a military benefit through the Department of Veterans Affairs that they can use to purchase a home with no downpayment in most cases, and several other perks. Some of those perks are very similar to FHA loans, such as the option to pre-pay or pay off the loan ahead of schedule without a penalty. But are military members who are eligible for VA loans also eligible for an FHA loan if they choose FHA over VA? Does having the option to apply for a VA home loan render them ineligible for an FHA mortgage instead? FHA loan rules do not exclude military members; there are many reasons why a borrowe may choose not to use his or her VA | more...