by Carl Pruitt
If you are thinking about buying a home, but you have had credit problems, recent changes in the FHA loan guidelines may solve your problem. FHA loans have been around a long time, but the guidelines have changed so much in the several years that your real estate agent and the home seller you are trying to work with probably won’t recognize the program.
The initials ”FHA” stand for Federal Housing Administration. The FHA is a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). When you see HUD homes for sale, they are foreclosed homes that were financed with mortgages guaranteed by FHA.
The program was established in 1934 as part of the National Housing Act with the mission to expand credit and home ownership opportunities for borrowers who may have had credit problems, have a limited credit history, or whose bills take up a higher percentage of their total income than typically allowed on conventional loans.
The FHA program accomplishes this goal by providing insurance which will pay off the loan if the borrower defaults. Because of the guarantee of FHA mortgage insurance, the lender can take more risk approving mortgages for borrowers who don’t fit into conventional loan programs.
The FHA mortgage insurance guidelines were set up around the requirements of the first time home buyer, however the program is available to any borrower with no other outstanding FHA loan guarantee. FHA is not available on non-owner occupied investment properties.
Many real estate agents and sellers are hesitant to recommend that anyone use an FHA loan because they have heard horror stories about the red tape involved. In the past, the FHA guidelines were much stricter on the property and caused the seller to have to pay higher fees than a conventional loan. Using an FHA insured loan often caused the closing to have to be delayed while arguing over seemingly silly red tape issues. However, this red tape has been almost completely unraveled over the last couple of years.
If your real estate agent, or potential home seller, is balking at accepting your purchase offer with FHA financing, here are 8 reasons they should reconsider:
1. Low down payment. Typically 3% of the purchase price AND gift funds are allowed for the entire down payment, closing costs and prepaid items. These gift funds can come non-profit foundations with easy qualifying requirements.
2. The seller can pay up to 6% of the total sales price for closing costs and prepaid expenses. This allows a buyer to negotiate an agreement which results in having to bring absolutely no cash to the closing!
3. FHA requires no financial reserves at the time of loan approval. A borrower with no savings, and no money in checking will still meet the requirements.
4. FHA has reformed the appraisal guidelines to get rid of the need for minor repairs that must be completed prior to closing. HUD now allows as-is appraisals. Expensive termite, well and septic inspections are no longer automatically required before closing. Such requirements were the type problems that often delayed closings and angered home sellers in the past.
5. There is no official minimum credit score. HUD provides an automated underwriting system named FHA Total Scorecard. Borrowers approved by this system are not required to write credit explanations, pay off old collections, or remain below an arbitrary debt to income ratio.
6. If HUD’s FHA Total Scorecard automated underwriting system will not approve a loan, the loan may be manually underwritten. The underwriter is given wide discretion to apply common sense in their decision to approve the loan. On conventional loan programs, underwriters often do not have this discretion and are never allowed to override the automated decision.
8. No penalties for paying off the loan early. Most of the loans available for problem credit borrowers include expensive penalties for paying the loan off within the first few years. These penalties prevent refinancing or selling the home. FHA loans do not have any prepayment penalties. FHA guidelines set up a program called streamlined refinancing. As long as all mortgage payments have been paid on time, no qualifying documentation is required in order to refinance the mortgage should rates go down.
All these factors benefit both the buyer and the seller. Without this program, the market for the seller’s home would be greatly reduced. With the FHA insurance, potential homebuyers who cannot get approved for a conventional loan can get a mortgage with the same interest rates as a borrower with perfect credit and a low debt to income ratio! And they can buy the home with no money out of pocket!
About the Author:
Mortgage originators today need to become masters on
FHA guidelines in order to survive in today’s mortgage market. An
FHA mortgage is the perfect method to make money by helping credit challenged borrowers buy a home with low fixed rates.