Posts tagged FHA

FHA Changes upon Us – More Expensive Loans, Fewer Buyers?

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

I’m often told that the information provided here is educational. Part of my own education is knowing the right people to whom I both direct my questions and clients. As such, I’ll have a few posts in the next couple weeks from lenders whom I trust. First up is Matt Hodges discussing how FHA loans (which require at least 3.5% down payments and comprised about 10% *of the closed transactions in our market** in the past 14 months are becoming far less attractive. Next week’s post should be an interesting one, too.

FHA does not want to be your first choice, period.

Since December, HUD has been anticipating changes to the FHA loan program. On January 31, HUD released a mortgagee letter which changes the program. To read the entire mortgagee letter, click here.

The first change goes into effect on April 1st – no fooling! Here’s what changes:

For loans less than $625,500 (which is everything in our market that uses FHA, as the high limit is $437,000 in the Charlottesville MSA), annual MIP increases 10 basis points (bps). This means that the $200,000 loan now costs $16/month more.

The June 3rd changes:

1. If one puts down 10% on a purchase, mortgage insurance premiums will last at least 11 years, which is up from the current 5 years.
2. If one puts down less than 10%, mortgage insurance premiums are PERMANENT, regardless of future loan to value.
3. 15 year loans with 78% initial loan to value no longer has annual mortgage insurance waived initially – you must pay for 11 years.

The threat of lowered interested party (seller, Realtors, etc) concessions from 6% to 3% of the sales price, has not materialized yet. Our belief is that could prevent the lower priced homes from being able to use the FHA program, which might be discriminatory. It is still being considered, and it might have a ceiling and then tiered percentages below that.

Keep in mind, these changes are for pulling a case number, NOT closing. So, as long as we get the loan application done by March 29th for the first change and May 31st for the second set of changes we will still be using the current standards.

4.   MIP = Mortgage Insurance Premium
5.   Basis points = percent of the loan amount that you pay the insurance on. For example, 10 basis points on the annual MIP = .1% of the loan or $200,000 x .1% = $200 / 12 months = $16.67 per month.

Basically, talk to a great lender early in the process.

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FHA Increases – Buying a Home Is Now More Expensive

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Effective for FHA loans for which the case number is assigned on or after October 4, 2010, FHA upfront and annual MIP will change as follows:    – Upfront MIP –    1.00% on ALL mortgage terms (from 2.25%)
…    – Annual MIP –      0.85% for LTVs less than or equal to 95% and terms of more than 15yrs (from .50%) * No Change in Annual MIP for <=15yr Terms (No Annual MI) In general, monthly payments are going to INCREASE due to the higher annual MI payment. ** LTV = Loan to Value (the above was sent along by Jason Crigler with Crown Mortgage ) Keep in mind that the FHA loan limits for the Charlottesville MSA are: Single Family/Attached – $437,000 Two family – $559,450 Three Family – $676,200 Four Family – $840,400 For an example of what these increases mean you homebuyers in Charlottesville, I’m going to borrow Rhonda Porter’s math : Using an interest rate of 4.25% and a based loan amount of $400,000; it looks like this: FHA Case Number BEFORE September 7 October 10, 2010:

… $400,000 plus $4,000 = $404,000 amortized for 30 years at 4.25% = principal and interest of $1,987.44 plus the annual mortgage insurance of $300 = $2,287.44.

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FHA Changes – What they mean for the Charlottesville real estate market

in Buyers Charlottesville General Real Estate on

Guest post by Matt Hodges with Compass Home Loans : FHA has picked up much loan volume that the sub-prime world vacated – so much so that for every ten new purchases, FHA insures three.

…For all new case numbers (FHA’s mechanism to keep track of loans they insure) assigned on April 5, 2010 or later, the UFMIP will increase from 1.75% to 2.25%. … It might be at a $200,000 loan, but at $100,000, most borrowers will expend at least $3000 in closing costs, pre-paid items and points. … If HUD removes the ability to get seller concessions at the lower loan amounts, they will be directly affecting the housing recovery and effectively be discriminating against poorer borrowers, who can only afford lower priced homes.

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Changes coming to FHA loans

in Albemarle Charlottesville General Real Estate Politics on

“We want to ensure that we are able to continue to support the housing market in the short term and provide access to homeownership over the long-term, while minimizing the risk to the American taxpayer,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan told a congressional committee in written testimony.

…The FHA charges an upfront insurance premium of 1.75% of the total cost of the mortgage which most borrowers can roll into their loan, and then they pay additional annual premiums of either 0.5% or 0.55%, depending on their down payment. … The FHA says that it will limit the amount of money that sellers can provide for closing costs on home sales to 3% of the home price, from the current level of 6%.

…One close observer of the mortgage channel, who we hope to interview soon in The IRA, says that given the recent deterioration of mortgage credit, it is impossible that BAC has not gotten its pari passu portion of the losses which are hitting the FHA.

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A Cautionary Tale – Yet another Due Diligence Question for Buyers, Sellers and Realtors

in Public Perception on

( ed. note : one of my more favorite questions of late is, “tell me about one of your dissatisfied clients, and why they were so dissatisfied”) We’ve never seen a lender hauled before a panel of their peers on ethics charges (as happens in the Realtor community) though there’s certainly been ample cause. … There are a lot of good lenders who can get deals closed in this lending environment and will tell you if it’s not going to work.

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