FHA loans – fantastic deals available to almost everyone!

Since 1934. the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has been helping people buy homes.  FHA is part of the U. S. government’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  HUD insures FHA loans, thus allowing lenders to offer you a better deal.   Best of all FHA loans are available to almost everyone!  Here are 5 key features of this exceptional loan program:

1)  Generally, you will only need a credit score of 620 or better to qualify for an FHA loan. 

2)  The interest rates offered on FHA loans are competitive with conventional loans.

3)  Down payments needed for an FHA loan can be as little as 3.5% of the purchase price.

4)  Closing costs and fees can usually be added into the mortgage.

5)  FHA loans are NOT just for first-time homebuyers! 

FHA also has programs available for buying a home, fixing it up, and keeping all of the costs in one loan.  You can even refinance your own home and include needed repairs or remodeling costs in the new loan!

Seniors who own their homes outright, or have a small mortgage can get reverse-mortgages through FHA.

FHA even offers an Energy-Efficient Mortgage that allows you to refinance your own home, and add the costs of energy-efficient improvements into the new loan.

These are EXCEPTIONAL programs, and yet so many people are unaware of them!!! 

Check with lenders you know to see if they offer FHA loans – thousands of lenders do.  Or, to find an FHA-approved lender in your area, use the link shown below:

http://www.fhaoutreach.gov/lender/lender.do

As always, please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions you may have about any aspects of the housing market.

Hello world!

Realtors are always busy.  The simple mechanics of doing this job keep us busy.  There’s always a new listing to post, a showing to do, a sign rider to hang, an open house to advertise, an e-mail to send, a phone call to make, a blog to write, etc.   But being busy doesn’t mean the real estate market is improving much.  Not yet anyway.  Why aren’t more potential buyers turning into new homeowners?  1)  Prices are down 20% or more in most major markets.  2)  Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans are around 5%, which are the lowest they have been in over 30 years.  3)  There is an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers that purchase before December 1, 2009.  4)  Most financially responsible buyers qualify for FHA loans that require a down payment of only 3.5% of the purchase price, and feature the same low interest rates as conventional loans.

Do buyers not understand what a great time it is to buy?  Or are they simply being cautious in times of great uncertainty?  Worried about their jobs?  Not sure what to believe in a technological world that bombards us with non-stop input from a plethora of sources?  Their hesitancy is certainly understandable.  But – - – the best thing all of us can do for our nation’s economy is begin to participate in it again.  The sky has not fallen.  Things are beginning to stabilize.  The recovery has begun.  It truly is a GREAT  time to buy a home.