Articles in Category: Fixed Rate Mortgage

October 18, 2018

How To Start Buying A Home With An FHA Mortgage

What are the first steps towards purchasing a home with an FHA mortgage? That depends on the stage of your loan that you find yourself in-when it’s time to plan the mortgage, the steps involve pulling your credit report and saving up for your down payment and other expenses. But what about when you are ready to start actually house hunting? A few preliminary steps can save you headaches and wasted time later. Use A Mortgage Calculator To Determine A Price Range It’s strongly recommended that house hunters first calculate an estimated price range on homes they can afford. House hunting with a specific set of prices will help rule out neighborhoods that don’t fit into your budget. But the price range determination does not stand alone-knowing how much home | more...

October 12, 2018

Protect Yourself When Shopping For A New Home

By Joe Wallace

A recently published report about home loans and credit checks advises, “Do not allow a credit pull by a lender you don’t know, especially if the offer is unsolicited”. This advice leads to a few other questions about the home loan process; how do you protect yourself against identity theft, fraud, scams, and unscrupulous vendors when you are trying to buy a home with an FHA mortgage? Consider Your Recent Activities When Shopping For A Home Loan What does this mean? When you want to buy a home with an FHA mortgage or any other kind of loan, consider that you may be signing up for accounts on real estate sites or other online resources and that you don’t always know what might become of your personal data with third | more...

October 10, 2018

Four Reasons You Need A Home Inspection After The FHA Appraisal

By Joe Wallace

There are four good reasons why you need a home inspection as well as an FHA appraisal on the home you want to buy with an FHA mortgage. Some FHA loan applicants are tempted to sign on the dotted line based on the results of the FHA appraisal alone. Is this a good idea? No. Why not? If it’s good enough for the FHA, why isn’t it good enough for the borrower to accept the appraisal results and take it on faith that the home is exactly as it appears? #4: Get A Home Inspection Because The Appraisal Is Not Intended For The Borrower, It’s A Tool For The Lender The appraisal process is meant only to establish the home’s fair market value and determine that the home meets minimum | more...

October 3, 2018

FHA Home Loan Mortgage Rates And Home Loan Planning

By Joe Wallace

What do new borrowers need to know about FHA home loan interest rates? When you are in the planning stages of your mortgage loan you might not know where to start first, but knowing a few important facts about mortgage loan interest rates can be a huge help. FHA Loan Interest Rates Are Not Regulated By The FHA The FHA and HUD do not set interest rates on FHA mortgages or FHA refinance loans. The rates offered to you by your chosen participating lender will be set according to the current market plus variables such as your credit scores. It’s best to shop around for a lender to find the most competitive interest rate. FHA Home Loan Interest Rates Are Subject To Change Mortgage rates change daily. There are several | more...

What Is A Home Loan Seasoning Period And Does This Affect My FHA Mortgage Application?

September 25, 2018

Five Steps To An FHA Home Loan

By Bruce Reichstein

Buying a new home is a process. Do you need an FHA mortgage to purchase the home you’ve been looking for? There are five things you can start doing now without financially obligating yourself to purchase; these steps will definitely help you get ready for your new home. #5: Determine How Much Loan You Can Afford Before You Apply For Your FHA Mortgage Figuring out how much home loan you can afford isn’t just about how much you can afford NOW, but also down the road in light of future pay raises, upward mobility at work, changes in salary or bonuses, etc. The debt to income ratio you have at the moment may be lower six months into the future-it’s a very good idea to look ahead when planning for | more...

September 24, 2018

Types of FHA Mortgages: New Purchase Loans

By Joe Wallace

Looking for the right FHA mortgage loan for you? There are many different options available if you need to buy a home with an FHA loan including mortgages that allow you to buy and repair a home at the same time, and loans that allow you to build a home from the ground up. FHA Loans: What Is A Forward Mortgage? Once you start shopping around for a home loan, you will encounter terminology related to your home purchase. Some of the most common are “forward mortgage” and “purchase loans”. These two terms basically indicate that the loan is meant to buy a home rather than refinance it or apply for an FHA Reverse Mortgage which gives cash to the borrower secured by a home that is nearly paid off | more...

September 20, 2018

FHA Home Loans For Self-Employed People

By Joe Wallace

What does it take for a self-employed borrower to be approved for an FHA mortgage loan? The same basic rules apply, FHA mortgage loans require a minimum 500 or higher FICO score to be eligible (lender standards will be higher) and FICO scores of 580 or higher for maximum financing and the lowest down payment. But self-employed borrowers do have some additional issues to think about when coming to the FHA home loan process. How long you have been self-employed in an important factor, how the business has fared since you started it, and what the future of your income might be. FHA Loan Rules For Self-Employment Income Verification The rules that instruct the participating FHA lender are found in HUD 4000.1, and those rules include a requirement for the | more...

September 6, 2018

FHA Home Loans: Five Reasons To Buy A Home Instead Of Renting

By Bruce Reichstein

In our last blog post we discussed some reasons to purchase a home with an FHA mortgage instead of renting a property. Most of the reasons discussed in the previous post had to do with financial matters including the fact that renters gain no equity in their rental homes, and they have no ability to apply for a cash-out refinance loan based on the current value of the home. Reverse mortgages are unavailable to renters, too. But there are other reasons to buy a home and not rent. Are you thinking of an FHA mortgage to buy a home based on some of the reasons listed below? There are compelling arguments for each of the five reasons. #5: Buying A Home Means More Privacy Borrowers who own their own homes | more...

September 5, 2018

Rent Or Buy? Arguments For Purchasing A Home With An FHA Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

Does it make more sense to rent a home or to purchase one and make a mortgage payment rather than a rent payment? A lot depends on the property values in your chosen housing market, the cost of renting in that area versus the cost of purchasing, and the borrower’s financial goals. Are you thinking of making the switch from being a renter to becoming a home owner? Some reports claim that rents have increased as much as 88% in certain markets over time, and some renters choose to put that money into a property they own rather than dealing with the issues of being a long-term renter. Is Buying A Home With An FHA Mortgage Instead Of Renting A Good Idea? The first thing needed to answer this question | more...

August 27, 2018

Four Questions To Ask About FHA Mortgage Loans

By Joe Wallace

If you are interested in buying a home with an FHA mortgage, there are four basic questions you should ask a participating lender when you shop around for the best terms and conditions for your loan. It pays to compare lenders, and it also pays to compare the requirements and costs of your FHA mortgage with conventional equivalents to see where the FHA mortgage will be an advantage to you. #4. How Much Down Payment Is Required Based On My FICO Scores And Credit History? Ask a loan officer to give you the down payment requirements for both a conventional loan and an FHA mortgage loan on the same property or price range. If you do not have a specific sale price in hand when you ask, be prepared for | more...