Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

FHA loan programs:

FHA Access

FHA Cal Gold

FHA Rural Gold

FHA Mutal Mtg. Insurance

FHA 203 (k)

FHA 203 b

FHA 251

FHA Title I program

FHA MIP Refund

The Federal housing administration was created by Congress in 1934 as part of the national housing act. The purpose of the act, and of the FHA, was to generate new jobs through increased construction activity, to exert a stabilizing influence on the mortgage market, and to promote the financing, prepared, and sale of real estate

nationwide. Today, the FHA is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The FHA's primary function is to insure loans. FHA approved lenders are insured against losses caused by borrower default.

The FHA insurance program is called mutual mortgage insurance plan (MMI). Under the plan, lenders who had been approved by the FHA to make insured loans either submit applications from prospective borrowers to the local FHA office for approval, or, if authorized by the FH to do so, from the underwriting functions themselves. Lenders who are authorized by the FHA to fully underwrite their own FHA loan applications are called direct endorsement lenders (DE Lenders). A direct endorsement lender is responsible for the entire mortgage process, from application for closing. When a direct endorsement lender has approved and closed a loan, the application for mortgage insurance is submitted to the FHA.

As the insurer, the FHA incurs full liability for losses resulting from default and property foreclosure. In turn, the FHA regulates many of the terms and conditions of the loan. FHA regulations have the force and effect of law.

FHA loan features.

Any loan intended for submission for FHA insurance has a number of features that distinguish it from a conventional loan. The most significant of these features are:

1. Less stringent quality standards. FHA will allow re-establishment of a credit within two years after a discharge of bankruptcy, when any judgments have been fully paid, any tax liens have been repaid, or a repayment plan has been established by the IRS, and within three years after a foreclosure has been resolved.

2. Low down payment. The 3% cash down payment is generally less than for a similar conventional loan.

3. No secondary financing is allowed for the down payment. The FHA minimum down payment for a loan must be paid by the borrower in cash. The borrower is not allowed to resort to secondary financing from the seller or from any lender to make up any part of the down payment. The FHA permits the use of either a nom- repayable gift of money, credit from a portion of rents from pay rent/purchase contract between a buyer and seller, or some home repairs made by the purchaser (sweat equity) to be used to satisfy the 3% down payment costs.

4. Some closing costs may cover the down payment. While a borrower may not finance any of the closing costs along with the sales price, FHA permits the use of some closing cost to satisfy the 3% down payment requirement.

5. FHA mortgage insurance is required for the loan regardless of the amount of the down payment.

6. No prevent penalties are allowed. FHA loan may be paid off in full at any time with no additional charges. A lender is allowed to require that any such payment be made on a regular installment due date.

7. The property must be owner occupied. The FHA used to insure investor properties but they have virtually eliminated all such programs. Two-to-four unit properties qualify if they are owner occupied.

Other characteristics of FHA loans.

The typical FHA loan has a 30 year term. However, FHA offers long terms as short as 15 years. They also offer adjustable loans and home repair loans. The rate is fully negotiable between the borrower and lender. They still tend to be lower than college loan rates because the lenders risk is lessened by the FHA mortgage insurance.

A lender may only charge 1% ordination of the own FHA loan, but is allowed to charge discount points. Typically, discount points allow a lender to recover and the interest loss upfront. Although discount points may be paid by the buyer in an FHA transaction, they are almost always paid by the seller.

The lender is required to obtain an appraisal of the property from an FHA approved appraiser. The a praise it will note any health and safety deficiencies and necessary repairs needed on a validation conditions form. The lender is required to provide the buyer with a home-buyer summary of all the deficiencies noted by the appraiser. All problems with health and safety conditions, as well as necessary repairs, must be completed before the FHA will issue insurance on the property.

Income qualifications and a maximum amounts .

There is no minimum income requirement for an FHA loan. Borrowers of the show two years of steady employment and demonstrate that they have consistently paid their bills on time. The FHA has a ratio of 29% and 41%. This means that a payment for a home loan may not exceed 29% of the borrower's gross monthly income and all installment debt, including the home loan payment, may not exceed 41%.

The FHA sets maximum mortgage loan amounts. These amounts, which vary by state as well as location within a state, are adjusted yearly. FHA loan limits are found on HUD website.

