Articles Tagged With: FHA Appraisals

March 6, 2019

What You Need To Know About Home Loan Appraisals As A First-Time Home Buyer

What do first-time home buyers need to know about real estate appraisals when it’s time to make an offer on a home? Your real estate agent and lender know the power of the appraisal-do you? FHA Home Loans Require An Appraisal For Most Transactions There is only one kind of FHA mortgage loan that has no FHA-required appraisal, called the FHA Streamline Refinance loan. All others will need an appraisal to determine the fair market value of the home. The Appraisal Is A Tool For The Lender Borrowers should not use the appraisal to determine whether the home has defects or hidden problems. No matter what you may be told by others, the appraisal process is not intended to help the borrower decide whether or not the home is ok | more...

March 5, 2019

What You Should Know About FHA Loan Rules And Down Payment Gifts

By Bruce Reichstein

One of the appealing aspects of an FHA mortgage, especially for first-time borrowers who may have tight budgets, is the low 3.5% down payment. Some real estate studies show that the age group commonly known as Millennials paid roughly 8% down in the previous year. But does a typical FHA borrower, even a first-time home buyer who may not have a long credit history, have to pay that much down for a home? No. 3.5% is available for all financially qualified FHA borrowers. But even this down payment could be a financial burden depending on circumstances, which is why FHA loan rules allow for gifts of down payment funds from employers, relatives, or friends. You can also find a down payment assistance program in your local area to help, if | more...

February 19, 2019

What You Should Know About FHA Home Loan Credit Checks As A First-Time Home Buyer

By Joe Wallace

Before you get FHA home loan approval on that piece of real estate you have your eyes on, your mortgage loan application process will include a credit check. Your lender will need to determine your creditworthiness, and also verify your employment and income. Most borrowers expect this process and thanks to having other kinds of credit applications including credit cards, auto loans, and student loans, have a basic idea of what will happen. But not everyone expects that their initial credit check for the home loan they are applying for will NOT be the last one the lender does before the loan closes. You might not get the down-low on this from your real estate agent or your lender, but this is one of the “secret” things about the home | more...

January 14, 2019

Buying A First Home Or Second Home With An FHA Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

What should borrowers, especially first-time home buyers, know about buying a home with an FHA mortgage? First time home buyers and second-time home buyers alike have options for an FHA mortgage. The program is not restricted to those who have never owned a home before. FHA loans are also more forgiving in the credit department-FICO score requirements set by the FHA are lower than you may expect. But lower FICO scores may still feel like a big liability for the first time home buyer. You should know that your repayment history is an important factor. If you make 12 months of on-time payments on all financial obligations, you may find the lender more willing to work with a lower FICO score. That’s because it’s easy to get a lower credit | more...

FHA Home Loan Down Payment Assistance Rules You Need To Know Now

January 9, 2019

FHA Home Loans In 2019: Are Home Price Increases Slowing Down?

By Bruce Reichstein

A CoreLogic Home Price Insights report indicates that home prices increased by more than five percent between November 2017 to November 2018, but the same agency indicates that home prices may slow down in 2019. Could that be beneficial to a house hunter looking to purchase a new home with a mortgage loan? FHA home loan limits have increased in 2019 for the second year in a row, making for an interesting borrowing environment for the first-time home buyer or any other financially qualified loan applicant who seeks an FHA mortgage. The higher home loan limits combined with slowing home prices, with predictions of more houses available in 2019 could offer house hunters more to work with in the new year. FHA home loans are not just available for typical | more...

Is Now The Right Time To Buy Your First Home With An FHA Mortgage?

January 2, 2019

FHA Loans Are Available In 2019

By Joe Wallace

Why do we announce that FHA loans are available in 2019? At the time of this writing, the government shutdown is still in effect, and many government websites including FHA.gov and HUD.gov (FHA.gov redirects to HUD.gov) have an announcement stating that the sites themselves are not open for business. Consider the quote from HUD.gov: “Due to the lapse in Congressional Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2019, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is closed. HUD websites will not be updated until further notice. For more information, see HUD Contingency Plan for Possible Lapse in Appropriations. “ But that DOES NOT MEAN that FHA home loans are unavailable. FHA Forward Mortgage Purchase Loans Are Available In Spite Of The Government Shutdown FHA mortgages are generally processed and serviced by | more...

How Does An FHA Mortgage Help A First-Time Home Buyer?

December 7, 2018

How FHA Home Loan Appraisals Differ From Home Inspections

By Bruce Reichstein

If you are serious about buying a particular home with an FHA mortgage loan, one of the big steps in the process heading toward loan approval is the FHA appraisal. The appraisal process and the home inspection are not the same thing, do not address the same concerns, and are intended for different users. What are these differences and why should you as the house hunter care about them? FHA Appraisals Are A Lender’s Tool The home that is appraised by an FHA fee appraiser does so in service of the lender, not the borrower. The lender is interested in knowing that the home meets minimum FHA standards and applicable building codes. The lender is also interested in setting a fair market value for the home; that is done by | more...

November 9, 2018

FHA Mortgage Loan, Dropping Home Prices, And Your Appraisal

By Joe Wallace

You may read articles discussing home prices moving lower on real estate blogs or lending websites; when house prices move from one part of a cycle to another there is sometimes confusion related to the valuation of a home. Why would an FHA borrower looking at a house in a neighborhood or housing market with prices trending in one direction get back an FHA appraisal indicating that the home the buyer wants isn’t valued in the same way? Higher or lower, why does one home get valued “as expected” when another one does not? There are a set of variables at work in the appraisal process that include not only the age/condition of the home, but also how other houses stack up against the one you want to purchase with | 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...

August 24, 2018

Five Things To Know About FHA Mobile Home Loans

By Bruce Reichstein

There are five important things you should know about FHA mobile home loans. If you are interested in buying a mobile home or manufactured home using an FHA mortgage, knowing these five things will help you to make the right choices for your loan and your new home. 5. FHA Mobile Homes Are Possible For A Variety Of Property Types The FHA loan program allows the purchase of a mobile home, a modular home, or a manufactured home. The differences in these types of properties may not seem so important in terms of loan approval but can mean a lot to the FHA borrower depending on what’s involved. For example, the stereotypical mobile home may be delivered to the site where it will be put onto a permanent foundation as | more...