Articles in Category: Fixed Rate Mortgage

September 24, 2020

Is Your Credit Report Hurting Your Chances At Loan Approval?

American consumers are entitled by law to a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies. This is a valuable resource all potential home loan applicants should take advantage of as early as possible in the home loan planning stages. However, this is only a first step into a larger world. Credit monitoring is, in the age of hackers and rampant identity theft, a necessity for borrowers who want to make certain their credit will be enough to justify home loan approval. And credit monitoring is not the sort of thing you want to start late in the game–you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time to review your credit and work on it during the planning stages. How long should that planning be? Your home loan | more...

September 23, 2020

Getting Ready For An FHA Home Loan Refinance

By Joe Wallace

Are you interested in a lower mortgage payment or interest rate on your home loan? Are you looking to convert the equity you’ve built up in your home into cash? There are plenty of reasons to consider refinancing–do you need out of an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and into a fixed-rate loan? All of these options are open to financially qualified borrowers who apply for an FHA refinance loan and you do NOT have to be a first-time homebuyer or first-time homeowner to be approved for an FHA refinance loan. Many of the same steps you took for your original home loan application are applicable when you begin planning to refinance your mortgage; you should pull your credit reports are early as possible in the planning stages. Many consumers find it | more...

September 9, 2020

FHA Home Loans: The Occupancy Rules (And More) You Need To Know

By Joe Wallace

Can you use an FHA home loan to buy investment property you plan to rent out to others? This is a question many wonder about, and the answer is tied to the FHA loan occupancy requirements for these mortgages. FHA loan rules for all single-family home loans are described in the lender’s handbook, commonly known as HUD 4000.1. FHA loan rules include a variety of instructions for the lender that direct the financial institution on how to process and approve FHA home loans. But FHA loan rules don’t just apply to lenders and other mortgage professionals, some regulations are also written for the borrower. Did you know that FHA single-family mortgage loans are intended for owner-occupiers only? The rules listed in HUD 4000.1 are clear–the borrower must take possession of | more...

September 4, 2020

How Much Is Your Monthly FHA Mortgage Payment?

By Joe Wallace

When you enter the planning stages for a new home loan, you’ll want to know how to budget for the expenses of your mortgage such as the appraisal fee, down payment, home inspection, etc. But you will also want to know about the monthly mortgage payment–how much it could be, how you need to adjust your personal finances to accommodate the new loan, etc. That’s why one of the most important questions a home loan applicant can ask in the planning stages is, “How much will my monthly mortgage payment be?” It’s easy to assume this is a simple calculation of how much the loan is, divided by how many months the mortgage loan payments are required. But is it REALLY that simple? The truth is that it’s more complex | more...

September 2, 2020

Understanding Your FHA Home Loan Options

By Bruce Reichstein

Understanding your FHA home loan options means knowing the different choices available to you for a mortgage. Did you know that FHA home loans are available for mobile homes, condos, and manufactured housing? What Kind Of Home Do You Need? Choices matter when reviewing your home loan options. Choices that include how many units you want in your home (one to four-unit homes can be purchased with FHA mortgages) and the type of property you want; condo units, townhouses, mobile homes, manufactured housing, and even the ability to build instead of buy can be part of your decision-making process. You don’t have to buy a typical suburban home to qualify for an FHA mortgage loan. You don’t even have to purchase a home that’s ready to live in; a fixer-upper | more...

August 28, 2020

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

By Joe Wallace

Many future home owners 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 | more...

August 27, 2020

What Kind Of House Can I Buy With An FHA Mortgage?

By Joe Wallace

What kinds of homes can be purchased with an FHA mortgage loan? You can build a home from scratch using an FHA Construction mortgage, but may people want to buy existing property and what kinds. Eligible Property Types For FHA Mortgages FHA loan rules in HUD 4000.1 state clearly that certain kinds of property are permitted and certain kinds are not. These rules on eligible property types that can be purchased with an FHA mortgage loan are found in HUD 4000.1, and include the following guidance you should know: “FHAs programs differ from one another primarily in terms of what types of Properties and financing are eligible. Except as otherwise stated in this SF Handbook, FHAs Single Family programs are limited to one- to four-family Properties that are owner-occupied Principal | more...

August 18, 2020

Mortgage Rates Give And Take In Mid-August

By Joe Wallace

Mortgage loan interest rates have had some interesting ups and downs in August 2020, with conventional loans AND FHA mortgages staying below the three percent line, at least some of the time in the case of conventional loans. There are many factors that affect the fluctuations of FHA and conventional mortgage loan interest rates–we won’t go into all of them here. But the pandemic, politics, international trade issues, and investor reaction to all of these things and more have kept mortgage rates at unprecedented lows (no, we aren’t tired of writing that phrase just yet). But at the time of this writing on August 18, 2020, conventional rates have risen above the three percent line once more. Rates are reported at a best execution 3.12% for the most well-qualified borrowers. | more...

Credit Requirements For Your FHA Home Loan In 2020

August 11, 2020

Why Did My Home Loan Get Denied?

By Joe Wallace

The question, “Why did the lender deny my home loan?” is a good one to contemplate. Thinking like a lender helps a great deal when you are planning and saving for a construction loan application, condo loan application, or when you want to buy a multi-unit home. Do you know why a lender might deny your application? There are several factors to ponder, no matter what kind of borrower you might be. Are you looking for a condo loan? Mobile home loan? Multi-unit house? Some of the reasons lenders deny home loan applications are fairly obvious, others are not. Review the following circumstances to see if any apply to you. This is not a comprehensive list, but it’s a great place to begin and some borrowers find at least one | more...

August 7, 2020

FHA Home Loans For First-Time Buyers: Choices To Consider

By Joe Wallace

Are you a first-time home buyer looking for the most affordable mortgage options? FHA home loans feature flexible guidelines, and those options come with lower downpayment requirements other advantages over conventional mortgages. FHA Loan Options Are Diverse There are many types of housing you can buy with an FHA mortgage–a condo unit, a house in the suburbs, even properties with up to four units the borrower can occupy while renting out the unused units. You have to occupy the property you buy, but being a landlord may be an option for some to consider. There are also FHA home loans you can use to buy a fixer-upper (the FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation mortgage) and there’s also the FHA loan program to help you build a house on your own lot with | more...