November 5, 2021
Who can apply for an FHA mortgage? Anyone can apply. Not all are accepted, obviously but there are few restrictions on who can be considered for an FHA mortgage.
One of the main restrictions? Applicants with FICO scores below 500–FICO scores below that can never qualify for an FHA mortgage.
Another restriction–you must be in the country legally. You do NOT have to be a citizen of the United States to qualify for an FHA mortgage loan, but you do have to provide documentation that shows your status as a resident, non-resident alien (the official term at press time) refugee, or asylum seeker.
Your ability to qualify for the FHA home loan program depends on being able to show documentation of your status as a legal resident, etc.
Another restriction on FHA mortgages? Loans cannot be approved for non-real estate purchases like houseboats or recreational vehicles. Your lender cannot consider approving an FHA single-family home loan for non-real estate purchases.
Who can apply for an FHA mortgage? Any of the following types of applicants may be considered for loan approval:
- Applicants who are buying a home for the first time;
- Those who are buying a home after having owned one previously;
- Those who want to purchase primary residences to live in as the home address;
- Those who want to purchase condos, townhomes, duplexes, or other multi-unit properties up to four units large.
Who can be APPROVED for an FHA mortgage? The following factors can all play a part in the lender’s decision to approve or deny a home loan application:
- Those who have stable employment likely to continue into the first few years of home ownership;
- Those who have FICO scores that fall into both the lender’s requirement ranges and the FHA’s requirement ranges. Those ranges are 580 and above for maximum financing, 500-579 for 10% down.
- Borrowers who are able to realistically afford the mortgage with their income, low debt-to-income ratios, and a reliable history of repayment on financial obligations in the last 12 months or better;
- Those who have not taken out other major loans or applied for another big line of credit in the last 12 months
You can start working on these issues right away if you have concerns about being able to qualify for a home loan.
One of the best things you can do immediately is to start reviewing your credit reports, start reducing your credit card balances and work to establish or maintain a record of on-time, every-time payments on your monthly financial obligations.
The earlier you start, the better off you’ll be when it’s time to apply for the loan or get prequalified.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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