FHA Mortgages For Home Buyers With Credit Problems

by: CarlPruitt
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If you would like to buy a home, but you have past credit problems, recent FHA loan program changes may give you an answer to your problems. FHA has been backing mortgages for a long time, but guidelines have been revised substantially over the last few years. Changed so much that the real estate broker or home owner you are trying to negotiate with probably will not know the requirements of 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 FHA program was set up in 1934 with the adoption of the National Housing Act. FHA's mission is to provide credit and a chance for home ownership to borrowers who may have past credit problems, or a thin credit history, or a higher than average percentage of their total income going out for bills.

FHA expands home ownership opportunities by guaranteeing lenders that HUD will pay off the mortgage if the borrower fails to pay. Because of this FHA mortgage insurance, lenders are able to approve riskier loans for home buyers who don't fit conventional mortgage guidelines.

The FHA mortgage insurance guidelines were set up around the requirements of the first time home buyer, however the program is available to any borrower with no other outstanding FHA loan guarantee. FHA is not available on non-owner occupied investment properties.

Many experienced real estate brokers and home sellers have heard horror stories about FHA's excessive red tape and are therefore reluctant to recommend that buyers use an FHA loan. At one time, FHA regulations were much restrictive and resulted in higher fees for home sellers. Processing times on FHA loans often delayed the sale of the property while fighting with underwriters over silly bureaucratic issues. However, today these issues are almost completely resolved.

If your real estate broker, or home seller, is hesitant to accept your purchase offer including FHA financing, here are 8 benefits of FHA financing they may be unaware of:

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. With an FHA loan, the home buyer is not required to have any financial reserves. Someone with absolutely no money in checking or savings is still eligible for financing.

4. Recent FHA appraisal reform eliminated the need for minor cosmetic repairs to the property before closing. The program now allows ''as is'' appraisals and no longer requires automatic inspections for termite, well or septic. These conditions were part of the red tape that aggravated sellers and agents so much 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. Never any prepayment penalties. Many loans borrowers with credit problems have been getting including significant penalties if the loan is paid off within the first 3-5 years. Such prepayment penalties inhibit refinancing for a lower rate or to lower debt payments. FHA loans have no such prepayment penalties. FHA loans even allow for "streamlined refinancing" As long as a borrower has made mortgage payments on time, there is no requirement to produce all of the qualifying documentation again in order to refinance.

All these factors benefit both the buyer and the seller. Without this program, the market for the seller's home would be greatly reduced. With the FHA insurance, potential homebuyers who cannot get approved for a conventional loan can get a mortgage with the same interest rates as a borrower with perfect credit and a low debt to income ratio! And they can buy the home with no money out of pocket!

About the Author

Mortgage originators today need to become masters on FHA guidelines in order to thrive in today's mortgage market. An FHA loan is the ideal way to profit by helping credit challenged borrowers own a home with low fixed rates.  

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