FHA Home Loans

FHA Home Loans are mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration that feature lower underwriting standards and rates than conventional loans, along with lower minimum down payments of 3.5%.  Additionally FHA borrowers are required to pay for mortgage insurance (MIP) to protect the lender in the event of a default.

FHA Loans Are Flexible And Accessible

Home buyers today don’t often buy homes with 20% down.

Low- and no-downpayment mortgages remain popular with first-time buyers and repeat buyers alike; and one of the most popular low-downpayment mortgage program is the FHA loan via the Federal Housing Administration.

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. buyers uses an FHA loan to finance a home purchase.

The program’s popularity, in part, is because buyers can make downpayments of just 3.5 percent via the FHA. But, there are other reasons why FHA loans are in demand, too.

In addition to loose underwriting standards, FHA mortgage rates are lower than comparable conventional rates; and FHA loans can be assumed by a home’s subsequent buyer.

This is especially valuable in a rising mortgage rate environment.

About The FHA Mortgage

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established in 1934, which, in U.S. history, was a period of “heavy renting”. The country was emerging from The Great Depression.

Just 4 in 10 households owned their homes.

At the time, the mortgage terms offered by lenders were onerous. To get a loan meant to make a 50% downpayment; to agree to a loan term of 5 years or fewer; and, to make a large “balloon” payment to the bank after the mortgage’s first few years.

Few U.S. consumers could meet the terms of a 1930s mortgage.

Meanwhile, the government wished to increase the rates of homeownership nationwide. With more homeowners, the government reasoned, neighborhoods would stabilize and the U.S. economy would get back on track.

From this, the FHA and its flagship mortgage program was born.

The main feature of the FHA-backed mortgage was its Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) program, a self-sufficient insurance fund through which the FHA could insure the nation’s lenders against “bad loans”.

In order for a bank to get the FHA’s insurance on its loans, it was required to verify that its loans met the FHA’s minimum qualification standards.

These rules came to be known as the FHA mortgage guidelines.

In time, the FHA MIP system gave banks confidence to make better loans with better terms for hopeful U.S. home buyers. Soon, the down payment requirements for a home loan dropped; 5-year loan terms were replaced with longer terms of 15 and 30 years; and mortgage rates dropped.

The FHA is currently the largest insurer of mortgages in the world.

U.S. Home Buyers Choose FHA Loans

In today’s expanding economy, U.S. home buyers have a wide selection of mortgage loans from which to choose.

As examples, there are conventional loans available via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; Rural Housing Loans available via the USDA; and, 100% loans available via the Department of Veterans Affairs and its VA loan.

Even jumbo mortgages and private loans have made a comeback of late.

However, loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration remain in high demand.

The FHA loan’s combination of low rates, low downpayment, and flexible lending guidelines have made it one of most common loan choices for home buyers today.

There are benefits to choosing an FHA loan. Here are some of the biggest.

FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums

It may seem odd to call FHA mortgage insurance a benefit since it doesn’t come for free, however, FHA MIP is what makes the FHA program possible. Without the MIP, FHA-approved lenders would have little reason to make FHA-insured loans.

The good news is that, as a homeowner or home buyer, your FHA MIP rates have dropped. Today’s FHA MIP costs are now as much as 50 basis points (0.50%) lower per year than they were in 2014.

Also, you have ways to reduce what you’ll owe in FHA MIP annually including using a 15-year mortgage term for your loan; or, making a downpayment of at least 5 percent.

Or, as many homeowners are doing in today’s market, you can refinance out of FHA MIP.

FHA Allows A 3.5% Downpayment

For today’s home buyers, there are only a few mortgage options which allow for downpayments of five percent or less. The FHA is one of them.

With an FHA mortgage, you can make a downpayment as small as 3.5%. This benefits home buyers who don’t have a lot of money saved up for downpayment; and, home buyers who would rather save money for moving costs, emergency funds, or other needs.

FHA Allows 100% Gift Funds

The FHA is aggressive with respect to gifts for downpayment. Very few loans programs will allow your entire downpayment for a home to come from a gift. The FHA will.

Via the FHA, your entire 3.5% downpayment can be a gift from parents or another relative, an employer, an approved charitable group, or a government homebuyer program. If you’re using a downpayment gift, though, you’ll need to follow the process.

The FHA Doesn’t Require A SSN

Not every home buyer will have a valid social security number and, according to the FHA, that’s okay. FHA guidelines permits loans to employees of the World Bank and foreign embassies, for example.

