Articles Tagged With: FHA 203b Mortgage

February 10, 2023

Credit Monitoring For First-Time Home Buyers

Modern payment gateways, online selling and re-selling, and even digital currencies such as Bitcoin make for a more complicated relationship with credit and personal security; doing business digitally exposes consumers to more risk every day and from a variety of angles. Your account can be hacked individually, it can be compromised as part of a larger “harvest” of personal data and account numbers from a target company, etc. You may have had a credit card “skimmed” by a third-party device secretly installed in a gas pump payment swiper, or you could have been “shoulder surfed” at the ATM while entering your account information. Whatever the approach taken to this sort of crime, the threat to consumers is very real. Today’s news headlines tell us there are too many ways accounts | more...

February 6, 2023

FHA Loan Credit Score Issues

By Joe Wallace

If you do not know your credit score when you start reading this article, it’s best to plan to pull your credit reports as soon as possible after reading. If you want to get properly ready for a home loan application, you should know your credit score, the contents of your credit report, and whether you need to challenge or correct information on your credit reports. FHA Loan Credit Standards FHA loan rules for credit and FICO scores are minimum requirements. The minimums acceptable to the FHA are a baseline for the lender who may add higher credit score requirements depending on a variety of circumstances. What we’re discussing here are the FHA rules, lender requirements will vary. The FHA “Minimum Decision Credit Score” (MDCS) HUD 4000.1 is the FHA | more...

February 3, 2023

Need A Home Loan? Beware Of Escrow Fraud

By Joe Wallace

There are common home loan scams that affect house hunters, even those applying for FHA home loans. One such scam–one you might actually encounter in your home buying journey–is called escrow fraud and it can affect even the most experienced homeowner if they are caught at just the wrong moment. Home Loan Scams Can Affect Any Type Of Mortgage Escrow scams are not associated with FHA mortgages alone, any type of home purchased with any type of home loan could be targeted. An important sense of any successful scam is creating a sense of urgency or emergency or a feeling that a big discount might be missed if you stop to consider the options. The scammer wants you to be in a hurry, not thinking critically, and ready to invest | more...

January 29, 2023

FHA Loans: New Construction Vs. Existing Construction?

By Joe Wallace

What is the difference between new construction and existing construction? For the purpose of an FHA home loan, the distinction can be important, even if it’s just on a procedural level. The FHA loan handbook (HUD 4000.1) makes important distinctions between new construction and existing construction loans. FHA Home Loans For Existing Construction Properties The FHA defines existing construction properties in a very specific way: “Existing Construction refers to a Property that has been 100 percent complete for over one year or has been completed for less than one year and was previously occupied.” The appraisal requirements for existing construction are not quite the same (in terms of timing, paperwork and required forms) but the issue that will most affect a typical borrower is in how the appraisal is to | more...

Conventional Loan Interest Rates Make History, FHA Loan Rates Still Incredibly Low

January 25, 2023

Are You Ready For An FHA Loan Application?

By Bruce Reichstein

Are you ready for an FHA mortgage loan? Buying or refinancing a home with an FHA loan takes planning and preparation, but once you’ve put the time in and gather your information, budget for expenses, and check your credit, the process will be far more understandable and accessible. Are You Ready For An FHA Mortgage Loan Application? You may be ready to fill out your FHA mortgage loan or refinance loan application if you have spent the last year reviewing your credit reports, working on reducing your debt-to-income ratio, and have made sure to have 12 months of on-time payments on ALL financial responsibilities. You are ready to apply if you know what kind of home loan you need and how it will be used. For example, are you interested | more...

What Credit Score Is Needed For An FHA Mortgage?

December 30, 2022

Are You Ready To Buy A Home With An FHA Mortgage?

By Bruce Reichstein

Are you ready to buy a home with an FHA mortgage? There are ways to tell how close you are to being ready to start house hunting and move out of the planning stages of your new home loan. Do You Know Your FHA Loan Limit? FHA loan limits are higher in 2023, you will want to know how much higher the limit may be in your housing market compared to last year. FHA home loan limits vary depending on the housing market; some areas are more expensive than others and have a higher loan limit, while others are “average” and conform to the median FHA loan limit nationwide. Some housing markets may be less expensive than others and feature a lower FHA loan limit, but the only way to | more...

December 26, 2022

What Are The FHA Loan Rules For Investment Properties?

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA home loans have “approved property” rules found in HUD 4000.1, the FHA loan handbook for Single Family Mortgage loan transactions. These rules include a list of approved uses for FHA mortgages, approved property types, and the kinds of property which can never be purchased with an FHA single-family mortgage. First and foremost, FHA loans are intended for owner-occupiers, which means that FHA mortgages for vacation homes and other intermittent-occupancy purposes are not possible. Borrowers cannot use an FHA loan to open a bed and breakfast or to purchase a timeshare, condohotel or similar property. FHA mortgage loan rules in HUD 4000.1 also state the following, intended to prevent the use of single-family home loans for business purposes: “FHA will not insure more than one Property as a Principal Residence | more...

December 5, 2022

FHA Home Loan Tips: What To Do, What Not To Do

By Joe Wallace

If you are new to the home-buying process, there are some definite things to do and things NOT to do when preparing for your mortgage. Some of these areas may seem obvious, but you might be surprised at the number of people who don’t give themselves enough planning and saving time ahead of the home loan process. FHA Loan Tips: Start Planning Early The moment you realize you want to purchase a home using an FHA mortgage, it is time to begin looking at your finances to see how a new budget can be made. This is because buying a home (no matter what kind of loan you are using) can be an expensive process. You want to start saving immediately for the down payment, but also for the costs | more...

November 16, 2022

FHA Home Loans And Housing Counseling

By Bruce Reichstein

Even in the best of times, buying a home can be tough. It’s hard for first-time buyers to know what to expect, and in an era of rising interest rates and limited housing supply, it’s more important than ever to be a fully-informed borrower. FHA home loans are for many different kinds of borrowers. They are for experienced and first-time home buyers alike. But it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the process if you are new to it or haven’t purchased real estate before. That is one reason why it’s a very good idea to consider talking to a HUD-approved housing counselor. Did you know you can call the FHA at their toll-free number, 1-800 CALL FHA, and request a referral to an approved housing counselor? The Department of Housing | more...

November 3, 2022

Do You Need A Co-Signer For An FHA Mortgage?

By Joe Wallace

Some house hunters are worried they may not be able to qualify for a home loan on their own and feel the need to add a co-signer. Other borrowers are buying a home with someone else (often significant others or spouses) and need to have more than one name on the mortgage. FHA home loans (yes, refi loans too) allow one borrower or multiple borrowers. The key to understanding how loan approval works for an FHA mortgage is to remember that all parties to be obligated on the mortgage loan must be able to financially qualify. FHA Borrowers And Co-Borrowers FHA loan rules instruct the lender that to be considered eligible for an FHA home loan or refinance loan, “…all occupying and non-occupying Borrowers and co-Borrowers must take title to | more...