US Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance
World War II poster
An FHA insured loan is a US Federal Housing Administrationmortgage insurance backed mortgage loan that is provided by an FHA-approved lender. FHA mortgage insurance protects lenders against losses.[1] They have historically allowed lower-income Americans to borrow money to purchase a home that they would not otherwise be able to afford. Because this type of loan is more geared towards new house owners than real estate investors, FHA loans are different from conventional loans in the sense that the house must be owner-occupant for at least a year.[2] Since loans with lower down-payments usually involve more risk to the lender, the home-buyer must pay a two-part mortgage insurance that involves a one-time bulk payment and a monthly payment to compensate for the increased risk.[2]:15 Frequently, individuals "refinance" or replace their FHA loan to remove their monthly mortgage insurance premium. Removing mortgage insurance premium by paying down the loan has become more difficult with FHA loans as of 2013.[3]
The program originated during the Great Depression of the 1930s when the rates of foreclosures and defaults rose sharply, and the program was intended to provide lenders with sufficient insurance. The government subsidized some FHA programs, but the goal was to make it self-supporting based on borrowers' insurance premiums. Over time, private mortgage insurance (PMI) companies came into play. Now FHA primarily serves people who cannot afford a conventional down payment or do not qualify for PMI. The program has since this time been modified to accommodate the heightened recession.
History
The National Housing Act of 1934 created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which was established primarily to increase home construction, reduce unemployment, and operate various loan insurance programs.[4] The FHA makes no loans, nor does it plan or build houses. As in the Veterans Administration's VA loan program, the applicant for the loan must make arrangements with a lending institution. This financial organization then may ask if the borrower wants FHA insurance on the loan or may insist that the borrower apply for it. Through the Federal Housing Administration, the federal government investigates the applicant and, having decided that the risk is favorable, insures the lending institution against loss of principal in case the borrower fails to meet the terms and conditions of the mortgage. The borrower, who pays an insurance premium of 0.5% on declining balances for the lender's protection, receives two benefits: a careful appraisal by an FHA inspector and a lower interest rate on the mortgage than the lender might have offered without the protection.
African Americans and other racial minorities were largely denied access to FHA-backed loans,[5][6] especially before 1950,[7] and only gained access in a handful of suburban developments specifically built for all-black occupancy.[8][9] Under the Eisenhower Administration, FHA tried to coax private developers to build more housing for minority buyers. This was done through its Voluntary Home Credit Mortgage Program.[10][11] However, less housing was built under the program than expected,[12] and FHA refused to deny insurance to developers who discriminated. The way FHA-backed loans were administered contributed to widening homeownership and racial wealth gap, even as they helped to build the white middle-class family.[13][14]
Until the latter half of the 1960s, the Federal Housing Administration served mainly as an insuring agency for loans made by private lenders. However, in recent years this role has been expanded as the agency became the administrator of interest rate subsidy and rent supplement programs. Important subsidy programs such as the Civil Rights Act of 1968 were established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.[4]
In 1974 the Housing and Community Development Act was passed.[4] Its provisions significantly altered federal involvement in a wide range of housing and community development activities. The new law made a variety of changes in FHA activities, although it did not involve (as had been proposed) a complete rewriting and consolidation of the National Housing Act. However, it did include provisions relating to the lending and investment powers of federal savings and loan associations, the real estate lending authority of national banks, and the lending and depositary authority of federal credit unions.
