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Your question does not have to be FHA 203K related, it can be general FHA or Conventional questions as well. One of our 203K Specialists will answer your question the best to their ability.
We look forward to hearing from you!
“Your FHA 203K Mortgage Lender”
www.203kMortgageLender.com
Have you ever driven past a home with a sign that says “Fannie Mae Homepath”? If so, and if you’re in the market to buy a home then this could be another option for you to add to your property search. So, what is a Homepath property? It’s a property which is currently owned by Fannie Mae and was acquired through the foreclosure process. The name “HomePath” is the branding term used for these Fannie Mae-owned properties.
There is no special requirement for you the buyer as HomePath properties can be purchased like any other property on the market with or without financing. It can be purchased as an owner occupied (your primary residence), an investment property or even as a second home. Fannie Mae also offers its own financing product specifically for these properties called a “HomePath Mortgage”.
Just like HUD homes, Homepath properties can have an advantage of being financed with the same type of home loan originally used before it was foreclosed on. On HUD homes that would be FHA insured financing. For Homepath properties that would be a “Homepath Mortgage”. There are two types to choose from, one with renovations and one without. Depending on the property it will indicate which type of Homepath financing is available which you can find at the HomePath website.
… continue reading Homepath Renovation Mortgage Financing and the FHA 203k Loan
HUD Homes and the FHA 203k Loan
 What is a HUD Home?
Are you interested or wondered what HUD homes are and how to finance them? Well, just like properties which are purchased with conventional loans, properties purchased with FHA insured financing also at times go into foreclosure. When that happens those properties are then acquired by the Housing and Urban development (HUD). HUD becomes the owner of these properties that were financed with an insured FHA loan and then offers them for sale to recover the loss on the foreclosure. That is what a HUD home is.
How can I buy a HUD Home?
A HUD home can be a 1-to-4 unit residential property, condo, townhome or PUD and yes you can buy one. Actually anyone can buy one if you have the cash or can qualify for a loan. HUD sells these properties through a bidding process so you will need a Real Estate Broker that can sell HUD homes to submit the bid for you. The bidding time frame and who is allowed to bid on the property depends on what listing period it’s in. The two most common listing periods you will see when searching for HUD properties will be “exclusive” and “extended” listing periods.
The exclusive listing period is primarily to give owner occupant bidders a head start before the property goes into the extended listing period phase. When the exclusive listing period ends then all buyers are welcome to bid, owner and non-owner, so investors are welcome during the extended listing period.
… continue reading Hud Homes
 Foundation Repairs and the 203k Loan
For many home-buyers foundation repairs can be a deal breaker. You would probably say, “If it wasn’t for those foundation problems I might have really considered that property”. Well before scratching the property off your list you might want to do some further investigations on how bad it is and what the foundation repair cost will be because luckily, the FHA 203k loan can handle it.
Many Home-buyers, Homeowners, Real Estate Agents and even Lenders might not be aware that the FHA 203k is even an option and could possibly save the deal. A few months ago on a Real Estate blog I read about a Real Estate agent who had a transaction involving foundation issues. It was discovered during the home inspection that the house was leaning forward. That then led to a foundation inspection. The deal was not looking promising, until the agent thought of the 203k loan as an option. If the sellers would agree to lower the price to offset the cost of the foundation repair then the deal could be saved. After figuring out a solution she mentioned it to her lender. The Lender, who worked with the Agent told her, “The 203k doesn’t allow foundation repairs”.
… continue reading Foundation Repairs
 Ready or not the new FHA loan limits are coming starting October 1st. 2011. It will be effective from that date until the end of the year and beyond unless legislation acts to extend them. So, if you haven’t found or refinanced your home yet or still in the process you might find yourself having to readjust. Now, for most home-buyers and homeowners the new loan limits probably won’t affect you because according to the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) they estimate that only a fraction of borrowers living in the nation’s highest cost areas will be impacted and that only three percent of FHA-insured borrowers lived in these high-cost areas.
