FHA News

The historical view of FHA has persisted, but it is not the same as it used to be! It is not a pain for Sellers, anymore than a home sale inspection. A client told me yesterday they thought it was just for "poor people." Interesting, I never thought of it that way. Since I've been in the business it has been a positive program that is a solutions for some of my clients.





It is a good option and newly modified to be an even better option! It is a fit for many buyers who don't have the traditional 20% down payment and may have a little higher debt to income ratio. But the properties do have to qualify, as well as the buyer and may be a bit more to navigate with condos. The association have to have manged the properties for over a year, the occupancy has to meet rations, and cannot have a first right of refusal. Ask your lender about specific property guidelines. In the St Louis Homes market our average is not as high as the national limits below.





Currently the rules & regs for lenders protecting their risk is fluid at best. Yesterday I understand there was a 5.5 FHA which was very nice! Keep in touch with your lenders and be ready to lock. Be aware that the rules keep changing so try work with the people who are your advocates.



cnnmoney.com below... Let me know if I can help you & yours!




"Lawmakers have been working on legislation to reform the FHA to modernize its standards so that they reflect changes to the housing market in the past 30 years. Among the changes on tap, lawmakers will:



Permanently raise loan limits. The economic stimulus bill passed in February temporarily increased the limit on loans eligible to be FHA-insured. The ceiling until Dec. 31, 2008 is now $729,750, up from the normal $362,790 for single-family homes. Those are the ceilings for high-cost areas. The ceiling is lower in low-cost housing markets.
Reduce down payment requirements. Homeowners would no longer be required to have 3% equity or the cash equivalent to get an FHA-insured loan. The House bill would allow borrowers to get an FHA-insured loan with 0% down if they can show they can afford the mortgage payments. The Senate bill requires 1.5%.
Make it easier for borrowers in high-cost loans to refinance. The House bill would let some homeowners in default or at risk of default refinance into an FHA-insured loan.
The changes to the FHA are intended modernize the loan program, which, like a lot of low- and middle-income people, had essentially been priced out of many housing markets. In 2005, there were roughly 5,000 FHA loans made, down from 109,000 in 2000." from CNNmoney.com March 10, 2008