Further changes occurred in the 1977 Housing and Community Development Act, which raised ceilings on single-family loan amounts for savings and loan association lending, federal agency purchases, FHA insurance, and security for Federal Home Loan Bank advances. In 1980 the Housing and Community Development Act was passed; it permitted negotiated interest rates on certain FHA loans and created a new FHA rental subsidy program for middle-income families.[4]
On March 6, 2008, the "FHA Forward" program was initiated. This is the part of the stimulus package that President George W. Bush had in place to raise the loan limits for FHA.[16]
On April 1, 2012, the FHA enacted a new rule that requires their customers to settle with medical creditors in order to get a mortgage loan. This controversial change was rescinded and postponed until July 2012,[17] but was later cancelled altogether pending clarification and additional guidance.[18] By November 2012, the FHA was essentially bankrupt.[19][20]
FHA Loan Application Process
The FHA does not make loans. Rather, it insures loans made by private lenders.[21] The first step in obtaining an FHA loan is to contact several lenders and/or mortgage brokers and ask them if they are FHA-Approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to originate FHA loans. Except in certain situations, it is also not possible to have two or more FHA loans at the same time.[2]
Second, the potential lender assesses the prospective home buyer for risk. The analysis of one's debt-to-income ratio enables the buyer to know what type of home can be afforded based on monthly income and expenses and is one risk metric considered by the lender. Other factors, e.g. payment history on other debts, are considered and used to make decisions regarding eligibility and terms for a loan. FHA loans require a minimum FICOscore of 580 to qualify for 3.5% down or 500 for 10% down.[citation needed] Additionally, the lender checks the financial history of the person getting the loan to see whether they have been delinquent on loans owed to the U.S. government; if they are, they do not qualify for a FHA loan.[2]:131
FHA approved lenders use a program called Desktop Underwriter also known as DU for mortgage approval.[22] DU considers the potential borrower's debt ratio, reserves and credit score to make an automated credit decision.
The FHA makes provisions for home buyers who have recovered from "economic events". Via the Back To Work - Extenuating Circumstances program, the FHA reduces its standard, mandatory three-year application waiting period for buyers with a history of foreclosure, short sale or deed-in-lieu; and two-year application waiting period after a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For buyers who can show that the economic event was preceded by at least a 20% household income reduction which lasted for six months or more; and who can show a satisfactory credit history for the most recent 12 months, the FHA will allow an application, and will agree to insure the home loan. The Back To Work program ended September 30, 2016.[23]
Section 251 insures home purchase or refinancing loans with interest rates that may increase or decrease over time, which enables consumers to purchase or refinance their home at a lower initial interest rate.
FHA's mortgage insurance programs help low- and moderate-income families become homeowners by lowering some of the costs of their mortgage loans. FHA mortgage insurance also encourages lenders to make loans to otherwise credit-worthy borrowers and projects that might not be able to meet conventional underwriting requirements, protecting the lender against loan default on mortgages for properties that meet certain minimum requirements, including manufactured homes, single and multifamily properties, and some health-related facilities. The basic FHA mortgage insurance program is Mortgage Insurance for One-to-Four-Family Homes (Section 203(b)).[24]
FHA allows first time homebuyers to put down as little as 3.5% and receive up to 6% towards closing costs. However, some lenders won't allow a seller to contribute more than 3% toward allowable closing costs. If little or no credit exists for the applicants, the FHA will allow a qualified non-occupant co-borrower to co-sign for the loan without requiring that person to reside in the home with the first time homebuyer. The co-signer does not have to be a blood relative. This is called a Non-Occupying Co-Borrower.[25]
FHA also allows gifts to be used for down payment from the following sources:
the borrower's relative
the borrower's employer or labor union
a close friend with a clearly defined and documented interest in the borrower
a charitable organization
a governmental agency or public entity that has a program providing home ownership assistance[26]
The Hybrid adjustable rate
FHA administers a number of programs, based on Section 203(b), that have special features. One of these programs, Section 251, insures adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) which, particularly during periods when interest rates are low, enable borrowers to obtain mortgage financing that is more affordable by virtue of its lower initial interest rate. This interest rate is adjusted annually, based on market indices approved by FHA, and thus may increase or decrease over the term of the loan. In 2006 FHA received approval to allow hybrid ARMs, in which the interest is fixed for the first 3 or 5 years, and is then adjusted annually according to market conditions and indices.[27]
The FHA Hybrid provides for an initial fixed interest rate for a period of three or five years, and then adjusts annually after the initial fixed period. The 3/1 and 5/1 FHA Hybrid products allow up to a 1% annual interest rate adjustment after the initial fixed interest rate period, and a 5% interest rate cap over the life of the loan. The new payment after an adjustment will be calculated on the current principal balance at the time of the adjustment. This insures that the payment adjustment will be minimal even on a worst case rate change.
