Key Benefits & Advantages of an FHA Mortgage Loan

Easy to understand 2022 FHA guidelines for home buyers and homeowners.

FHA mortgage graphic If you're thinking of purchasing a home, one of the most important decisions is whether to use a conventional or an FHA loan.

An FHA home loan is designed for borrowers with low credit scores and moderate to high incomes. Here's what you need to know about the benefits & advantages of an FHA mortgage:

What Is An FHA Loan?

An FHA home loan is a mortgage offered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This agency was created in 1934 and is a part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The FHA offers mortgages to borrowers who meet specific qualification requirements. The minimum requirements for an FHA loan are that you have a good credit history, can afford the loan, and have a stable employment or business situation. Borrowers who have had a foreclosure may also be eligible for an FHA loan.

FHA loans have some unique features that make them desirable to borrowers. These loans have lower interest rates and require less documentation than other types of mortgages.

In addition, these loans are available in various financing options, including fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages, and home equity loans.

An FHA mortgage does not require you to be a first-time property buyer to qualify.

If you are interested in applying for an FHA loan, speak to a lender listed below.

Eligible Property Types for an FHA Loan

FHA financing is available for many different kinds of properties. This loan is available for a variety of property types, including:

manufactured (mobile homes),
approved condos,
single-family homes, and
multifamily homes with up to four units.

Only homes you intend to live in as your primary residence may be purchased using an FHA loan. You should seek a conventional loan to buy a second house or an investment property.

What are the FHA Loan Requirements

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is a government-sponsored housing finance agency. Its mission is to help make homes available to people who need them by providing affordable financing for home purchases and refinancing. FHA loans are considered a "low down payment" option, meaning you don't need as much money down as other types of loans.

To be eligible for an FHA loan, you must meet specific requirements.
Eligible borrowers include:

U.S. citizens
Permanent resident aliens
Non-Permanent resident aliens
DACA - qualified undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children

An FHA loan is a good option if you're looking for a low-cost loan that has some flexibility in terms of the property you can buy.

What are the FHA Loan Down Payment Requirements

https://fhaloanplus.com/fha-loan-payment-requirement.html

The minimum down payment requirement for an FHA loan is 3.5%, although the 203h disaster program waives the down payment with the 203h program.

What is the FHA Mortgage Insurance

https://fhaloanplus.com/calculate-fha-mortgage-insurance-premium.html

When you get a mortgage, there are typically two types of insurance you must pay. An initial fee is paid at settlement in cash, financed into the FHA loan, or paid as a seller concession. The upfront cost is 1.75% of the loan amount.

You also have to pay an annual premium of 0.85% of your loan balance (with a minimum down payment & 30-year term).

The monthly premium is paid in 12 monthly payments. The monthly percentage may be less with a larger down payment and/or shorter term.

The primary purpose of FHA mortgage insurance is to protect the lender in case you can't make your payments and default on your loan. It also helps people who cannot afford a traditional down payment buy a home.

What is the Minimum FHA Credit Score Requirement

https://fhaloanplus.com/fha-loan-credit-requirements.html

The Federal Housing Administration does not provide mortgage financing directly to the borrower; instead, the FHA works through approved FHA lenders.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) prefers a credit score of 580 or higher for customers seeking an FHA loan; nevertheless, the FHA allows lenders to offer FHA loans to borrowers with a credit score as low as 500. The borrower is required to submit a down payment of ten percent.

What are the FHA Loan Limits

https://fhaloanplus.com/fha-loan-limits.html

FHA loan limits graphic The Federal Housing Administration sets the lending limits annually. The maximum FHA loan amount is determined by the county where the property is located and is equal to 115 percent of the area's median home price.

The FHA uses data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

The maximum loan amounts for 2022 are:

1 - unit - $420,680
2 - units - $538,650
3 - units - $651,050
4 - units - $809,150

What are the FHA Income Requirements

https://fhaloanplus.com/fha-home-loan-income-requirements.html

FHA does not specify a minimum amount of time a borrower must have held a job to qualify for a mortgage. However, the lender must confirm the borrower's employment for the most recent two full years.

The borrower must explain any work gaps that last more than a month.

Borrowers with gaps in employment that span one or more months must provide evidence to support the employment gap with college transcripts, military discharge papers, or medical documentation during the most recent two full years.

If the lender can provide documentation, allowances may be given for seasonal work, which is common in construction and agriculture.

No upper or lower income restrictions for FHA loans must be met to qualify for an FHA loan.

Wage earners must provide their most recent pay stubs covering the last 30 days and their W2s and tax returns from the previous two years.

