FHA Loan Guide

BankRate published a helpful article for new homebuyers that outlined important facts about FHA home loans.  In the wake of the housing bubble’s collapse, FHA loans have taken on renewed importance for today’s mortgage borrowers. Simply stated, an FHA mortgage is a home loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration, a government agency within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Borrowers with FHA loans pay for mortgage insurance, which protects the lender from a loss if the borrower defaults on the loan.  Because of that insurance, lenders can — and do — offer FHA home mortgages at attractive mortgage rates and with less stringent and more flexible qualification requirements.

The FHA doesn’t mandate a minimum credit score, according to Vicki Bott, HUD deputy assistant secretary for single-family housing. Instead, each borrower’s creditworthiness is considered in context.  However, FHA lenders can overlay their own requirements on top of the FHA guidelines. Some lenders might require a minimum credit score. Ask the loan officer about such a requirement if you have bad credit.  “Lenders underwrite FHA home loans to ensure that the customer has the willingness and capability to repay the loan, but we do have flexibility beyond pure credit score to look at the borrower’s financial situation,” Bott says.

The FHA requires a down payment of just 3.5% of the purchase price of the home. That’s a fraction of the %age typically required on most other loans and a “huge attraction,” says Dennis Geist, vice president of government programs at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Carlsbad, California.  Borrowers can use their own savings to make the down payment. But other allowed sources of cash include a gift from a family member, or a grant from a state or local government down payment assistance program.

The FHA allows home sellers, builders and lenders to pay some of the borrower’s closing costs, such as an appraisal, credit report or title expenses. For example, a builder might offer to pay closing costs as an inducement for the borrower to buy a new home.  FHA mortgage lenders typically charge a higher interest rate on the loan if they agree to pay closing costs. Borrowers can use the good faith estimate of closing costs — commonly known as the GFE — to compare interest rates and closing costs on different loans and figure out which option makes the most sense.

Because the FHA is not a lender, but rather an insurance fund, borrowers need to get their loan through an FHA-approved lender. Not all FHA-approved lenders offer the same interest rate and costs — even on the same FHA loan. That’s another reason Bott says borrowers should shop around.  “We encourage consumers — from a cost, service and underwriting standard — to shop around many lenders or mortgage brokers to make sure they understand what the best fit is for their particular situation,” she says. 

Two mortgage insurance premiums are required on all FHA home loans: The upfront premium is 2.25 % of the loan amount, and the annual premium is 0.55% of the loan amount. The upfront premium must be paid when the borrower gets the loan but can be financed as part of the loan amount. The annual premium is paid in chunks of 1/12th of the total along with each month’s mortgage payment.  “The perception is that that sounds expensive,” Geist says. However, he adds, borrowers need to compare the FHA-insured loan to a loan that’s not FHA-insured (and consequently requires a much larger down payment). In many cases, the FHA loan is still the best choice, he says.

The FHA has a special loan product for borrowers who need extra cash to make repairs to their homes. The chief advantage of this type of loan, called a 203k, is that the loan amount is based not on the current appraised value of the home but on the projected value after the repairs are completed. The FHA 203k loan allows the borrower to finance up to $3,500 in nonstructural repairs, such as painting and replacing cabinets or fixtures, Geist says.

FHA insurance isn’t intended to be an easy out for borrowers who feel unhappy about their mortgage payments. But loan servicers can offer some relief to borrowers who have an FHA-insured loan, have suffered a serious financial hardship and are struggling to make their payments. That relief might be a temporary period of forbearance, a loan modification that would lower the interest rate or extend the payback period, or a deferral of part of the loan balance at no interest.

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In a recent article, FHA Loan Pro’s weighed in on the HUD counseling mess as homeowners with FHA loans now have new counseling choices to consider. If you are a homeowner in default HUD counselors are not supposed to charge you. It seems that recent reports suggest something else is going on. 

In a letter to FHA mortgage lenders dated February 19th, HUD says:  “HUD had previously sent guidance to HUD approved counseling agencies indicating that fees may not be charged for clients needing homeless counseling or default counseling.   “It has come to HUD’s attention that some Housing Counseling agencies have been asking the real estate broker or agent on a short sale to provide their agency a part of the Real Estate Brokers sales commission to pay for the clients foreclosure counseling session.   “Please be advised that splitting the Real Estate Brokers fee is not a permissible funding source for foreclosure counseling, and may be a violation of RESPA as well as the conflict of interest provisions of 24 CFR Part 214. It may also be grounds for termination from HUD’s Housing Counseling program.  “HUD approved Housing Counseling agencies, their affiliates, and branches that are collecting fees from real estate agents for the referral of clients and to assist with the costs of foreclosure counseling must terminate this practice immediately.”

In 2007 HUD, under the Bush Administration, announced that “funding for housing counseling is a major concern among participating agencies. In a change in this final rule, HUD is clarifying that it will allow for participating agencies to accept funding from lenders, as long as the relationship does not create a conflict of interest and that the relationship is disclosed to the client.”

FHA Loan Pros complained about this rule loud and often and in the summer of 2008 Congress banned lender-paid counseling. In October of 2008, HUD complied with the new law and announced that “lenders can no longer pay HUD-approved counseling agencies, directly or indirectly, for counseling services through either a lump-sum payment or on a case-by-case basis.”  Read the complete article at FHA Mortgage Programs

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Nancy West, a marketing and outreach specialist at HUD’s Santa Ana, Calif.-based office, said there are companies making solicitations with the claim that non-approved originators can do FHA mortgage loans and get paid for them. “I’m here to tell you [that] you cannot,” she said, adding it creates unfair competition with originators who do things properly.

Among the features of the FHA mortgage program is that no credit score is required and that manual underwriting is permissible. However, Ms. West said, there are FHA mortgage lenders who are imposing stricter guidelines. FHA cannot control that, she said. There are those that do not have stricter requirements. If a correspondent only works with a mortgage lender who only uses automated underwriting, they need to be aware there are FHA loans that the system will never approve. Ms. West suggested having an alternative sponsor who manually underwrites.

While the qualifying ratios for FHA loan programs are normally 31% and 43%, Ms. West said there have been loans approved with a backend ratio as high as 68%. It is important that the originator know what program is best for the customer, not only among the FHA offering but the programs at other federal agencies as well, she said. Among the bogus information being given out by lenders is that the borrower must take the property out o a living trust. That is not true, Ms. West said, noting that taking the property out of trust could trigger legal issues.

FHA loans can also be used on manufactured housing as long as it meets agency requirements. “We are the game in town for manufactured housing,” she said. HUD needs mortgage brokers’ help to get the word out about changes in the program to Realtors, who are not aware of items no longer required to be fixed, such as missing handrails, cracked window glass, minor plumbing leaks, poor workmanship and defective floor coverings.

The temporary loan limit increase expired on Dec. 31. Ms. West suggested that mortgage brokers and loan officers keep on top of sponsors to ensure their loans are approved by the deadline. As for the Hope For Homeowners program, while Ms. West said the parameters make certain that only a small number of borrowers are eligible for, there are some benefits. “It is a tool and we will be able to help some folks with it, but it is not a cure all.” The borrower gets to keep a home he or she can no longer keep. They are not paying to make FHA money, only what they owe. Most of the originators of these loans are servicers. The originator is allowed to charge one point only; no administrative or add-on fees allowed. “I’m not saying don’t do it, but don’t make it your meal ticket,” said Ms. West.  Article Written By Brad Finkelstein.

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