Articles Tagged With: First-time Home Buyer

September 22, 2023

Before You Buy Your First Home

Are you a first-time home buyer? The house hunting process is one that is best approached with some planning, and you will find plenty of advice online about what to do ahead of your loan application. But what about what NOT to do? There are fairly obvious things not to do. Nobody should apply for a car loan while buying a home, for example. You should not quit your current job, or make major financial changes while trying to convince a lender you are an acceptable risk for a home loan. But what about the other things to avoid when buying your new home? Don’t Take The First House You Really Like Some borrowers get emotional about the first property they find that they could see themselves owning. If you | more...

September 21, 2023

FHA Home Loan Questions, FHA Home Loan Answers

By Joe Wallace

First-time home buyers looking for an affordable home loan often turn to the FHA mortgage. The low downpayment requirement for those who financially qualify is an option worth looking into. Many first-time FHA borrowers have questions. Here are some of the most frequently asked. Do FHA Borrowers Need A Real Estate Agent? A real estate agent is not a requirement when you buy a home with an FHA mortgage. That said, many prefer to work with a real estate agent or realtor since they can be helpful for those who don’t know the local area and to those who need help finding a home near the right services. Some house hunters are simply are not comfortable navigating the purchase of a home and in such cases a real estate agent | more...

September 12, 2023

Do You Want To Buy A House This Year?

By Joe Wallace

Do you want to buy a house this year? There is still time in 2023 to take advantage of the lower FHA loan limits set at the beginning of the new year. There are also 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Check Your Credit Report Start reviewing your FICO scores and details to make sure there are no errors, identity theft, outdated information, etc.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. Contact Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion to learn more about contesting errors or other issues on your credit reports. Use A Mortgage Calculator An online | more...

September 11, 2023

Things You Can Do With An FHA Mortgage

By Joe Wallace

What can you buy with an FHA mortgage? First-time home buyers and experienced home buyers who have never used an FHA mortgage sometimes wonder whether they can use an FHA loan to buy certain property types. We examine some of these issues below. Remember that state law, local ordinances, and FHA loan rules may change over time, it’s best to reexamine the rules before you start your house-hunting phase of the journey. Use An FHA Loan To Buy A Multi-Unit House One permitted use of an FHA home loan program is buying a multi-unit property. You can use an FHA mortgage to buy a house with as many as four living units. Use An FHA Loan To Buy A Multi-Unit Rental Property This is allowed by FHA loan rules. The | more...

FHA Mortgage Rates and Refinance Options

September 5, 2023

FHA Home Loans And High Interest Rates

By Joe Wallace

Interest rates on FHA home loans, VA mortgages, and conventional equivalents are higher in 2023. Consider the rates listed in the first five days of September, when the numbers reflected rates between 6% and 7.6%. Those numbers are a serious increase from the record-setting interest rate days of 2020. Looking at just one day, 16 September 2020, we learn home loan interest rates were listed below 3% for qualified applicants. Despite the higher numbers we see in the fall of 2023, some borrowers will not wait for rates to come down. Instead, these borrowers are applying, getting approved, and buying now regardless of rates. Why do some choose to buy now? Are they taking foolish risks with their money? Not in all cases. Some borrowers enter the house-hunting process with | more...

September 1, 2023

How Much Should I Save For My FHA Loan Down Payment?

By Joe Wallace

How much money should a home buyer save for a down payment? The answer can’t be given in dollars and cents because the amount of your down payment depends on the purchase price of the home in part, you’ll need to know the sale price before you can calculate the down payment amount. The percentage of the down payment (based on the price of the home) depends on the type of home loan you want, whether you want to avoid mortgage insurance, and whether your FICO scores are high enough to qualify for the lowest down payment. Some down payment percentages are higher than others for various reasons including risk to the lender in some cases. Down Payments For VA Mortgages VA loans offer a no-money-down option, but there is a | more...

August 31, 2023

FHA Home Loan Rules And Fair Housing Laws

By Bruce Reichstein

We report on Fair Housing cases from time to time, a reminder to those looking for housing that there are federal laws that protect against discrimination in housing. But what are the FHA home loan rules in this area? Did you know that the FHA loan program has specific instructions to the lender regarding Fair Housing laws? Those instructions are found in HUD 4000.1, the FHA Single-Family Home Loan Handbook. Page 120 of that handbook instructs the lender, “The Mortgagee is required to comply with all federal, state and local laws, rules, and requirements applicable to the mortgage transaction, including all applicable disclosure requirements and the requirements of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including those related to: The Fair Housing Act protects both renters and home loan applicants looking | more...

August 28, 2023

How Much Is Your Monthly FHA Mortgage Payment?

By Joe Wallace

When you enter the planning stages for a new home loan, you’ll want to know how to budget for the expenses of your mortgage such as the appraisal fee, down payment, home inspection, etc. But you will also want to know about the monthly mortgage payment–how much it could be, how you need to adjust your personal finances to accommodate the new loan, etc. That’s why one of the most important questions a home loan applicant can ask in the planning stages is, “How much will my monthly mortgage payment be?” It’s easy to assume this is a simple calculation of how much the loan is, divided by how many months the mortgage loan payments are required. But is it REALLY that simple? The truth is that it’s more complex | more...

August 24, 2023

When It’s Time To Close Your FHA Loan

By Joe Wallace

First-time home buyers and those who haven’t purchased real estate in a while can greatly benefit from using a closing checklist. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) offers a sample closing checklist you can use to help you remember the essential details you’ll need to address on closing day. It’s easy to overlook an important detail or two as you approach closing day. There is a lot to remember! As the CFPB reminds, a closing checklist can help you keep all those details in one place to keep all your obligations for closing day centralized and at your fingertips. First Things First Your closing checklist should tell you who’s conducting your closing procedure, where that process should happen, and when it is scheduled. How much do you need to pay | more...

August 22, 2023

How Much Will My FHA Appraisal Cost?

By Bruce Reichstein

How much does an FHA appraisal cost? This is a common question, most often asked in conjunction with whether or not the FHA regulates this expense as part of the FHA home loan process. The Cost Of FHA Appraisals And Home Inspections The first thing to remember when budgeting for an FHA appraisal is that you must also set aside money for a home inspection. You should never rely on the appraisal alone to determine whether the home, condo unit, or mobile home or modular home is suitable to purchase. The FHA appraisal costs money, and the home inspection costs money too. Borrowers who balk at paying “twice” for a service that is mistakenly viewed as nearly identical (appraisals are NOT identical to inspections) should know that paying hundreds for | more...