Articles Tagged With: FHA Handbook

April 5, 2016

Understanding FHA Appraisals

Whether you’re purchasing a suburban home, a town home, manufactured home or condo, all properties must be appraised before the loan can be approved. The appraisal process and its requirements may vary depending on whether the home is under construction, is considered new construction, or is termed “existing construction”, but in all cases the property must meet minimum FHA standards also know as MPRs and MPS. HUD 4000.1 explains the appraisal process: “The Appraiser must observe, analyze and report that the Property meets HUDs MPR and MPS. Minimum Property Requirements (MPR) refer to general requirements that all homes insured by FHA be safe, sound, and secure. Minimum Property Standards (MPS) refer to regulatory requirements relating to the safety, soundness and security of New Construction.” “Every Property must be safe, sound, | more...

When Is An FHA Loan Better Than A Conventional Loan?

February 3, 2016

FHA Loan Assumption Rules In HUD 4000.1

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA home loans permit the home owner to have the mortgage assumed by another person, who would become the owner of the property and financially responsible for the mortgage. FHA home loans were, long ago, considered “freely assumable” with no real participation required of the lender. Later, the FHA loan rules changed to require lender participation and approval of an FHA loan assumption. Late last year, the FHA and HUD issued HUD 4000.1, which is the definitive rule book and policy manual for the FHA single family home loan program. Many changes, updates, and restatements of FHA/HUD policies were published in HUD 4000.1, and we’ve been examining some of the most important passages in the new rule book to help borrowers, lenders, and real estate agents stay current on FHA | more...

January 29, 2016

FHA Mortgage Loan Limits For New Purchase Loans And Refinance Loans

By Joe Wallace

We’ve gotten some questions recently about FHA mortgage loan amounts, so it seemed like a good time to post the FHA loan rules found in HUD 4000.1 about how maximum loan amounts are calculated. There are FHA loan guaranty limits and FHA mortgage loan amounts–the two shouldn’t be confused as FHA mortgage loan guaranty limits refer to the amount of money the FHA will guarantee for the loan, whereas the maximum loan amount is the highest amount for a specific transaction that the lender/FHA loan rules will allow. FHA loan rules say the maximum can be affected by the type of transaction. You can find the FHA maximum guaranty amounts for your housing market at the FHA official site: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm. HUD 4000.1 says of maximum loan amounts: “A Mortgage that | more...

January 26, 2016

FHA Condo Loans: Basics You Need To Know

By Joe Wallace

FHA loans for condo projects are possible according to the FHA official site, but the condo unit you want to purchase must be on, or added to, the FHA approved condo project list. There’s a very good reason why FHA requires a condo project to be approved–some condo projects have restrictions that are not permitted under FHA rules–such as any agreement that restricts the borrower’s ability to occupy the property once purchased, or freely dispose or sell the property as the borrower sees fit. What does the FHA official site have to say about condo loans in general? “Section 203 (b) of the National Housing Act provides authority to insure any mortgage covering a one-family unit in a project coupled with an undivided interest in the common areas and facilities | more...

January 8, 2016

FHA Loans, Fair Housing Laws And Your Rights: One Family’s Fair Housing Story

By Joe Wallace

Fair Housing laws ensure that all who seek housing get fair and equal treatment. It doesn’t matter if you are a renter, a house hunter, or somewhere in between renting and owning; fair housing laws apply to you and assign certain rights and responsibilities depending on which side of the transaction you are on. We write about fair housing cases from time to time because acts of discrimination can and sometimes do affect the FHA loan process. The people discriminated against are sometimes the only ones standing in the way of future violations of fair housing laws–those who report the illegal treatment can get it stopped. The video above is published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and is part of a HUD video project aimed at educating | more...

January 4, 2016

FHA Home Loans, Domestic Partnerships, And Identity Of Interest Transactions

By Joe Wallace

Recently a reader got in touch with us in the comments section to ask the following question about FHA loans, identity-of-interest transactions, and whether a domestic partnership could require additional consideration for assuming an FHA loan or applying to buy a home from a domestic partner: “I have lived in a residence with my boyfriend for the last 3 years. He currently owns the property and is going to be moving. I would like to stay in the residence and purchase his home from him. I have resided here rent free (on paper anyway no lease agreement). He has paid his mortgage, while I have paid all of the other household expenses (utilities, groceries, etc). Question #1: Am I considered a tenant of the property even though there is no | more...

December 4, 2015

FHA Adds Additional Temporary Guidelines For Condos

By Joe Wallace

The FHA and HUD eased certain condo guidelines earlier this year, and have since added a second round of temporarily eased “approval provisions” for condo projects to be added to the FHA approved list for single family home loans. According to an FHA mortgagee letter, both rounds of these temporarily eased guidelines are designed to help more people get into FHA condo loans. According to Mortgagee Letter 2015-27, “It is anticipated that the issuance of these additional temporary provisions will increase the pool of condominium projects eligible for FHA approval, thus increasing affordable housing options for first-time and low to moderate income homebuyers. The requirements of this Mortgagee Letter are applicable to all Title II programs including the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) insurance program, unless otherwise stated.” One area | more...

October 2, 2015

FHA Loan Rules In HUD 4000.1: Deferred Liabilities And Student Loans

By Joe Wallace

We recently got a reader question in the comments section about FHA loan rules covering deferred payments on student loans. In the past we’ve reported that FHA loan rules state certain types of student loan deferments (as explained in the old HUD 4155.1) did not have to be counted in the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio. HUD 4000.1 is the new FHA Single Family Home Loan policy handbook and has plenty of updated information, modifications to rules, and restatements of current policy and supersedes HUD 4155.1. Here’s the reader’s questions about student loans: “I was told by my realtor recently, that my student loan debt, although its deferred for three more years under teacher forgiveness, that the lender she is working with will have to count student loan debt in my DTI, | more...

August 5, 2015

FHA Condo Loans: Site Condos and Manufactured Housing Condo Projects

By Joe Wallace

In our last post we discussed basic eligibility rules for FHA condo loans–a condo project must be on or added to the FHA approved list in order to be approved for an FHA mortgage. But there are additional rules in some cases. For example, site condo projects don’t require being added to the FHA approval list IF those condo projects meet certain requirements. These requirements may vary depending on the nature of the condo project, state law, and other factors. The FHA condo project requirements are found in a PDF file you can download directly from the FHA/HUD official site. It contains the following provisions for site condos: Condominium project approval is not required for Site Condominiums meeting all of the below defined requirements. Site Condominiums are defined as: –Single | more...

July 21, 2015

FHA Mortgage Loan Myths

By Joe Wallace

From time to time we get asked questions about FHA loans that reflect common misconceptions and myths about the program. Borrowers sometimes assume things about FHA single family home loans that aren’t true and it’s always a good idea to post some basic facts about the program from time to time to remind people what’s true and untrue about FHA mortgages. FHA loans, for example, aren’t limited to people on fixed incomes, or to those who must demonstrate a need for a non-conventional loan. FHA mortgages are open to all qualified applicants. Your FICO scores, job history, debt-to-income ratio and other financial qualifications are what determine your ability to get an FHA loan. There is no such thing as earning “too much income” for an FHA loan. There’s also no | more...