FHA Loan Guidelines

FHA loan guidelines reflect the Federal Government's commitment to expanding homeownership and home buying opportunities through reduced down payment requirements, mortgage insurance charges, and relaxed loan guidelines when compared to conventional loan guidelines. I am including the FHA Loan Guidelines here. Email with questions on FHA Loan Guidelines

FHA has recognized Washington DC and other areas as a high housing cost area and has increased the maximum one family home mortgage amount to $362,790 increasing the number of homes which qualify for FHA insured financing. Nationally, the limits are as follows:

High cost area

One Family $362,790
Two Family $464,449
Three Family $561,411
Four Family $675,000

The FHA loan program is an outstanding choice for first time homebuyers because FHA loan guidelines require only 3% cash (which may be a gift) into the transaction and the FHA Loan guidelines are significantly more forgiving of past credit issues. We will look specifically at the last two years of your credit history. If there are some credit problems, we may be able to overcome them with sufficient explanations and supporting documents of why the issues occurred. Never rule yourself out of qualifying for FHA loan because of credit, prequalify and have me review your credit. I have more information on FHA credit requirements available

This page is focused on the using FHA loan programs to purchase a home. If your interest is in refinancing an existing FHA or VA loan please go to my refinance center. For extensive information on the FHA 203(k) program to remodel a home please see my renovation loans page.

There are some credit issues that we must allow for a certain time to pass before you can qualify for a FHA loan. They are follows:

Two years from the date of discharge for a bankruptcy
Three years from the date of foreclosure

FHA loan guidelines require any outstanding collection accounts, judgments, charge off's be paid in full before closing. If you have had some credit difficulties in the past, FHA compensating factors can often get your loan approved.

ADVANTAGES OF FHA LOAN FINANCING

Lower required down payment
FHA loans are assumable* with a qualified borrower
Higher qualifying ratios of 29% for housing and 41% for total indebtedness on existing construction; 31% for housing and 43% for total indebtedness on new construction
More flexible underwriting guidelines
Gift funds for down payment and closing costs are allowed
Up-front Mortgage Insurance Premium can be financed
Less cash out of pocket required
The lowest down payment (as low as 3%, never more than 5%) requirement of any non-subsidized financing program
Non-occupant co-borrowers are allowed for qualifying purposes
Seller allowed to pay prepaid expenses
Seller can contribute up to 6% of purchase price toward closing cost and discount points
Charges on conventional loans such as tax service fees, underwriting fees, copy & courier fees are not allowed to be charged to the buyer with FHA loans
With FHA’s no cost streamlined refinancing you can lower your payment at NO COST to you. Usually, closings can occur within 2-3 weeks.
Rehab your house with only one loan using the FHA 203K program
The FHA ARM has the best features on the market with a 1% annual interest rate cap and a 5% lifetime cap.

If you currently have an FHA loan and are considering refinancing to lower your monthly housing cost there is a simple low cost " FHA streamline" refinance process which you should consider. One of the important features of the program is that the loan is assumable should you sell in the future. If interest rates rise, an assumable mortgage may be the difference between being able to sell your home or not.

FHA ARM

An adjustable rate mortgage is available which allows many people to buy a home with very low payments and down payment requirements. Useful if you have a debt to income issue or just want to buy more home.

Streamline Refinance

Streamline refinances on insured mortgages have been permitted since the early 1980's. The basic requirements of a streamline refinance are:

The mortgage to be refinanced must already be insured.
The mortgage to be refinanced should be current (not delinquent).
The refinance is to result in a lowering of the borrower's monthly principal and interest payments.
No cash may be taken out on mortgages refinanced using the streamline refinance process.

For more information go to the FHA Streamline Refinance page. I also have a Free report "Buying your First Home" available by email.