Realty Times – Get a HUD Home for $100 Down.
Call it the U.S. Department of $100 Down Housing.
HUD like other federal agencies, are anxious to unload properties they hold, because they can be a financial drain.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is offering its foreclosed homes for a mere $100 down from now until October 2012.
Of course you’ll have to qualify for a mortgage, you may have to pays some closing costs, the deal isn’t available everywhere and the condition of the homes is strictly “as-is.”
If you can handle those qualifiers, here’s the deal:
• You can only buy HUD homes. Go to the HUD Homes For Sale web page.
• You must use a HUD-registered real estate broker or agent.
• You must qualify for and use Federal Housing Administration (FHA) financing.
• You must plan to be an “owner-occupant,” buying the property to live in and not as an investment.
• The home’s purchase price must be no more than the appraised value of the property. If you bid a higher price you can pay the difference in cash, minus $100.
• The $100 down incentive must be on the executed contract. That means you have to specifically request the incentive. Your real estate agent should be aware of this provision.
• In some cases, HUD will also cover up to 3 percent of the closing costs.
• The $100 down payment program is eligible for the FHA 203(k) loans. The loans allow borrowers to use a portion of their purchase loan to repair and renovate run-down homes.
That’s a good thing because HUD homes are sold in an “as-is” condition — what you see is pretty much what you get. You could find a diamond in the rough or fool’s gold. HUD homes often include a property condition report, but that is not a warranty.
The property report can resemble a home inspection report, but HUD home buyers are always encouraged to get a home inspection to determine just what “as is” is.
The deal is offered in states in two HUD regions:
Arkansas
Colorado
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Missouri
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Texas
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Utah
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Illinois
Indiana
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Published: November 10, 2011
Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.
FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums Increasing April 9, 2012.
via FHA Mortgage Insurance Premiums Increasing April 9, 2012.
Planning to use an FHA-backed mortgage for your next home loan? You might want to get your application in gear today.
Beginning next week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is changing the way it charges mortgage insurance to U.S. homeowners. For the fourth time since 2010, FHA mortgage insurance premiums are rising for all FHA-backed homeowners.
For FHA Case Numbers assigned on, or after, Monday, April 9, 2012, there are two planned changes.
First, FHA Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premiums (UFMIP) will increase by 75 basis points to 1.75%, or $1,750 per $100,000 borrowed. Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium is paid at closing, and typically added to an FHA borrower’s loan size.
The current UFMIP rate is 1.000 percent.
Second, annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums are rising. All new FHA-backed loans will be subject to a 10 basis point increase in annual mortgage insurance premiums, costing homeowners an extra $100 per $100,000 borrowed per year.
The new FHA annual mortgage insurance premium schedule follows :
In addition, for loans above $625,500, beginning with FHA Case Numbers assigned on, or after, June 11, 2012, there will be an additional 25 basis point increase in annual MIP.
To calculate your monthly MIP obligation as a FHA homeowners, multiply your starting loan size by your insurance rate from the list above, then divide by 12.
Note that the FHA mortgage insurance changes apply to new FHA Case Numbers only. If you have an FHA mortgage approval in-process, or an existing FHA home loan, you are not subject to the new MIP schedule. To avoid paying the FHA’s new MIP schedule, therefore, begin your FHA mortgage application today.
Once your FHA Case Number is assigned, you’re locked in to today’s lower premiums.
FHA Updates Credit Qualifying Guidelines.
FHA (Federal Housing Administration) mortgages are known for the easier and flexible credit qualifying guidelines that are offered to borrowers. It is for this reason that so many people choose FHA mortgages for their financing. Recently, FHA has updated the credit qualifying guidelines for disputed accounts and collections that becomes effective April 1st.
When the borrower has one or several disputed credit accounts and/or collections with a total balance that is equal to or above $1,000, the accounts must be resolved by payment arrangement or paid in full prior to or at closing. If not paid in full, these payments will be included in the debt to income ratios. If payment arrangements have been made, there must be at least three months of verified payments as per the agreement made with the creditor. Any disputed account or collections that are the result of credit card theft, identity theft or unauthorized use are excluded from the $1,000 calculation. There must be related and appropriate documentation, such as a police report, to substantiate this claim.
