Scott Mortgage Blog

We have a very good Foreign National Program for Buyers (and for refinancing).

The highlights are:

• 75% LTV on a Purchase
• 70% LTV for a Rate and Term
• 65% LTV for Cash Out
• Owner Occupied Rates
• NO Reference Letters
• NO Income Verification
• NO Asset Verification
• NO Reserves
• OK To close in a US Corporation Name
• NO Headaches

The Federal Housing Administration wants to help save your home and lower your payment. There is a new type of loan that can do just that. It's called “FHA Secure”. It’s helped thousands of Floridians from losing their homes. Perhaps it can help you too. The time to act is now. Don’t wait until your credit is hemorrhaging until you see if this is the right tourniquet for you. Be pro-active now.

What is FHASecure?

FHA Secure is a new FHA mortgage refinancing option enacted on August 31, 2007. It assists homeowners who are now facing a mortgage default or foreclosure due to their mortgage payment adjusting upwards. With FHA Secure, the lender will not automatically disqualify you because you are delinquent on your loan. What counts here is whether or not you were current on your payments before the loan adjusted. If the reason for your late payments is “payment adjustment shock”, then you might qualify. You do not have to already be in an FHA loan.

By refinancing into a FHA-insured mortgage, you can expect to pay lower monthly mortgage payments. In some cases negotiations with the bank are possible if you are upside down on the home. As I said, be pro-active and don’t just assume you are going to lose the home. The FHA wants to improve the quality of life for communities by preventing an over abundance of foreclosures. This might help you.

You may qualify if:

1)Your mortgage interest rate has, or is going to reset between June 2005 and December 2009.

2) You have a credit history of on time home mortgage payments before your mortgage rate jumped up.

3) You’ve been employed for the last two years

4) You have sufficient income to make the new FHA Secure mortgage payment.

5) Your new loan amount will not exceed current FHA limits.

If you are afraid of losing your home and this is not a fit for you, enquire anyway. There may be other options. One that comes to mind is the new 40 year loan, which has helped many people lower their payments. Another option is to get in communication with your lender and work out new terms. If you own a rental home, FHA Secure does not apply, but it's possible that your tenant might be able to buy the home from you with an FHA loan. The thing not to do here is to do nothing. Don’t lose your home!

There is much happening in the mortage industry. Recently the loan limits for FHA (loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration) were very much increased. This may effect YOU.

The FHA is coming in big time to help us out of the housing crisis. Bear with me while I give you some history. The FHA was born in 1934 as a solution to American home ownership. At that time, only the wealthy could afford to buy and own a home. Buyers often had to have a down payment of as much as forty to fifty per cent! Twenty five per cent was on the very low end of the scale. Interest rates were very high. Many banks were failing, and housing production had ceased. The FHA came in to help us get out of the Depresson. They would insure a loan for as much as $16,000, which was triple the median home price at that time. Your average worker could actually afford a home, because the borrower only needed 3% down. The housing market started to move then flourish.

In later decades, Congress directed the FHA to lower its limit of borrowing, and to only service entry-level housing. The FHA became a relic of the past. It was no longer a solution for the masses. That is why you may know little about the subject today. “Sub-prime” loans were doled out until the big crash this year. Does it seem to you now that almost “no one” can qualify for a loan? Many borrowers were put in jeopardy, in danger of losing a home. Again, it seemed like only the wealthy could purchase a home or qualify for a loan.

There actually is some good news. Things are loosening up because congress is responding to the crisis. The FHA loan limit increase means that you can buy a very decent house in Clearwater with an FHA loan limit of $292,500. The minimum down is a 3% which can be a gift. The loan limit increase also means you may be able to use this product to refinance, lower your payment, and save your home.

Some feel that the FHA’s role is going to be significant and that it will prop up the entire housing industry. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernake has suggested a loosening of the rules so that more borrowers in trouble can be bailed out. The point of the FHA is to keep money flowing into mortages. It’s a backstop. It may determine where the bottom is and how fast we spring back.

If you’ve been turned down for a loan do not give up hope yet. Not all lenders are familiar with the scope of what the FHA can do for you. You still might be able to get a loan.

Call or e-mail me today and I'd be glad to discuss your personal situation with you.