There was some confusion as to how long the latest FHA loan limit increase is going to last, which I blogged about here. Was it through the end of 2011, or 2 full years through 2013, or just through next year and it ends 2012? So the verdict is in, and the latest FHA loan limit increase expires at the end of 2012. So come December 2012, there will be another political fight, Read the rest of this entry »
Some things are permanent, and some are temporary. The cardboard house in this picture, I'd speculate that it is temporary, very temporary. The recent FHA loan limit increase, the one that the NAR (National Association of Realtors) was busy patting itself on the back for having lobbied for it, and helping to get it passed; it seems to be temporary. So what is all of the fuss over. For now, we have one extra month of getting loans done at the higher loan limit, that is a big deal? The NAR, however, said the loan limit increase is good for two years. Here is their announcement: Read the rest of this entry »
Effective April 18th 2011, FHA will increase the Monthly Mortgage Insurance cost, the Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium will remain the same. Below are the details Read the rest of this entry »
You would think the above photo is a representation of how FHA appraisers are instructed to view most properties. I regularly get some of the most…I'll say "interesting" appraisal conditions on an FHA loan. It is as if Read the rest of this entry »
Many people do not realize when they are buying a property that has been "flipped". What does "flipped" mean? To me it means that a real estate investor bought a house that was run down Read the rest of this entry »
Last week the House of Representatives passed a bill giving HUD the OK to increase the monthly mortgage insurance on FHA loans to 1.55% from the current .55%. Huh? This is really extreme, and to me is akin to FHA taking itself out of the market! Read the rest of this entry »
If you have an FHA loan, you have probably heard you can do an FHA streamline refinance. This FHA loan is a type of refinance where you can refi without an appraisal. Read the rest of this entry »
It used to be simple to get an FHA condo loan. Lenders could do an FHA "Spot Condo Approval", which meant that the condo did not need to be on the FHA Approved Condo List, and all we lenders needed to do was verify that the condo met certain FHA requirements (51% owner occupancy, no litigation against the condo, no more than 10% of the unit owners behind in their condo fees, etc). Now the condo approval process is more centralized, and more complicated. Read the rest of this entry »
The FHA is reeling from rising defaults in its mortgage business. By law the agency must set aside 2% cash to deal with unexpected losses. As of September 30, those reserves had dropped from almost $13 billion to just over $3.6 billion. This total represents only one-half of one percent of all outstanding single-family-home loans insured by the FHA, the first time since 1994 that it has been this low. Read the rest of this entry »
Top Myths About FHA Loans
1. FHA appraisals are difficult and often require repairs: FHA now allows private appraisers to do FHA appraisals, this solved much of the old repair problems where FHA staff appraisers would require numerous repairs to the house before allowing the loan to fund. And, with FHA, lenders are still allowed to use their own appraiser as opposed to a Conventional loan where the bank’s random choice of appraiser is used. Sellers and Realtors should find this attractive, since the new appraisal ordering system for Conventional loans has become a nightmare. See http://www.getloans.com/blog/?tag=home-valuation-code-of-conduct for more information on this issue. Read the rest of this entry »