When the total amount due on outstanding credit and/or collection accounts is below $1,000 the borrower does not have to pay off the accounts in order to receive approval. It is not considered an acceptable resolution according to FHA to pay down balances on any of these accounts in order to bring the balance below $1,000. FHA requires that court ordered judgments be paid in full prior to FHA mortgage approval. In the case of a court ordered judgment in which the borrower has an agreement to make regular payments and can show the documentation that at least three months of payments have been made, a borrower can continue to pay off the judgment and the payments will be included in the debt to income ratios.
Acceptable documentation to support any resolutions to credit or collection accounts include a letter from the creditor which outlines the terms of the payment arrangements or verifies the payoff of debt, canceled checks or a credit report supplement that verifies the payoff or payment arrangements. It is likely that more borrowers will be cleaning up their credit prior to making an FHA mortgage application once these FHA updates for credit qualifying go into effect.
Changes to FHA Mortgage Insurance Announced.
The changes that were initially announced to be effective for cases assigned on and after April and June 1st are now effective for cases assigned on and after April 9, 2012 and on and after June 11, 2012 for loan amounts that exceed $625,500. Additional information was also added regarding reduced up-front and annual premiums for certain FHA streamline refinances and applies for cases assigned on and after June 11, 2012.
Warning to all- HUD couldn’t have made it any more confusing for us. We will all be challenged in the coming months with making sure we have communications and systems in place to assure we are using the correct MI premiums as determined by case assignment date, loan term, loan type, loan amount and LTV. Below I have attempted to lay it out in as organized a fashion as I’ve been able to determine after uncrossing my eyes which crossed while reading through the Mortgagee Letter.
Up-Front MIP Increase
• If the FHA case is assigned on and after 04/09/2012: UFMIP = 1.75% per Mortgagee Letter 2012-4
• If the FHA case is assigned 10/04/2010 – 04/08/2012: UFMIP = 1.00%
Annual MI Increases
If the FHA case is assigned on or after 04/09/2012 per Mortgagee Letter 2012-4
• > 15 yr Term: > 95% LTV = 1.25%
<=95% LTV = 1.20%
• < = 15 yr Term: > 90% LTV = .60%
>=79% LTV = .35%
• Single Family forward mortgages with amortization terms of 15 years or less, and a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 78 percent or less, remain exempt from the Annual MIP (see Mortgagee Letter 2011-35).
If the FHA case is assigned 04/18/2011 – 04/08/2012
• > 15 yr Term: > 95% LTV = 1.15%
<=95% LTV = 1.10%
• < = 15 yr Term: > 90% LTV = .50%
>=79% LTV = .25%
• Single Family forward mortgages with amortization terms of 15 years or less, and a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 78 percent or less, remain exempt from the Annual MIP (see Mortgagee Letter 2011-35).
If the FHA case is assigned on or after 06/11/2012 AND the base loan amount exceeds $625,500 Mortgagee Letter 2012-4:
• > 15 yr Term: > 95% LTV = 1.50%
<=95% LTV = 1.45%
• < = 15 yr Term: > 90% LTV = .85%
>=79% LTV = .60%
• Single Family forward mortgages with amortization terms of 15 years or less, and a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 78 percent or less, remain exempt from the Annual MIP (see Mortgagee Letter 2011-35).
Up-Front MIP Decreases for Certain FHA to FHA Streamline Refinances
If FHA case assignment is dated on and after 06/11/2012 and the current FHA loan being paid off was endorsed prior to 06/01/2009 per Case Query in FHA Connection, up-front MIP = .01% and annual MI = .55%.
FHA determined that these increases are necessary to encourage the return of private capital in the residential mortgage market and strengthen the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Taken together, these premium changes will enable FHA to increase revenues at a time that is critical to the ongoing stability of its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund, contributing more than $1 billion to the Fund, based on current volume projections through Fiscal Year 2013. FHA estimates that the increase to the upfront premium will cost new borrowers an average of approximately $5 more per month.
A WAVE 3 News investigation finds the vacant home problem has gone from an eyesore to a staggering public safety issue.
Kentucky FHA Mortgage Lender 