The FHA will also insure loans for non-permanent resident aliens.

There Are Many FHA-Approved Lenders

FHA loans can be funded by any FHA-approved lender. This includes mortgage lender, savings-and-loans institutions, and credit unions. The marketplace for FHA loans is giant, which creates competitive pressure among lenders to offer low FHA rates and low FHA fees.

It pays to “shop around” on an FHA loan.

Furthermore, because different banks use different methods to underwrite, your FHA loan can be declined by Bank A but approved by Bank B.

If you meet the rules of the FHA, you can apply until your loan get approved!

There Are Many FHA Loan Products

Via the FHA, you can get a mortgage of almost any type.

The agency is best-known for its traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but the FHA also offers a 15-year fixed rate loan as well as a series of adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs).

In addition, the FHA insures purchase-and-improvement loans for when you want to buy a home that needs repairs; 203k construction loans for when you want to buy a home that’s newly built; and energy-efficiency loans for when you want to finance the costs of energy-efficiency improvements into your loan.

The FHA also provides a full line of FHA refinance products.

The FHA Insures All Property Types

FHA home buyers are able to purchase any home type in any U.S. neighborhood — whether in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, or any U.S. territory.

The FHA will insure single-family detached homes, 2-unit homes, 3-unit homes, 4-unit homes, condominiums, mobile homes and manufactured homes.

The FHA Has Flexible Credit Standards

Of all the available loan types in today’s U.S. market, FHA loans are among the most forgiving with respect to credit standards.

The FHA does not require “perfect credit” and even instructs its approved lenders to look beyond isolated “credit events” and to consider a borrower’s complete credit history — regardless of credit score. Even borrowers with a recent foreclosure, short sale, deed-in-lieu or bankruptcy can be eligible for FHA financing.

Mandatory 3-year waiting periods do not exist with an FHA loan.

The FHA Allows Extended Loan Sizes

A “loan limit” is the maximum allowable loan size for an area and, as another FHA benefit, FHA loan limits can be extended as conventional loan limits are. In Orange County, California, for example, or New York City, the FHA will insure up to $625,500 for a mortgage.

For 2-unit, 3-unit and 4-unit homes, FHA loan limits are even higher — ranging up to $1,202,925.

FHA Loans Are Assumable

A little-known FHA benefit is that the agency will allow a home buyer to “assume” the existing FHA mortgage on home being purchased.

The buyer must still qualify for the mortgage with its existing terms but, in a rising mortgage rate environment, it can be attractive to assume a home seller’s loan.

5 years from now, for example, a buyer of an FHA-insured home can “inherit” a seller’s sub-4 percent mortgage rate.

The FHA Offers Construction Loans

Via its 203k program, the FHA offers construction loans to home buyers planning upgrades to a new home; and homeowners planning to make repairs to home already owned.

Via the FHA 203k loan, projects including new roofing, structural additions, and complete home tear-downs. The 203k loan can be applied to homes in need of minor repairs as well as fixer-uppers.

The FHA is the only federal government agency to issue such a loan.

Access To The FHA Streamline Refinance

Another advantage for FHA-backed homeowners is access to the FHA Streamline Refinance.

The FHA Streamline Refinance is an exclusive FHA program which offers homeowners one of the simplest, quickest path to a refinance. Via the FHA Streamline Refinance, there are no credit score checks, no income verifications, and home appraisals are waived completely.

In addition, via the FHA Streamline Refinance, homeowners with a mortgages pre-dating June 2009 get access to reduced FHA mortgage insurance rates.

What Are Today’s FHA Mortgage Rates

For more than 80 years, the FHA home loan program has helped U.S. homeowners purchase homes affordably and refinance them. Compare today’s rates and see what an FHA loan can do for you.

Our loan application can be found here or you can call us at 314-329-7314 to speak with one of our loan officers.

Posted by: Carlson Mortgage – a St. Louis mortgage broker providing home loans in the state of Missouri. We are ranked as the #1 lender in Missouri on Zillow.com. We can be reached at (314) 329-7314 seven days a week. Let us be your source for some of the lowest mortgage interest rates in St. Louis on conventional, FHA, Veterans (VA), USDA, Jumbo and condominium (condo) financing. We have 11 years of experience providing home loans and mortgage services in St. Louis that are tailored individually to your unique needs and to your financial situation. Our loan officers speak English, Spanish and Russian. Call us today to inquire about home loan interest rates, to get pre-approved for a purchase or a refinance mortgage, or if you have any general mortgage lending questions. Read the original article here