Articles Tagged With: FHA Home Loans

June 12, 2020

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

Low mortgage rates have stolen the headlines on some finance blogs; as a result, 2020 has seen high volumes of refinance loan applications. The low rates also has many renters potentially finding themselves in a more affordable position to become homeowners. But another development has taken things in an even more historic direction; in June 2020 conventional loan rates made big headlines by plunging below the three percent threshold. The sub-three percent range has been familiar territory for FHA mortgage loans and VA mortgages. The same day conventional rates fell below three percent, the best-execution FHA mortgage loan interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was reported at 2.50%. The rates offered to any borrower will depend on the type of loan, the loan term, and other variables. Borrowers | more...

Construction Loans For First-Time Home Buyers

May 12, 2020

Building A Home As A New Borrower

By Bruce Reichstein

At press time, many portions of the United States are considering some kind of return to business as usual in the wake of lockdowns and coronavirus containment measures. For better or worse, some portions of the country are opening more than others and this will likely include real estate markets and house hunting as progress is made. And that means some first-time home buyers will be exploring their options soon. Did you know that even as a first time borrower, you may be eligible for a One-Time Close construction loan that allows the borrower to build a home on their own lot rather than buying someone else’s property? One-Time close loans are available for VA borrowers, FHA loan applicants, even USDA borrowers. These loans do require some additional legwork and | more...

May 6, 2020

Home Loan Forbearance Options

By Bruce Reichstein

Are you one of the many Americans in need of mortgage loan forbearance during COVID-19? There are many different types of mortgages; FHA, VA, USDA, conventional…the options available to you may vary depending on the type of mortgage you have, whether you are current on your home loan payments at the time you request the help, and other factors. If you need to apply for mortgage forbearance, it is important to know the range of choices open to you not just for the forbearance period itself, but also for repaying the money you don’t pay now if you are approved. Some loan forbearance options may allow you to choose to stop making payments for up to a full year and choose a method to repay the year’s worth of delayed | more...

May 5, 2020

Is Your Credit Ready For A Mortgage?

By Joe Wallace

Do you worry about your ability to obtain or use credit because of coronavirus issues? You can take steps to protect your credit and work on your credit rating; you don’t have to sit idly by and wonder what’s happening with your FICO scores and credit report. One of the first steps for many is to use credit monitoring. This is a type of service offered by third parties that allows you to see changes in your credit report including activities and scores (over a period time, not necessarily in real time) that may affect your ability to get credit in the future. Credit monitoring is a good way to start because using such a service makes the consumer more aware of how credit works, the day-to-day factors that could | more...

Credit Requirements For Your FHA Home Loan In 2020

February 6, 2020

Buy Or Rent? The Cost Gap Gets Narrower

By Bruce Reichstein

Do you want to own a home or rent one from someone else? According to a Realtor.com report from the fourth quarter of 2019, the cost gap between being a renter and a homeowner is lower, and it may be even more affordable to own your own home in smaller rural areas. Why? According to Realtor.com, “After years of escalating home prices making the cost to purchase a home more expensive than renting in many of the nation’s largest counties, rising rents, lower mortgage rates, and moderating home prices made purchasing a home in Q4 2019 more attractive compared to last year.” That report adds that in more than 80% of American’s largest counties it may still be more expensive to own instead of rent. Findings from the Realtor.com report | more...

January 15, 2020

FHA 203(k) Rehab Loan Standards

By Bruce Reichstein

FHA 203(k) rehab loan standards include a list of things that can be done with a 203(k) rehab loan and a list of ineligible projects. Borrowers should know ahead of time what is allowed and what is not with these FHA rehab loans. FHA Loan Rules For Renovation, Improvements, Add-Ons In general, FHA home loan programs such as the Energy Efficient Mortgage (which can be used in conjunction with an FHA 203(k) loan) and the FHA 203(k) and FHA 203(h) rehab loan feature a list of approved uses for loan proceeds. There’s a prohibition against cash back to the borrower on these transactions except where it is needed to pay for materials and labor; even then a borrower cannot “profit” from the loan. FHA loan rules require escrow accounts to | more...

How To Avoid Foreclosure During The Coronavirus

January 8, 2020

Do You Want To Buy A House This Year?

By Joe Wallace

Do you want to buy a house this year? There are things you should do to prepare for the loan, and it’s a very good idea to give yourself extra time to get it all done. It’s best to come to the application process with the following steps already accomplished. Check Your Credit Report Get a free copy of your credit reports and start reviewing your FICO scores and details to make sure there are no errors, identity theft, outdated information, etc. You are legally entitled to a free credit report. Use A Mortgage Calculator Using an online mortgage calculator will give you a much better idea of how much home loan you can afford. The online calculator will ask you for the price of the house, the interest rate, | more...

June 27, 2019

You Are Not Ready For An FHA Home Loan If…

By Joe Wallace

How do you know you are truly ready for a home loan? There are many things to consider, including your finances, credit, and employment history. But there are other factors, too. You Are Not Ready For An FHA Mortgage If You Don’t Know How Much You Can Afford To Pay Each Month Do you know how much you can afford in a monthly mortgage payment? Don’t forget that calculating your payment isn’t as simple as doing the math on the sale price of the home compared to the length of the mortgage plus interest. You will also have to figure in property taxes, any applicable homeowners or condo owners association fees, mortgage insurance premiums, and other factors. Do not overlook these expenses when doing the mortgage math! You Are Not | more...

April 22, 2019

Lower Home Prices And FHA Mortgages

By Joe Wallace

House prices in 2019 seem to be “at risk” to go lower according to some industry reports. If you are researching home prices (especially for those in housing markets on the West Coast) you may read about these issues being higher than usual for a variety of reasons. How Do Declining Home prices Affect FHA Home Loans? If the value or asking price of a neighborhood is in decline, it may affect certain options you have to negotiate with the seller. Your seller may or may not be willing to negotiate on items like the allowable six-percent-of-the-sale-price contributions toward closing costs the seller can make. Sellers may agree to pay this six percent as an incentive for the borrower to purchase the real estate. But if prices are going down | more...

Home Loan Terms Defined: Conforming Loans

April 18, 2019

Home Flipping And FHA Mortage Loans: The Rules

By Bruce Reichstein

A 2019 CoreLogic report states that home flipping, the process of purchasing, renovating, and putting a house back on the market in a short period of time and often at a substantial markup, is at it’s highest levels in about eight years. The CoreLogic report states, “…since the Great Recession, flippers have been increasingly good at acquiring properties at a discount, either because the properties were legally, financially or physically distressed”. Some borrowers may be tempted to flip homes, and others may wish to purchase a flipped home. What does the FHA home loan program’s rulebook say about this practice? HUD 4000.1 states that “eligibility of a Property for a Mortgage insured by FHA is determined by the time that has elapsed between the date the seller has acquired title | more...