FHA loan limits in 669 Counties out of 3,234 across the country though will be affected. For transactions that don’t close before the September 30th. 2011 deadline there are exceptions which would still allow your loan to close after that date and at the higher loan amount, so don’t panic yet. Your loan officer and lender should inform you on what those exceptions are. Now these new loan limits also apply to conventional (Fannie & Freddie) loans as well and will have a bigger impact for home-buyers and homeowners using conventional financing.
… continue reading FHA loan limits – 2011 into 2012
Our 203k Loan Calculator is EASY to Use and Read
Have you ever wondered how the renovation part of the FHA 203k loan is figured out? Well now you can because 203k Mortgage Lender has a new feature – our FHA 203k loan calculator for purchasing a property.
Unlike conventional loan amounts, FHA loans are calculated differently and because the FHA 203k has a renovation feature there are some additional numbers that need to be taken into consideration. To start, the main difference between figuring out an FHA over a Conventional loan amount is that FHA requires Upfront and Monthly mortgage insurance regardless of how much down payment a buyer comes in with, unlike conventional loans that typically only require monthly mortgage insurance when there is less than a 20% down payment.
Most mortgage payment calculators will only figure out a basic payment without taking into consideration mortgage insurance on any type of home loan let alone the upfront and monthly mortgage insurance required on an FHA loan. However, our 203k loan calculator is designed to do just that. Not only will it figure out the mortgage insurances on an FHA purchase loan with the minimum down payment but it will also include the additional funds for renovations, plus the costs and fees associated with those renovations.
The 203K Calculator will give you a general idea of:
 Your renovation budget with the related costs and fees
 Your base loan amount before adding the “Upfront Mortgage Insurance” UFMIP and your final FHA loan amount (which includes the UFMIP) with the included renovations plus cost and fees
 Your minimum FHA 203k down payment
 Your monthly mortgage payment including the FHA monthly mortgage insurance
 The type of 203k loan you can expect Full or Streamline
 Plus a printable 203k calculation summary page and easy access to contact a 203k specialist for your area to get more details or further information.
We understand that most Homebuyers and Real Estate Agents, regardless of the type of home loan they are looking for, would like to at least get a ball park estimate on how much the total house payment would be without having to contact a lender or loan officer. The only drawback is finding that right calculator for the mortgage you are interested in. So, we hope whether you are a homebuyer, real estate agent or even a loan officer this tool can help you calculate your 203k loan much faster and easier.
 FHA 203k Streamline: What’s in a Name.
You might have heard the term “streamline” associated with FHA but did you know FHA has two types of streamline loans?
There is the FHA 203k Streamline, used for renovation and remodeling, and there is the “regular” FHA Streamline used for refinancing an FHA loan. Both are designed to reduce the processing time in getting an FHA loan but they are very different loan products and should not to be confused with one another.
FHA Streamline
With no mention of the 203k, the FHA Streamline is just a standard FHA loan without any renovation funds included. What makes it a streamline is that you are replacing your existing FHA loan with another with no cash out but with better terms such as lowering your payments. Because of that your FHA lender can streamline the loan process without an appraisal as it is an FHA refinancing another FHA loan.
FHA 203K Streamline
The 203k loan is an all in one loan and is used for financing a home as well as any renovation or remodeling needed for that home. There are two different types of 203k loans, the Standard 203K and the Streamline 203K. The 203k Streamline is designed to help you complete home improvement projects that are not structural and under $35,000. Because of the loans limitations it’s considered a streamline in comparison to its counterpart the Standard 203k, so your closing time and disbursements of funds should end up taking less time.
… continue reading FHA 203k Streamline
If you have been shopping for a home and have considered a HUD FHA 203K Loan to purchase and renovate you may have wondered how much down payment you would need? Or how to figure out a 203K down payment with rehab included? You may be surprised to know the 203K down payment is exactly the same as the Standard FHA 203B down payment which is three and a half percent (3.5%). You would think an FHA home purchase loan that includes rehab and renovation would require a larger down payment than a “regular” FHA loan that does not have that feature, but surprisingly it’s not! Now although the down payment for an FHA 203K loan is the same as a FHA 203B loan, a 203K down payment has some differences when it comes to figuring it out.