Self-Employed Borrowers: You must provide your tax returns for the previous two years and maybe a P&L statement for the current fiscal year. Borrower Employment and Employment-Related Income

What is the FHA Debt to Income Requirement

https://fhaloanplus.com/fha-loan-debt-income-ratio.html

To qualify for an FHA loan, you must satisfy specific income guidelines. To be eligible for an FHA loan, your monthly housing expenditures (principal and interest on the mortgage, homeowner's insurance, and property taxes) cannot exceed 31% of your total monthly income.

Your total debt obligations (including your mortgage, credit cards, student loans, and car loans) must be at most 43% of your gross monthly income.

A DTI of 43 percent is permissible according to the standard FHA guidelines; however, much higher ratios, up to 56.9 percent, are allowed with compensating factors.

FHA Gift Funds Explanation

https://fhaloanplus.com/fha-gift-funds.html

Gift funds graphic The FHA allows gifted money from family members and other donors to partially or totally pay the down payment and closing costs.

There cannot be a repayment arrangement between the donor (the person giving the money) and the borrower.

Eligible donors include:

the borrower's relative
the employer or labor union of the borrower
A public entity or governmental agency that has a program providing home ownership assistance to first-time homebuyers or low and moderate-income families
a public or governmental organization with a program for housing
a close friend who has a well-defined, verifiable stake in the borrower
a charitable organization

The borrower must provide evidence of the transfer of gift monies. A gift letter must be signed by both the donor and the recipient. The gift letter has to display the:

donor's name,
address,
telephone number and
define the gift's monetary value, and
specify the nature of the connection between the donor and the borrower and that repayment is not necessary.

Lenders typically provide the borrower with a pre-printed gift letter to help with the monetary transfer.

FHA Seller Concession Explanation

https://fhaloanplus.com/much-can-seller-contribute-fha-loan.html

Homebuyers can obtain FHA loans with a down payment as low as 3.5% of the purchase price. To make this type of loan available to as many people as possible, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) allows sellers to contribute up to 6% of the sales price towards the buyer's closing costs and prepaid expenses.

This is a seller concession and can significantly reduce out-of-pocket expenses when buying a home.

You should know a few things about seller concessions before you ask the seller to contribute money towards your purchase.

First, the concession cannot exceed 6% of the sale price.
Second, any money given by the seller must be applied towards closing costs and prepaid items such as escrow or title insurance.

FHA Loan with Cosigner

https://fhaloanplus.com/cosigner-fha-loan.html

Cosigner graphic An FHA loan with a cosigner is a popular option for buying a home. With this type of loan, the primary borrower (the person taking out the loan) and a cosigner share the responsibility of ensuring that the loan is repaid.

The cosigner is typically someone with a good credit history and meets specific other criteria, such as being able to afford the mortgage payment and having sufficient income to cover additional costs associated with homeownership, such as property taxes and insurance.

If something happened to the primary borrower, such as losing their job or not making the mortgage payment, the cosigner would be responsible for covering that debt.

The benefits of using a cosigner on an FHA loan include the following:

Having someone else share some of the risks associated with owning a home can be beneficial in several ways.
First, it can make financing more affordable for those who might not be able to qualify for a traditional mortgage on their own.
Second, it can provide peace of mind for those nervous about taking on such a big financial commitment.
And finally, it can help protect the home's property value should something go wrong.

What is the FHA 203b Home Loan Program?

https://fhaloanplus.com/203b.html

The FHA home loan program is a government-backed mortgage program that was created in 1934. The FHA 203b home loan program is the primary mortgage offered by the FHA. When someone tells you they purchased a home with an FHA mortgage, chances are, the loan was the 203b loan.

The information provided so far was based on the guidelines for a 203b home loan.

What is the FHA 203k Home Loan Program?

https://fhaloanplus.com/203k.html

The FHA 203k loan incorporates fix-up money and the loan to purchase a home.

There are two renovation loans, the Limited and the Standard 203k loan.

The eligible borrowers can obtain up to $35,000 fix-up money with the Limited 203k loan. This is an excellent opportunity for home buyers who need repair or modernization on their new home.

The Standard 203k loan program also wraps the renovation money into the loan. The difference between the limited and standard programs is that the Standard is more robust. The improvements require more than $35,000, and a consultant is used to supervise the renovation.
The 203k loan can also be used by existing homeowners who want to improve their homes. Both the Limited and Standard 203k are available for a refinance loan.

