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Articles Tagged With: FHA Loan Approval

FHA Home Loan

Getting Ready For An FHA Home Loan Refinance

Are you interested in a lower mortgage payment or interest rate on your home loan? Are you looking to convert the equity you’ve built up in your home into cash? There are plenty of reasons to consider refinancing–do you need out of an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and into a fixed-rate loan? All of these options are open to financially qualified borrowers who apply for an FHA refinance loan and you do NOT have to be a first-time homebuyer or first-time homeowner to be approved for an FHA refinance loan. Many of the same steps you took for your original home loan application are applicable when you begin planning to refinance your mortgage; you should pull your credit reports are early as possible in the planning stages. Many consumers find it | more...

 
Time Is Running Out On Exterior-Only FHA Appraisals

Time Is Running Out On Exterior-Only FHA Appraisals

In August 2020, the FHA and HUD issued an extension of their temporary exterior-only appraisal guidelines for borrowers applying for FHA mortgages and refinance loans. This measure, and others similar to it, came after the President declared a national emergency with respect to the coronavirus pandemic and, according to the FHA/HUD official site, “initiated actions to stem the threat to public health and the American economy.” On March 27, 2020, HUD published Mortgagee Letter 2020-05, authorizing “flexibilities to the re-verification of employment and Acceptable Appraisal Reporting Forms and Protocols by allowing exceptions for Exterior-Only and Desktop Appraisal inspections in certain transactions”. The original measures were issued in March of 2020 to allow FHA appraisers to perform their work on FHA mortgages without having to put themselves at risk of COVID-19 | more...

 
New FHA Home Loan

New FHA Home Loan Guidelines Announced

The FHA and HUD have written permanent new COVID-19-related loan approval guidelines for those who need to apply for an FHA mortgage but come to the home loan application process with a previous mortgage forbearance. Ever since the coronavirus emergency came to the United States, the FHA and HUD have offered borrowers mortgage relief, and now that relief and measures similar to it won’t be a liability for those who need to apply for a new FHA mortgage. Other forms of coronavirus relief have been temporary but not this time. The new rules announced by the FHA are announced as a permanent modification to FHA loan rules that instruct the lender on how to approve new mortgage loan applications for borrowers who have applied for home loan forbearance in the | more...

 
FHA Home Loan

Is A Property Eligible for an FHA Mortgage Loan If It Has Asbestos?

Borrowers interested in purchasing older properties using an FHA insured mortgage could face several challenges depending on the nature of the property. For example, some buildings insulated or otherwise constructed with asbestos products could pose a health hazard. FHA rules include minimum property requirements for safety, which address situations like these. Is a property eligible for an FHA loan if it has asbestos in it?

 
FHA home loan advice

FHA Refinance Loan Tips

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many borrowers took advantage of foreclosure moratoriums and other financial relief measures to save their homes from going into mortgage default. Other borrowers may choose to explore their refinancing options to get a lower interest rate or other advantages that can help them financially over the long term. If you are thinking about a refinance loan, there are some tips you should know that can help you make the most informed choice about refinancing. Remember that there are many different options if you want to refinance a home loan. Cash-out refinancing is one option, borrowers can also select no cash-out versions and a borrower with an existing FHA mortgage may find a benefit using something called the FHA Streamline Refinance, which has no FHA-required appraisal or | more...

 
FHA loans

FHA Home Loans: The Occupancy Rules (And More) You Need To Know

Can you use an FHA home loan to buy investment property you plan to rent out to others? This is a question many wonder about, and the answer is tied to the FHA loan occupancy requirements for these mortgages. FHA loan rules for all single-family home loans are described in the lender’s handbook, commonly known as HUD 4000.1. FHA loan rules include a variety of instructions for the lender that direct the financial institution on how to process and approve FHA home loans. But FHA loan rules don’t just apply to lenders and other mortgage professionals, some regulations are also written for the borrower. Did you know that FHA single-family mortgage loans are intended for owner-occupiers only? The rules listed in HUD 4000.1 are clear–the borrower must take possession of | more...

 
apply for an FHA loan

FHA Loan Credit Questions: Co-Signing

Here is a variation on a common question about FHA home loans: “I think my credit is fairly good but I have two cars in my name–one of which I thought I was only the co-signer. I’ve recently found a property that is fairly reasonable and my question is will my co-signing affect the loan approval decision? I do not make the payments on the second vehicle.” HUD 4000.1 has a great deal to say about credit, financial liabilities, and related issues. What does it say about this reader’s question? The general philosophy of the FHA is toward applicant credit information includes the notion that your credit history is the “most useful guide” determining things like: The loan applicant’s attitude toward credit obligations; The ability to predict a borrower’s future | more...

 
Getting Ready For Your Home Loan

Changes To The Home Loan Industry

Coronavirus has and COVID-19 containment measures have forced those in many career fields to change how business gets done–and the mortgage industry is no exception. It is clear that the economic fallout from the current crisis will be felt for years to come, and there are many who look to the amount of time it took for the nation to economically recover from the housing crisis of 2008, thinking that better long-term planning this time around might be the best approach. Mortgage Industry Changes Consumers have already experienced how Coronavirus has forced changes in procedures related to buying and selling a home. The in-person walkthrough, the open house, and the in-person appraisal are all much more rare at the time of this writing in many communities. Not all require the | more...

 
Mortgage Trends

Mortgage Rates Give And Take In Mid-August

Mortgage loan interest rates have had some interesting ups and downs in August 2020, with conventional loans AND FHA mortgages staying below the three percent line, at least some of the time in the case of conventional loans. There are many factors that affect the fluctuations of FHA and conventional mortgage loan interest rates–we won’t go into all of them here. But the pandemic, politics, international trade issues, and investor reaction to all of these things and more have kept mortgage rates at unprecedented lows (no, we aren’t tired of writing that phrase just yet). But at the time of this writing on August 18, 2020, conventional rates have risen above the three percent line once more. Rates are reported at a best execution 3.12% for the most well-qualified borrowers. | more...

 
FHA Home Loan

Building A Home, Buying A Home

Are you thinking about buying an existing home? Are you considering applying for a construction loan to build a house on your own lot instead? If you are trying to decide whether to build or buy, there are questions to ask before you commit to buying an existing construction property, or choose to apply for a One-Time Close mortgage to build on land you already own or purchase as part of the mortgage. What does it take to select the best option for your needs? There is an advantage to building a home from scratch–borrowers can influence the final outcome of the construction and help determine the nature of the house ahead of time. Some don’t enjoy sorting out such details, they gravitate toward the idea of looking at existing | more...