For an FHA 203K purchase, the down payment is calculated from the total of the following: The contract sale price you and the seller agreed to (+) the cost of improvements (+) the Costs & Fees related to the 203K Loan. Once you have this total you can then calculate it with the 3.5% to get your down payment.
… continue reading FHA 203K Down Payment
 The FHA 203k Appraisal: How is it Different?
Like all home mortgage loans such as FHA, VA, and Conventional a required appraisal is needed when financing a property. An appraisal is a written analysis of the estimated value of a property and is one of the required items needed for your lender to do your loan. Standard FHA, VA, and Conventional appraisals will have detailed information regarding the property with a conclusion of what it is currently worth. The difference with 203k appraisals is that it will give an “after improved value” which is the expected market value of the property upon completion of the proposed rehabilitation and/or improvements.
That right there is the biggest difference when it comes to renovation loans that give additional funds for improvements because both you and your lender want to make sure the anticipated improvements will support the value once completed. Now along with knowing what your future property value will be, your lender will want to know the current property value also. With that said the 203k appraisal’s primary focus is the “After Improved Value” but the “As Is Value” is expected as well from an appraisal when doing a 203k loan.
FHA 203K Purchase Appraisals:
For 203k purchase appraisals, the “As is Value” can be the contract sale price agreed to by both buyer and seller, or higher with no issues. If the “As is Value” is less than the contract sale price then your choices will be to either renegotiate the contract or make up the difference in cash at closing. Typically that is not the case but it’s good to know you have options. Just like Conventional (Fannie & Freddie), VA ,as well as the more popular FHA 203b appraisals, the same type of negotiations would apply when the property does not appraise at the agreed sale price.
… continue reading FHA 203K Appraisal
 As we approach the summer months which for many is the home buying season, one of the factors that comes into play is what will FHA 203k rates be at that time of purchase in comparison to current FHA 203k rates. Like gas prices FHA 203k interest rates can fluctuate on a daily basis just like other mortgage rates.
To start, you should know that all home loans FHA and Conventional have different costs associated with the interest rate depending on the product, loan size, type of property, credit score, etc. FHA 203k mortgage rates are no different in that sense but are divided into either the FHA 203k Streamline or a regular Standard 203k. Both 203k loans are priced differently from each other.
With there being two different 203k versions, one being able to do just about everything under the sun (Standard 203k), and the other having limitations (Streamline 203K), you have probably figured out by now that the Standard 203k has the higher cost & interest rate associated with it than the interest rate for the 203k Streamline.
Now when we talk about FHA 203k loan rates being higher, we’re comparing it to a Regular FHA loan that doesn’t include renovation funds in the loan amount. There can be some variance between different FHA 203k lenders on any given day but Rates in comparison to an FHA loan without rehabilitation funds can typically range from a quarter percent (.25%) to a half percent (.5%) higher than Regular FHA loans.
When you consider the advantages of having an All in One Loan that allows you to: purchase or refinance as well as include funds for all the improvements you like, topped off with a minimal down payment or equity, the slight difference in rates are still quite an attractive lending option to both homebuyers and homeowners compared to any other alternative if any.
 To start, the good news is that the 2010 Tax Deadline has been extended to Monday, April 18th for those who need it.
Whether you are W-2, 1099, Self employed, etc. one thing for sure proof of income is needed for FHA loans and two years worth at that.
So, what does the tax deadline mean if you plan on or have applied for a home loan?
For the most part it just means that the 2010 income must be shown now and verified with possible exceptions for those who file for extensions after the deadline; as oppose to sometimes being optional during the first quarter of the year depending on the approval and scenario.
As a reminder for those receiving and planning to use a tax refund for the purchase of a home, make sure it’s well documented, and if you owed taxes then keep in mind you may need to show proof of the check paid to the IRS.
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