Articles Tagged With: FHA Loan Income Rules

November 2, 2017

Are There Any Income Documentation Rules For FHA Loans? Part Two

Are there any income documentation rules for FHA loans? We have been examining this question, referring to the FHA loan handbook (HUD 4000.1) to see what the lender must do when reviewing a borrower’s income. The lender must calculate the applicant’s debt-to-income ratio using only verifiable income, and there are specific procedures your loan officer must use to do this. Those procedures can vary depending on the nature of your income. Are you salaried, hourly, commission, or contract? Depending on your payment arrangements, the lender must calculate the income accordingly. FHA Loan Applicants With Hourly Income HUD 40001. tells the lender that for hourly income, the loan officer must determine whether the hours of employment vary or not. If they do not vary, the lender can use the current rate | more...

Rent Or Buy? Arguments For Purchasing A Home With An FHA Mortgage

October 31, 2017

Income Requirements For An FHA Loan Part Two

By Joe Wallace

In a recent blog post we discussed income requirements for an FHA loan including basic debt-to-income (DTI) ratio issues, the fact that your income must be stable and reliable, and that you can’t earn “too much” to qualify for an FHA mortgage. One question some FHA loan applicants have at this point involves how the lender arrives at things like the debt to income calculation, how job reliability is determined, etc. How Does The Lender Calculate My Debt To Income Ratio For An FHA Home Loan? Simply put, the loan application will ask. You will have places in your application which ask about your monthly obligations, and the lender will also check your credit reports to see what active accounts you have. Some borrowers may be tempted to omit certain | more...

FHA Home Loans And First Time Home Buyers

October 31, 2017

What Are The Income Requirements For An FHA Loan?

By Bruce Reichstein

What are the income requirements for an FHA loan? Some aren’t sure if they earn enough to qualify for an FHA mortgage, and others are worried that they might earn “too much” to qualify, mistakenly believing that FHA loans are only for people within a certain income bracket. What’s the reality? FHA Loans Are For Anyone Who Qualifies There is no minimum income requirement for an FHA mortgage, and there is no upper limit or income “ceiling”. FHA loans are not targeted for any one income bracket. It is true that FHA loans are designed with more lenient FICO score minimums in mind, but that has nothing to do with the amount of your annual income or how you earn that income. Basic FHA Loan Income Requirements There ARE FHA | more...

October 18, 2017

How Does FHA Deal With A Borrower’s Financial Hardship?

By Bruce Reichstein

How does FHA deal with a borrower’s financial hardship? That is an important question, and the answers may surprise some who expect the same types of financial qualifications from FHA mortgages as from conventional loans. What is the reality? Basic FHA Loan Financial Requirements FHA loan FICO score minimums are 580 and higher for maximum financing and the lowest down payment. Lenders may have higher requirements, but the FHA minimum FICO score allows those who wouldn’t be considered for a conventional mortgage. Debt-to-income ratio requirements for FHA mortgage loans (which may vary depending on FICO scores) will vary some among lenders, too but you’ll find that your total payments must not (generally speaking) exceed 43% of your monthly income. How Does FHA Deal With Financial Hardship? Depending on the nature | more...

What Credit Score Is Needed For An FHA Mortgage?

September 29, 2017

FHA Loans, Income Verification, And Rental Income (Part Two)

By Joe Wallace

In our last blog post, we discussed some basic FHA loan rules about using rental income to qualify for an FHA mortgage loan. Some borrowers are interested in purchasing a multi-unit property that they intend to live in as their primary residence, with the goal of renting out unused living units. FHA loan rules permit this only when the borrower lives in the property; you cannot plan to be an absentee landlord and expect FHA loan approval. In our last blog post, we wrote: “It is reasonable to expect that such a borrower would want to know if she could use projected rental income from that arrangement as ‘verifiable income’ for the purposes of loan approval. Can the borrower reasonably expect a lender to approve of income from this rental | more...

September 28, 2017

FHA Loans, Income Verification, And Rental Income From Other Properties (Part One)

By Bruce Reichstein

In a previous blog post, we discussed the issue of a borrower using projected rental income from the property to be purchased with an FHA mortgage. Some borrowers are interested in purchasing property that they intend to live in as their primary residence, while planning on renting out unused living units in a multi-unit property. It is reasonable to expect that such a borrower would want to know if she could use projected rental income from that arrangement as “verifiable income” for the purposes of loan approval. Can the borrower reasonably expect a lender to approve of income from this rental situation when calculating the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio? This is possible in situations that meet FHA loan approval; some scrutiny will be given to a borrower’s rental income history or | more...

September 12, 2017

Can I Use Disaster Relief For My FHA Loan Down Payment?

By Joe Wallace

Can I use disaster relief for my FHA loan down payment? That question is on the minds of many in the wake of hurricanes, forest fires, and other natural disasters. FHA home loans have a minimum required investment or down payment of 3.5% of the adjusted value of the home. Depending on circumstances including marginal credit scores, some transactions may require a higher down payment. But the down payment is required no matter what, and FHA loan rules state the down payment must come from approved sources. That means a borrower will be required to furnish the lender with information about the source of the FHA loan down payment. Borrowers can use cash saved at home, money from investments or savings clubs, even gift funds from approved sources. Those approved | more...

February 24, 2017

Child Support Income and FHA Loans

By Joe Wallace

A reader got in touch with us to ask a question about how a participating FHA lender will view child support payments. “My significant other and I want to apply for a house loan together. He technically still pays me child support, but it will end once we own a house together. Can we still count that as part of my income for a home loan? And/or does that effect his income for the loan at all?” There are a variety of factors that could influence the answer to this question. One is state law. Does the borrower live in a community property state? Is the couple legally married and thus subject to such laws where applicable? Does other state law govern how child support and/or alimony can be handled | more...

How much can I borrow with an FHA refinance loan?

October 6, 2016

Self-Employed Borrowers: FHA Loan Rules

By Joe Wallace

A growing number of Americans are either self-employed, contract workers, freelance, or otherwise employed in ways that don’t involve being on a company payroll and receiving traditional benefits, and health insurance. FHA home loans are definitely possible for those who are freelance, self-employed, etc. but it’s important to know what the FHA requires on a basic level for applicants who work in this way. HUD 4000.1 has some instructions to the lender for verifying self-employment income, for example, and these instructions may involve more paperwork than for other types of borrowers. To start, HUD 4000.1 spells out its definition of self-employment income: “Self-Employment Income refers to income generated by a business in which the Borrower has a 25 percent or greater ownership interest.” That may seem different than freelance income | more...

August 12, 2016

FHA Loans and Social Security Income

By Joe Wallace

A reader asks, “I don’t understand if I have a 1099 and I have a benefits letter, and the letter that states at the end of the year what I am getting for the following year, why I am being asked or can be asked for something that states I will get social security for 3 years? There is nothing that says social security will give this to me or a name for it.” FHA loan rules governing Social Security income are found in HUD 4000.1, page 195 under “Other Sources Of Effective Income”. The rules require the lender to make a distinction between “effective income” which would continue for at least three years of the new loan, and “compensating factors” in the case where the lender cannot establish that | more...