Down payment grants
Down payment assistance and community redevelopment programs offer affordable housing opportunities to first-time homebuyers, low- and moderate-income individuals, and families who wish to achieve homeownership. Grant types include seller funded programs, the Grant America Program and others, as well as programs that are funded by the federal government, such as the American Dream Down Payment Initiative. Many down payment grant programs are run by state and local governments, often using mortgage revenue bond funds.
On May 27, 2006, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2006–27, in which it ruled that certain non-profit seller-funded down payment assistance programs (DPA programs) were not operating as "charitable organizations". The ruling was based largely on the circular nature of the cash flows, in which the seller paid the charity a "fee" after closing. Many[who?] believe that the "grant" is really being rolled into the price of the home. According to the Government Accountability Office, there are higher default and foreclosure rates for these mortgages.[28]
On October 31, 2007, the Department of Housing and Urban Development adopted new regulations to ban so-called "seller-funded" down payment programs. The new regulations state that all organizations providing down payment assistance reimbursed by the property seller "before, during, or after" that sale must cease providing grants on FHA loans by October 30, 2007, with the exception of the Nehemiah Corporation. Nehemiah is the beneficiary of a lawsuit settlement with Department of Housing and Urban Development in April 1998. The terms of that settlement will allow Nehemiah to operate until April 1, 2008. Ameridream was granted an extension to the new regulations until February 29, 2008.[29]
Several similarly operated government grant programs were introduced in response to the IRS Revenue Ruling in May 2006. Their governmental status made them exempt from the IRS Ruling, but they are still affected by the HUD Rule Change. One such organization was The Grant America Program, which was conducted by the Penobscot Indian Nation and had been available to all homebuyers in all fifty states.
All FHA loans require mortgage insurance premium (MIP) irrespective of the size of the mortgage, down payment, and credit score.[30] The FHA employs a two-tiered mortgage insurance premium (MIP) schedule. To obtain mortgage insurance from the Federal Housing Administration, an upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMIP) equal to 1.75% of the base loan amount at closing is required, and is normally financed into the total loan amount by the lender and paid to FHA on the borrower's behalf. There is also a monthly mortgage insurance premium (MIP) which varies based on the amortization term and loan-to-value ratio.[31]
FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP) can be removed in two cases: first, if the initial loan-to-value ratio was less than or equal to 90%, second, if the FHA loan is refinanced.[32] In the first case, FHA MIP is automatically removed after 11 years on mortgages where the borrower made an initial down payment of equal to or greater than 10% of the home value. In the second case, FHA MIP can be removed if the borrower pays off or refinances the FHA loan into a conventional loan. FHA MIP rates were lowered January 27, 2017 [33] FHA MIP is not cancellable for mortgages originated after June 3, 2013.[25] Starting March 20, 2023, FHA insured loans have lowered their MIP rates by 30 bit/s across all scenarios, the most notable loans going from 85 bit/s down to 55 bit/s.,[34] ensuring affordability for Americans.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a United States government agency founded by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, established in part by the National Housing Act of 1934. Its primary function is to provide insurance for mortgages originated by private lenders for various types of properties, including single-family homes, multifamily rental properties, hospitals, and residential care facilities. FHA mortgage insurance serves to safeguard these private lenders from financial losses. In the event that a property owner defaults on their mortgage, FHA steps in to compensate the lender for the outstanding principal balance.
This aims to be a complete list of the articles on real estate.
The Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), or Ginnie Mae, is a government-owned corporation of the United States Federal Government within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It was founded in 1968 and works to expand affordable housing by guaranteeing housing loans (mortgages) thereby lowering financing costs such as interest rates for those loans. It does that through guaranteeing to investors the on-time payment of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) even if homeowners default on the underlying mortgages and the homes are foreclosed upon.
Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance predominantly found in the United States and Canada which insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage loans. Unlike some land registration systems in countries outside the United States, US states' recorders of deeds generally do not guarantee indefeasible title to those recorded titles. Title insurance will defend against a lawsuit attacking the title or reimburse the insured for the actual monetary loss incurred up to the dollar amount of insurance provided by the policy.
A reverse mortgage is a mortgage loan, usually secured by a residential property, that enables the borrower to access the unencumbered value of the property. The loans are typically promoted to older homeowners and typically do not require monthly mortgage payments. Borrowers are still responsible for property taxes or homeowner's insurance. Reverse mortgages allow older people to immediately access the home equity they have built up in their homes, and defer payment of the loan until they die, sell, or move out of the home. Because there are no required mortgage payments on a reverse mortgage, the interest is added to the loan balance each month. The rising loan balance can eventually grow to exceed the value of the home, particularly in times of declining home values or if the borrower continues to live in the home for many years. However, the borrower is generally not required to repay any additional loan balance in excess of the value of the home.
Refinancing is the replacement of an existing debt obligation with another debt obligation under a different term and interest rate. The terms and conditions of refinancing may vary widely by country, province, or state, based on several economic factors such as inherent risk, projected risk, political stability of a nation, currency stability, banking regulations, borrower's credit worthiness, and credit rating of a nation. In many industrialized nations, common forms of refinancing include primary residence mortgages and car loans.
Lenders mortgage insurance (LMI), also known as private mortgage insurance (PMI) in the US, is a type of insurance payable to a lender or to a trustee for a pool of securities that may be required when taking out a mortgage loan. Its purpose is to offset losses in the case where a mortgagor is not able to repay the loan and the lender is not able to recover its costs after foreclosure and sale of the mortgaged property.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is Canada's federal crown corporation responsible for administering the National Housing Act, with the mandate to improve housing by living conditions in the country.
Second mortgages, commonly referred to as junior liens, are loans secured by a property in addition to the primary mortgage. Depending on the time at which the second mortgage is originated, the loan can be structured as either a standalone second mortgage or piggyback second mortgage. Whilst a standalone second mortgage is opened subsequent to the primary loan, those with a piggyback loan structure are originated simultaneously with the primary mortgage. With regard to the method in which funds are withdrawn, second mortgages can be arranged as home equity loans or home equity lines of credit. Home equity loans are granted for the full amount at the time of loan origination in contrast to home equity lines of credit which permit the homeowner access to a predetermined amount which is repaid during the repayment period.
A VA loan is a mortgage loan in the United States guaranteed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The program is for American veterans, military members currently serving in the U.S. military, reservists and select surviving spouses and can be used to purchase single-family homes, condominiums, multi-unit properties, manufactured homes and new construction. The VA does not originate loans, but sets the rules for who may qualify, issues minimum guidelines and requirements under which mortgages may be offered and financially guarantees loans that qualify under the program.
The CFPB requires that lenders provide customers with a Loan Estimate to help them understand the full cost of buying a home with a mortgage. The Loan Estimate replaces the Good Faith Estimate, or GFE, that was used prior to 2015.
Down payment, is an initial up-front partial payment for the purchase of expensive items/services such as a car or a house. It is usually paid in cash or equivalent at the time of finalizing the transaction. A loan of some sort is then required to finance the remainder of the payment.
Nehemiah Corporation of America is a non-profit organization based in Sacramento, California specializing in homeownership, affordable housing and community development. It started in 1994 as a small organization, but grew to prominence later in the 1990s after it developed a program that allowed home buyers to make down payments on their purchases using funds that were derived from the home sellers. This program, the Nehemiah Program, became popular and was widely emulated, giving birth to what came to be known as the seller-funded down-payment assistance industry. The industry attracted criticism from U.S. federal agencies and was ultimately shut down in 2008 by a change in federal law.
