FHA

Down Payment or Invest?

If you could pay for a home with cash without getting mortgage financing, would you?  Should you?  That decision is both an emotional one and a financial one.  Let’s look at a recent example…
We received a call from a potential customer, referred to us by a real estate agent we work with, who was looking [...]

Why Buy Now?

We generally write about specific programs, changes and situations, but I want to recap some of the thingsI feel are important to consider in today’s market.  Let’s look at the reasons to buy now.

Long term mortgage rates are at 20-30 year lows

According to Freddie Mac, in a press release yesterday, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was [...]

FHA Changes 2010

Lots of changes coming down from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on FHA Mortgage Loans.  Here is a quick snapshot of what is changing in 2010:

90 Day Flipping Rule Waiver (Feb 1)
Up-front Mortgage Insurance Premium Increase from 1.75% to 2.25% (Apr 5)
10% Down Payment Required for Credit Scores < 580 (Summer)
Max Seller [...]

Max FHA Origination Fee – ELIMINATED

Effective January 1, 2010 the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) who runs the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) modified their policies surrounding the maximum amount a mortgage lender may charge for “origination” fees on FHA mortgages.  This is no surprise due to the recent changes the the HUD and GFE that went into effect [...]

The Bank of Mom and Dad

We received a couple of calls in the past few days for potential home buyers looking to get qualified for a mortgage and both of them had questions about how Mom and Dad could help them qualify. Here are their situations:

FHA Loan Limits for 2009

Happy New Year everyone!!  I have taken a little bit of time off from posting throughout the holidays, but I am back.  I hope everyone had a great holiday season and a Happy New Year!
I posted a few weeks back about changes to FHA in 2009, but I did not include the change to the [...]

FHA Streamline Refinance

Did you know there is a mortgage refinance option that doesn’t care about the value of your home, your current income or employment, or even if you have not paid debts, other than your mortgage, on time?  There is, and it is called a FHA Streamline Refinance.  If you currently have an FHA mortgage and [...]

FHA Changes – 2009

Effective Jan 1, 2009 FHA has made some changes to their guidelines that could impact those looking to obtain mortgage financing.  As I have stated in previous posts, FHA has become more popular over the past couple of years due to the changing mortgage environment and reduced risk tolerance of mortgage lenders.  FHA, on the [...]

Mortgage Loan Requirements – FHA

Over the previous several months mortgage lenders, and therefore customers, have seen many changes to requirements to obtain a mortgage loan.  Conventional loans have seen the most changes, leaving FHA financing as a great alternative to many potential home buyers.  So what does it take to obtain a FHA loan these days?
About FHA
FHA, or Federal [...]

Government Mortgage Loans

Most of the time people are talking about Conventional Mortgage financing when they talk about a mortgage.  Conventional loans offer the most flexibility on the terms and offer unique programs to fulfill the needs of just about every customer.  That was the case until recently, when the “mortgage crisis”, as it is being called, occurred.  [...]