FHA Mortgages and Today’s Market
Providing more loans than any other organization, the FHA was established in 1934 and has given loans to over 35 million borrowers. Just to be clear, the FHA insures your loan, it does not fund it. Lenders feel safer with FHA because the FHA will pay off the loan should a borrower default.
Giving needy families the opportunity to purchase homes, President Bush convinced Congress in 2006 to pass a proposal for the FHA to modernize they way they function and approve loans. When the proposal was passed, the FHA mortgage was just 5.5%. (Here’s a quick peek at the rates for those looking to compare home mortgage rates. FHA mortgage rates in today’s market dictate that the interest rate is 6 percent for a 30-year fixed loan with 1.875 points. You can also get a 6 percent interest rate for a 15-year fixed loan, but the points will only be 1.25.) There are a few reasons why an FHA loan could your best option as a borrower. To start with, you don’t need immaculate credit to get a loan. Lenders are now much more strict about who they lend to, thanks to the sub-prime lending mess. Average and even above average credit just won’t be enough to get a loan now. But, you can often qualify for an FHA loan depending on your income, debt-to-income ratio, and a couple of other factors.
Bankruptcy can also be a factor that holds people back. As long as there are other favorable factors, FHA loans will still consider individuals who have a previous bankruptcy. If you’re really concerned about whether you will get financed or not, and you have poor credit or a bankruptcy on record, then you need to get debt consolidation services and/or get a debt management program. Typically, people can get help with making the right steps to reduce their debt-to-income ratio, not to mention potentially improving their credit score.
FHA mortgages usually don’t require as large a down payment as is required with other loan types. This can also be a huge perk for some borrowers. When a larger down payment is possible, it will often make more sense to use the remaining money from the down payment as capital investment to help it grow over time.
FHA loans are meant to help responsible and deserving individuals purchase their very own homes. This is one of those U.S. government programs that actually does what it’s intended to do.