Martin Lukac, represents, #1 Loans USA(http://www.1LoansUSA.com), a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more: info@1LoansUSA.com

Latest News


Washington Post

As condition of loan, UAW can't strike against GM
Detroit Free Press, United States - 4 hours ago
The US Treasury set myriad conditions on GM as part of the plan to loan the company $13.4 billion for survival. Those terms had not been fully disclosed ...
UAW strike would put automakers in default of federal loans DetNews.com
Autoworkers union begins talks on concessions The Associated Press
UAW Barred From Striking Wall Street Journal
The Associated Press - Detroit Free Press
all 477 news articles

WSAV-TV

Consumer Borrowing in US Falls Record $7.9 Billion
Bloomberg - 11 hours ago
Non-revolving debt, including auto loans, dropped $5.2 billion for the month. Fed policy makers last month cut the benchmark interest rate target to as low ...
Consumer borrowing falls by $7.94B in November The Associated Press
Consumers borrow less than expected CNNMoney.com
US ECON: November Consumer Credit Falls By Record $7.94 Bln Forbes
The Consumerist - Xinhua
all 211 news articles

Los Angeles Times

Citigroup, Senators Agree on Bankruptcy Role to Trim Loan Rates
Bloomberg - 2 hours ago
The revised bill Citigroup endorsed would give judges the ability to adjust principle payments or interest rates on existing loans, and could extend the ...
Citi Reaches Deal With Lawmakers on Home Loans New York Times
Citi reaches deal with lawmakers on home loans The Associated Press
Citi Will Support Bill to Rework Bad Loans TheStreet.com
AFP - Wall Street Journal
all 533 news articles

Javno.hr

Loan Delinquencies Hit Record High Last Year
Washington Post, United States - Jan 7, 2009
By Nancy Trejos Delinquencies on auto loans and home equity lines of credit reached their highest levels on record during the third quarter of 2008, ...
Late loan payments hit record high in Q3 USA Today
US consumer loan late payments at 28-year high Reuters
Home-equity delinquencies at record level Newsday
Minneapolis Star Tribune - WalletPop
all 64 news articles

Sallie Mae Raises $1.5 Billion for Private Loans
Washington Post, United States - 10 hours ago
Reston-based Sallie Mae has secured $1.5 billion worth of financing from investment bank Goldman Sachs for a batch of private student loans, a sign that ...
Sallie Mae shares falter despite financing BusinessWeek
Lump of Coal from Sallie Mae AACRAO Transcript
Sallie Mae Closes $1.5 Billion Financing WELT ONLINE
MarketWatch - RTT News
all 25 news articles

PennyMac, Led by Ex-Countrywide Head, Buys FDIC Loans
Bloomberg - Jan 7, 2009
Known as PennyMac and led by Stanford Kurland, the firm is paying an average of 30 cents to 50 cents on the dollar for the loans and the FDIC is sharing ...
FDIC Unnationalizes Some Debt Forbes
BlackRock, Highfields-backed firm to share gains and losses with FDIC MarketWatch
PennyMac Completes Purchase of $558 Million in Mortgage Loans from ... Associated Content
The Associated Press - PR Newswire (press release)
all 80 news articles

Reuters

Banks Pare Fed Loans After Increase for Year-End Cash
Bloomberg - 11 hours ago
Outstanding loans to banks through the Term Auction Facility dropped to $384 billion from $450.2 billion, the Fed release showed. ...
Fed Says M1 and M2 Rise, Loans to Banks and CP Loans Fall CEP News
Banks borrow more, investment firms less from Fed The Associated Press
Will asset-backed securities return? Pottstown Mercury
The Olympian - Sun newspapers
all 779 news articles

Boston Globe

Fed’s Rosengren Calls for ‘Concerted’ Fiscal, Monetary Policies
Bloomberg - 3 hours ago
Fed policy makers have expanded the central bank’s total assets by $1.25 trillion to $2.14 trillion over the past year by increasing loans to banks and ...
Rosengren sees path to recovery Boston Globe
US FED: Rosengren Supports Expanded FHA Mortgage Lending Forbes
Hub’s Fed chief: Deep recession confounds forecasts Boston Herald
Reuters - RTT News
all 49 news articles

Legislative analyst doubts loans will fly
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - 53 minutes ago
Finding investors in a credit market that's in turmoil and a potential legal challenge on whether the state can take out short-term loans to balance the ...
Report: Schwarzenegger's heavy borrowing proposal is risky San Jose Mercury News
Analyst has worries over Schwarzenegger plan to close budget gap San Francisco Chronicle
all 20 news articles

The Money Times

Lyondell Can Borrow $2 Billion in Largest US Loan
Bloomberg - Jan 7, 2009
US Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber in Manhattan approved the loan at half-past midnight, after lenders spent five hours negotiating to resolve objections to ...
Judge OKs LyondellBasell loans after Ch. 11 filing Forbes
Bankruptcy loans approved for LyondellBasell Chemistry World
Lyondell gets over $2 bln in bankruptcy financing guardian.co.uk
Euroweek.com - Reuters
all 452 news articles

Resources