What is the FHA 203h Home Loan Program?

https://fhaloanplus.com/203h.html

Borrowers and lenders frequently need to pay more attention to the 203h loan program because of its perceived complexity. This lending program focuses on victims of natural disasters, and homebuyers and homeowners with property damage due to natural disasters are eligible to participate in the program.

The 203h loan program is comparable to the 203k loan program; however, the 203h loan does not require a down payment.

FHA Refinance Programs

https://fhaloanplus.com/closing-costs-fha-streamline-refinance.html

Believe it or not, the FHA offers 5 refinance options:
Mortgage refinancing of an existing FHA-insured loan is referred to as a "streamline refinance." This refinancing involves only a minimal amount of credit verification and underwriting.

Streamline Refinance Credit Qualifying
Streamline Refinance non Credit Qualifying
Rate and Term Refinance
Simple Refinance With Appraisal
Cash-out refinance

Conventional Loan vs. FHA Loan

FHA versus conventional loan graphic A conventional loan is a loan that is not backed up by the federal government, at least not officially. Conventional loans are offered by lenders who provide the mortgage money on behalf of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Corporation (Freddie Mac). Fannie and Freddie have similar lending guidelines and mortgage programs.

The benefit of the conventional loan is that there is no private mortgage insurance with a 20% down payment. Home buyers and homeowners who refinance with a conventional loan must pay mortgage insurance with a down payment of less than 20%.

By federal law, the mortgage insurance will drop off when the loan balance reaches either 78% or 80% of the property value. Some rules define PMI removal.

The FHA also requires their version of mortgage insurance; however, the requirements are such that the mortgage insurance will stay with the mortgage payment until the loan is paid off or refinanced.

Most home buyers use the FHA loan to help them quickly purchase a home and refinance to a conventional loan after establishing sufficient equity.

Fannie Mae offers two 3% down payment programs to compete with the FHA.

The Conventional 97 is aimed at first-time home buyers.
The HomeReady program targets low to moderate-home buyers.
The interest rates on Conventional loans tend to be higher than with FHA financing because there is no federal backing.

FHA Loan vs. USDA Loan

The USDA home loan program is available to rural and qualifying suburban areas.

The USDA loan does not require a down payment. That's right, and the USDA loan is 100% financing.

Now you're probably thinking, "what's the catch ."Here it comes. There are income limits, and the property must be located in a USDA-eligible area.

The USDA provides a lookup tool for both income and area.
A willing home seller can pay up to 6% of the closing and prepaid costs. The USDA guidelines tend to follow the FHA underwriting guidelines.
The USDA offers two purchase programs and a refinance option.

There is a Guarantee Fee of 1% of the loan amount. The fee may be paid in cash at settlement, financed with the loan, or paid by the seller.

The USDA also requires a monthly fee like the FHA program, and the upfront and monthly payments are lower than the FHA funding fees.

FHA Loan vs. VA Loan

The Veterans Affairs mortgage doesn't need a down payment at all. There are costs due up front unless the borrower receives a disability benefit of at least 10% or is a recipient of the Purple Heart.

The VA funding fee is determined by several factors, including the down payment percentage and whether or not the Veteran has utilized a VA mortgage in the past.

No PMI or MIP costs need to be paid each month.
Unlike the FHA loan, the seller can pay all the Veteran's closing expenses and maybe even the prepaid fees.
Gift funds are limited to eligible donors
The interest rates are similar to the FHA interest rates, which are lower than the conventional programs.

Rotating question mark FAQs About FHA Loans: Benefits & Advantages

Q. Can you get an FHA loan on a mobile home?
A. Yes, you can get an FHA loan on a mobile home. The mobile home must be permanently attached to the land, and the loan amount cannot exceed the house's value.

Q. Can you have 2 FHA loans?
A. The short answer is yes. But it's not that simple.

Q. Does an FHA loan have PMI?
A. The FHA does not have private mortgage insurance, but it does have mortgage insurance premiums, which are equivalent to PMI.

The FHA monthly insurance premiums are paid by the borrower and are included in the monthly payment.

Q. How do you get an FHA loan?
A. At the bottom of this page is a listing of FHA lenders.

Q. When an appraisal has been completed, how long does it take to close an FHA loan?
A. The time it takes to close an FHA loan after appraisal varies depending on the lender, but it typically takes around two weeks. During this time, the lender will verify the information in the appraisal and ensure everything is in order before funding the loan.

Conclusion

To qualify for an FHA loan, you must meet specific requirements, including a minimum credit score and down payment amount. You may also be required to pay mortgage insurance premiums. The FHA loan program is the best for cash-strapped and credit-challenged home buyers.