Mortgage insurance is an insurance policy which compensates lenders or investors in mortgage-backed securities for losses due to the default of a mortgage loan. Mortgage insurance can be either public or private depending upon the insurer. The policy is also known as a mortgage indemnity guarantee (MIG), particularly in the UK.
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage, in civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged. The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property through a process known as mortgage origination. This means that a legal mechanism is put into place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property to pay off the loan in the event the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms. The word mortgage is derived from a Law French term used in Britain in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge" and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure. A mortgage can also be described as "a borrower giving consideration in the form of a collateral for a benefit (loan)".
FHA-Secure was a Federal Housing Administration refinancing program to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. It is similar to other FHA loan.
The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), established in 1975, is an independent California state agency within the California Department of Housing and Community Development that makes low-rate housing loans through the sale of taxable and tax exempt bonds.
The United States Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was designed primarily to address the subprime mortgage crisis. It authorized the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee up to $300 billion in new 30-year fixed rate mortgages for subprime borrowers if lenders wrote down principal loan balances to 90 percent of current appraisal value. It was intended to restore confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by strengthening regulations and injecting capital into the two large U.S. suppliers of mortgage funding. States are authorized to refinance subprime loans using mortgage revenue bonds. Enactment of the Act led to the government conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Loan modification is the systematic alteration of mortgage loan agreements that help those having problems making the payments by reducing interest rates, monthly payments or principal balances. Lending institutions could make one or more of these changes to relieve financial pressure on borrowers to prevent the condition of foreclosure. Loan modifications have been practiced in the United States since the 1930s. During the Great Depression, loan modification programs took place at the state level in an effort to reduce levels of loan foreclosures.
Streamline refinancing is a mortgage refinancing process in the United States for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages that reuses the original loan's paperwork allowing quicker refinancing. The program was introduced by the FHA as a way to speed up the home refinancing process. By reusing the original loan's paperwork, the process to refinance a home was reduced from a few months to only a few weeks. Streamline refinancing has become more popular because reuse of the original home's appraisal may be the only way someone underwater on the property can refinance it at all.
1 2 3 4 Mishler, Lon; Cole, Robert E. (1995). Consumer and business credit management. Homewood, Illinois: Irwin. pp.118–121. ISBN0-256-13948-2.
↑ Hirsch, Arnold R. (2000). "Containment on the Home Front: Race and Federal Housing Policy from the New Deal to the Cold War". Journal of Urban History. 26 (2): 158–180. doi:10.1177/009614420002600202. S2CID144686890.
↑ Freund, David M.P. (2007). Colored Property: State Policy and White Racial Politics in Suburban America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN978-0-226-26276-5.
↑ Glock, Judge (2016). "How the Federal Housing Administration Tried to Save America's Cities, 1934-1960". Journal of Policy History. 28 (2): 290–316. doi:10.1017/S0898030616000075. S2CID155981525.
↑ Lands, LeeAnn (2009). The Culture of Property: Race, Class, and Housing Landscapes in Atlanta, 1880-1950. Athens: University of Georgia Press. ISBN978-0-820-33392-2.
↑ Lamb, Charles M.; Wye, Adam W. (2012). "Do Presidents Control Bureaucracy? The Federal Housing Administration during the Truman-Eisenhower Era". Political Science Quarterly. 127 (3): 445–467. doi:10.1002/j.1538-165X.2012.tb00734.x.
↑ Burk, Robert Fredrick (1984). The Eisenhower Administration and Black Civil Rights. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN0-870-49493-7.
↑ Smith II, Preston H. (2012). Racial Democracy and the Black Metropolis: Housing Policy in Postwar Chicago. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN978-0-816-63703-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
