My Mind on Mortgages

Congress approved an appropriations bill that amongst other things restores the FHA loan limits that have been in place the past 2 years and extends them through 2013.  For the Portland-Metro area this means the maximum FHA loan amount goes back to $417,000.  If you’d like to check another location you can do so at [...]

Sorry for the late post on this topic.  As of October 1st, 2011 FHA loan limits for most areas of the country have declined as a result of expiration of stimulus legislation.  Currently, the  FHA loan limit for a single family residence in the Tri-county area (Portland, OR) is $362,250.  This figure can adjust as [...]

You may remember that HUD increased monthly mortgage insurance premiums on FHA loans last year in an effort to shore up finances for the FHA insurance poll.  Unfortunately, HUD is at it again.  Beginning with FHA case numbers assigned after April 17, 2011 monthly mortgage insurance premiums will be going up .25% for 30 year [...]

In case you want to find a FHA or conforming loan limit for a specific area around the country you can use THIS HANDY WEBSITE from HUD.gov.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development released THIS STATEMENT last week announcing upcoming changes to the popular FHA loan program.  The changes will take effect September 7th October 4th and are designed to increase mortgage insurance revenue to help stabilize the FHA insurance pool which makes FHA loans possible.  Effectively, HUD is decreasing the [...]

The Mortgage Banker’s Association is reporting that the FHA Reform Act of 2010 passed the US House of Representatives.  This bill was drawn up in response to many of the solvency issues that the FHA began encountering late last year (see HERE).  One of the most aggressive provisions of the bill is that it will [...]

Two days ago HUD announced changes to the popular FHA loan program.  The changes are designed to “strengthen the FHA’s capital reserves, while enabling the agency to continue to fulfill its mission to provide access to homeownership for undeserved communities.“ If you’ll recall last September FHA announced that their capital reserves (used to insure FHA [...]

There are a few things to know about standard FHA loans. *Minimum down payment requirement: Currently homebuyers who use FHA mortgage financing to buy a home can put as little as 3.5% down and borrow the remaining amount. *Down payment may be gifted: FHA is one of the few programs that allows the entire down [...]

By some estimates as many as 35-40% of homes sold in the Portland-Metro area thus far in 2009 have been bank-owned or short sales.  Often times these sales involve distressed property because the sellers lack financial motivation to provide basic maintenance to the home. Looking ahead I don’t expect this pattern to change as we [...]

I was recently asked by a real estate professional about FHA’s anti-flipping rule.  Since I did some digging on the subject I thought I would post what I found because I suspect many others are coming across similar circumstances. What is the anti-flipping rule? It prevents homebuyers from obtaining FHA financing when they write an [...]