FHA Returned to Anti-House Flipping Restriction January 1, 2015

FHA Returned to Anti-House Flipping Restriction January 1, 2015

FHA Returned to Anti-House Flipping Restriction January 1, 2015 While you were ringing in the new year, the FHA was ringing in the anti-house flipping restriction What does this mean to you? In short… the FHA’s Property flipping temporary waiver on the 90 Day Rule expired on December 31, 2014 and will not be extended. This was announced by the Federal Housing Authority on December 11, 2014.  It is important news for investors and home buyers to be aware of starting January 1, 2015 as investors will need to wait 91 days before they can execute a sales contract on a flip for a buyer using FHA financing to purchase the property. What is a “flip” or “flipping”? Property flipping is described by HUD as a practice whereby a property...

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FHA Reduces Homebuyer Waiting Period for Victims of Recession

FHA Back to Work Announcement: August 2013: Boomerang buyers are able to buy again a little sooner after FHA’s recent announcement of the Back to Work – Extenuating Circumstances exception. People that lost their homes due to a loss in employment or income, now have the ability to buy as soon as 12 months after a bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sale or a deed in lieu. Extenuating Circumstances This is long awaited program that adds specification to the extenuating circumstances exception guidelines to specifically address shortening the waiting period to buy a home after the hardship. Extenuating Circumstance exceptions are typically very vague and rarely granted.  Unlike other extenuating circumstance definitions, the Back to Work program gives us a very clear...

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ACT NOW If You Are Considering An FHA Mortgage!

Change is a comin’! In a recent release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the subject line sums it up: “Revision of FHA policies concerning cancellation of the annual Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) and increase to the annual MIP”. The intention of these changes is to continue to strengthen the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. To sum it up, there are 2 parts to the change that will affect consumers. Part 1: FHA Mortgage Insurance Premium Changes The FHA is an insurer of mortgage loans and, by law, it is required to maintain a 2% reserve in its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) fund. Currently, because of bad loans made last decade, the FHA’s reserves are -1.44 percent. In an effort to rebuild the MMI, therefore, the...

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Why FHA Down Payment Requirements Should Not Be Increased to 5%

Why FHA Down Payment Requirements Should Not Be Increased to 5%

Politicians just love to introduce new regulations, don’t they? Every time something goes wrong, these lawmakers love to throw their weight around trying to show their constituents that they have their best interests in mind. They think they know what they are doing but history shows us otherwise. So this republican representative, Rep. Scott Garretts from New Jersey thinks the FHA needs to make it more difficult for prospective borrowers to be approved for FHA loans. His reasoning is that currently, the FHA has a very high default rate and by making their lending guidelines more stringent, it would better protect the American taxpayer from having to bail it out in the future. Here’s the problem. With every new regulation, with every new tightening up...

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