FHA Loan Requirements - Not Too Hard At All!

FHA loan requirements are generally more lenient than those of conventional lenders. The Federal Housing Administration is a government program administered by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help Americans who can't qualify for a conventional mortgage loan become homeowners.

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FHA Loan Requirements: Income Requirement

There is no minimum income requirement to obtain an FHA mortgage loan, but you must demonstrate steady income for at least three years, and demonstrate that you've consistently paid your bills on time. Seasonal pay, child support, retirement pension payments, unemployment compensation, VA benefits, military pay, Social Security income, alimony, and rent paid by family all qualify as income sources. Part-time pay, overtime, and bonus pay also count as income as long as they are steady.


FHA Loan Requirements: Debt-to-Income Ratio Required

The FHA allows you to use 29% of your income towards housing costs and at total of 41% towards housing expenses plus other long-term debt.


FHA Loan Requirements: Down Payment Required

You must have a down payment of at least 3% of the purchase price of the home, and this cash may be a gift or grant. Most affordable loan programs offered by private lenders require between a 3% - 5% down payment, with a minimum of 3% coming directly from the borrower's own funds.


FHA Loan Requirements: Credit Score Required

The FHA is generally more flexible than conventional lenders in its qualifying guidelines. You can qualify for an FHA loan without a credit history. If you prefer to pay debts in cash or are too young to have established credit, there are other ways to prove your eligibility. Talk to your lender for details.


FHA Loan Requirements: Closing Costs Required

Except for the addition of an FHA mortgage insurance premium, FHA
closing costs are similar to those of a conventional loan.

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Are You Just Holding On Financially?

Mortgage refinancing is sometimes a last-ditch effort to prevent foreclosure. With rising fuel prices, tough times in the job market, and the ever-increasing price of health care and other essentials, the average family is feeling the pinch. For many, it is still a viable option to look at mortgage refinancing.

If your month seems to have outgrown your money, there are a number of things you can try before taking the step of refinancing your mortgage. Cut back on as many of the "little things" as you possibly can.

Disconnect the cable TV, cancel the newspaper and magazine subscriptions, check your credit card statements for small regular deductions you may have forgotten that you authorized, and especially keep a close eye out for insurance companies which have cancelled your policy in the past, but keep deducting the premiums even though they have no intention of ever paying should you make a claim.

Weather-proof your home to reduce heating and cooling costs. Fill those cracks, clean out the gutters, make use of blinds and curtains, and consider planting or pruning trees to provide shade and sun in the right places to help your home balance its temperature.

Audit your driving habits and weekly routine - now is the time to start changing our patterns to reduce gas consumption! Not only will you save money, you can feel virtuous about helping to reduce greenhouse gases and save the planet from global warming.

Once you have pulled together all the savings you can possibly identify, and your month still stretches beyond your money, then mortgage refinancing may be the next step.

If your home has gone up in value since you bought it, if interest rates have fallen, or if you have paid off a reasonable portion of your mortgage though having made payments regularly for many years, then refinancing may be a way to gain some much-needed breathing space each month.

Mortgage refinancing can also provide a cash lump sum in some cases - if you apply this to paying off credit cards and other high-interest loans, you can gain a surprising amount of wiggle room. Just make sure you don't run up the cards again, because mortgage refinancing may not be an option a second time!