Articles Tagged With: Obama Mortgage

September 2, 2016

Foreclosure Avoidance on FHA Mortgages: The Trial Payment Plan

The FHA recently announced changes to its policies designed to help those who purchased homes with FHA mortgages and have since fallen into financial trouble to avoid foreclosure. There are many government programs to help borrowers keep their homes in hard times including the Obama mortgage, and the FHA Home Affordable Modification Program or HAMP. If you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments on an FHA mortgage, the information here will be of special interest to you. Those who are under consideration for HAMP may learn they have to complete a trial payment plan before the HAMP modification can be finalized and approved. But what does this trial payment plan (also referred to as TPP) entail? The FHA announced modifications to the HAMP program this summer, and in FHA | more...

Buying A Fixer-Upper With An FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan

August 30, 2016

FHA Loans and Foreclosure Avoidance: The FHA HAMP Loan

By Joe Wallace

When you purchase your home with an FHA mortgage loan, chances are you’re thinking more about moving in, getting settled, and making the home your own than you are the possibility that you could encounter financial hardship at some point and miss mortgage payments. But these things do happen to some borrowers, and the FHA has a program set up to help those who get into financial trouble. The FHA HAMP program was created to help borrowers avoid foreclosure and keep them in the home. FHA HAMP is a loan modification program and not a refinance loan, which is an important distinction to make. Under the terms of the FHA HAMP program, the FHA permits ” the use of a partial claim up to 30 percent of the unpaid principal | more...

December 12, 2011

FHA Loan Forbearance Rules For Unemployed Borrowers

By Joe Wallace

In July 2011, the Obama administration announced changes to the FHA loan program which requires lenders to extend FHA loan forbearance to unemployed borrowers. This change affects those who already have FHA mortgages rather than those applying for them; the new rules “require servicers to extend the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to 12 months. The Administration also intends to require servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) to extend the minimum forbearance period to 12 months wherever possible under regulator and investor guidelines.” According to the FHA press release announcing these changes, “These adjustments will provide much needed assistance for unemployed homeowners trying to stay in their homes while seeking re-employment. These changes are intended to set a standard for the mortgage industry to provide more robust | more...

June 14, 2011

FHA Announces the End of the HOPE For Homeowners Program

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has sent guidance to lenders and FHA mortgagees about the phase-out of the Hope For Homeowners program, which is due to effectively end on September 30, 2011. During the housing market crisis of 2008, the federal government created several programs in an attempt to help stabilize the American housing market. As part of that effort, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 was signed into law, which included authorization to create programs like HOPE For Homeowners. HOPE was intended to prevent qualified applicants from going into default and foreclosure by offering affordable refinancing programs featuring fixed-rate mortgages. FHA Mortgagee Letter 11-20 announced the phase-out of HOPE For Homeowners, including a July 29, 2011 deadline for new case numbers under the HOPE refinancing program. | more...

January 28, 2011

How Can I Tell If I Can Afford an FHA Home Loan?

By Bruce Reichstein

Many people dream of home ownership, but the prospect of committing to a monthly mortgage payment is daunting for some. How can you tell if an FHA mortgage is right for you? Fortunately there are many tools online that can help a potential borrower determine whether they're ready to take the plunge...or if their finances need a bit of work first. One of the criteria for a successful FHA loan application is having the right debt-to-income ratio. An FHA borrower must have a debt-to-income ratio that totals no more than 41% in most cases.

January 4, 2011

What is the Making Home Affordable Short Sale Program?

By Joe Wallace

When borrowers get into trouble on their FHA mortgages, the FHA encourages them to act quickly in order to save their homes. But some borrowers don't act fast enough and fail to qualify for some government home loan modification or refinancing programs. Other borrowers aren't qualified for certain programs even when they do act. In cases where a borrower has tried loan refinancing, modification or other home owner bailout programs there may be an alternative to foreclosure in the form of something known as the short sale.

December 28, 2010

Is There a Minimum Credit Score For FHA Loans?

By Joe Wallace

As with many government programs, the rules and requirements for FHA home loans change often. Some alterations come as part of new legislation designed to close loopholes that could threaten the fairness of the FHA mortgage loan process, others come as a way to update or modernize existing FHA loan programs. Because of such changes, the FHA loan program some potential borrowers explored a year or more ago, but didn't act on at the time, may have changed in the interim.

December 27, 2010

Making Home Affordable Refinancing and Loan Modification

By Joe Wallace

n 2009, the Obama Administration created a plan to help the American economy recover from a serious financial crisis. Part of that plan included stabilizing the troubled housing market and reduce the amount of foreclosures. The Making Home Affordable program was introduced to help struggling home owners avoid defaulting on their loans, including FHA mortgages and equivalent programs for VA home loans. Under the Making Home Affordable program, several loan modification and refinancing options became available. Those with FHA loans who qualify for help under these programs have many options to save the home, prevent foreclosure and get back on track with their mortgage payments.

December 24, 2010

Rights and Obligations When Participating in HOPE for Homeowners

By Bruce Reichstein

There are several ways you may learn about qualifying and participating in HOPE for Homeowners. You can discuss HOPE with your existing lender to see if you qualify, but you can also discuss HOPE arrangements with a new lender. If you are working with a loan counselor, HOPE may be suggested as an option. No matter how you learn about HOPE for Homeowners, there are several requirements, rights and responsibilities you should know before committing to refinancing with an FHA home loan under the HOPE program.

December 3, 2010

Do I qualify for a Home Affordable Loan Modification?

By Joe Wallace

The Home Affordable loan modification program is a government homeowner bailout program designed to help people who can no longer afford their monthly loan payments. This program has been in effect since 2009 and has been through several changed to help lenders and borrowers alike. The program is not indefinite; at the time of this writing it is set to expire on June 10, 2011, so borrowers considering getting help from the Home Affordable program should act soon. The Home Affordable official site has a set of guidelines for establishing whether a borrower is eligible to apply for this program. They include a requirement that the home being refinanced be the primary residence, the amount owed must be under or equal to $729,750, and there's also a debt-to-income ratio figure | more...