There are many factors to consider when applying for a government loan. We will be by your side every step of the way. Below is some helpful information to help get you started. Gabriel Financial Group gives you a wide range of Government mortgage options for both purchase and refinance on primary residences. Some examples of FHA & VA Loans include:
· FHA 30 Year Fixed
· FHA 15 Year Fixed
· FHA Secure
· FHA 5/1 ARM
· FHA 3/1 ARM
· FHA 1/1 ARM
What is the Federal Housing Administration?
The Federal Housing Administration, generally known as "FHA", provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders throughout the United States and its territories. FHA insures mortgages on single family and multifamily homes including manufactured homes and hospitals. It is the largest insurer of mortgages in the world, insuring over 34 million properties since its inception in 1934.
What is FHA Mortgage Insurance?
FHA mortgage insurance provides lenders with protection against losses as the result of homeowners defaulting on their mortgage loans. The lenders bear less risk because FHA will pay a claim to the lender in the event of a homeowner's default. Loans must meet certain requirements established by FHA to qualify for insurance.
Why does FHA Mortgage Insurance exist?
Unlike conventional loans that adhere to strict underwriting guidelines, FHA-insured loans require very little cash investment to close a loan. There is more flexibility in calculating household income and payment ratios. The cost of the mortgage insurance is passed along to the homeowner and typically is included in the monthly payment. In most cases, the insurance cost to the homeowner will drop off after five years or when the remaining balance on the loan is 78 percent of the value of the property -whichever is longer.
How is FHA funded?
FHA is the only government agency that operates entirely from its self-generated income and costs the taxpayers nothing. The proceeds from the mortgage insurance paid by the homeowners are captured in an account that is used to operate the program entirely. FHA provides a huge economic stimulation to the country in the form of home and community development, which trickles down to local communities in the form of jobs, building suppliers, tax bases, schools, and other forms of revenue.
Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934. The FHA became a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Office of Housing in 1965. When the FHA was created, the housing industry was flat on its back:
- Two million construction workers had lost their jobs.
- Terms were difficult to meet for homebuyers seeking mortgages.
- Mortgage loan terms were limited to 50 percent of the property's market value, with a repayment schedule spread over three to five years and ending with a balloon payment.
- America was primarily a nation of renters. Only four in 10 households owned homes.
During the 1940s, FHA programs helped finance military housing and homes for returning veterans and their families after the war. In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the FHA helped to spark the production of millions of units of privately-owned apartments for elderly, handicapped and lower income Americans. When soaring inflation and energy costs threatened the survival of thousands of private apartment buildings in the 1970s, FHA's emergency financing kept cash-strapped properties afloat.
The FHA moved in to steady falling home prices and made it possible for potential homebuyers to get the financing they needed when recession prompted private mortgage insurers to pull out of oil producing states in the 1980s.
By 2001, the nation's homeownership rate had soared to an all time high of 68.1 percent as of the third quarter that year.
The FHA and HUD have insured over 34 million home mortgages and 47,205 multifamily project mortgages since 1934. FHA currently has 4.8 million insured single family mortgages and 13,000 insured multifamily projects in its portfolio.
In the more than 60 years since the FHA was created, much has changed and Americans are now arguably the best housed people in the world. HUD has helped greatly with that success. View More of FHA's History
The FHA now offers a variety of loan programs to a large population and FHA mortgages can have fixed or adjustable interest rates. Many find these home loans attractive because they require very small down payments, gifts can be used for down payments and closing costs, and because the FHA regulates the closing costs. These loans also have qualifications that are easier to meet than traditional mortgages. The FHA does not require a minimum FICO score to meet qualifications and these programs will allow home purchase two years after a bankruptcy filing.
- Section 203(k) insurance enables homebuyers and homeowners to finance both, the purchase (or refinancing) of a house and the cost of its rehabilitation through a single mortgage - or to finance the rehabilitation of their existing home. FHA approved lending institutions which include many banks, savings and loan associations, and mortgage companies can make loans covered by Section 203(k) insurance.
- Energy Efficient Mortgages, EEMs, recognize that reduced utility expenses can permit a homeowner to pay a higher mortgage to cover the cost of the energy improvements on top of the approved mortgage. FHA EEMs provide mortgage insurance for a person to purchase or refinance a principal residence and incorporate the cost of energy-efficient improvements into the mortgage. The borrower does not have to qualify for the additional money and does not make a down payment on it. The mortgage loan is funded by a lending institution, such as a mortgage company, bank, or savings and loan association, and the mortgage is insured by HUD. FHA insures loans. FHA does not provide loans.
- Reverse mortgages are becoming popular in America. Reverse mortgages are a special type of home loan that lets a home owner convert the equity in his/her home into cash. They can give older Americans greater financial security to supplement social security, meet unexpected medical expenses, make home improvements, and more.
- FHA has permitted streamline refinances on insured mortgages since the early 1980's. The "streamline" refers only to the amount of documentation and underwriting that needs to be performed by the lender, and does not mean that there are no costs involved in the transaction. The basic requirements of a streamline refinance are:
- The mortgage to be refinanced must already be FHA insured
- The mortgage to be refinanced should be current (not delinquent).
- The refinance is to result in a lowering of the borrower's monthly principal and interest payments
- No cash may be taken out on mortgages refinanced using the streamline refinance process