Product Reviews Site Article DirectoryArticle Directory from productreviewssite.com

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.

FHA achieves this goal by issuing an insurance policy that guarantees payoff of the loan if the borrower defaults. This guarantee allows the lender to assume more risk and therefore approve loans for borrowers who would not be approved under conventional mortgage programs.

The FHA loan guidelines were designed around the needs of the first time home buyer, but the program can also be used for a purchase or refinance by any borrower who does not already have an outstanding FHA. The standard FHA loans are only allowed for owner occupied homes and are not for purchasing investment property.

More experienced real estate agents and property sellers are often reluctant to recommend or accept FHA financing. This is due to the many horror stories they have heard, or bad experiences they have had due to past extremely strict property guidelines set by HUD. In the past, FHA financing often resulted in significant closing delays while ridiculous underwriting approval conditions were being met. Guideline changes have substantially removed this problem.

If you have an agent or seller who is reluctant to accept an offer involving FHA financing, here are some of the benefits you can give them:

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. Seller-paid contributions for closing costs and prepaid expenses are allowed up to 6% of the purchase price. This means that a buyer can negotiate terms which will result in having to bring absolutely no money to the closing!

3. The borrower is not required to have any financial reserves. You can qualify for an FHA insured loan with $0 in your checking or savings account!

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. No FHA required minimum credit score. HUD’s automated underwriting system named FHA Total Scorecard relieves borrowers of the need to write detailed credit explanations, pay off old collection accounts, or meet an arbitrary debt to income ratio.

6. If the automated underwriting system does not approve your loan, the underwriter is given discretion to use common sense in the decision to approve the loan manually. The underwriter often is not given such discretion on conventional loans.

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.

FHA loans provide extensive benefits for both buyers and home sellers. There would be many fewer potential buyers in the market without the program. FHA allows borrowers with past credit difficulties to get the same mortgage rates as perfect credit borrowers with no money out of pocket to buy the home.