Understanding FHA LoansPosted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010 If you are looking to buy your first home, then you owe it to yourself to check out the loans offered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). These loans can offer significant benefits designed to help you achieve the dream of owning your own home. Designed with first-time homebuyers in mind, the FHA has designed these loans not only to be competitive in the mortgage marketplace, but also easier for you to qualify for if you are having problems getting a loan from a typical mortgage lender on terms you can live with. The FHA offers several types of loans; these include traditional fixed rate loans as well as adjustable rate loans. One of the benefits of a FHA adjustable rate mortgage is they guarantee the interest rate on your loan will only change at most by one or two percentage points - no sudden surprises and massive jumps that may knock you off balance financially. They also offer a type of loan known as a purchase/rehabilitation loan that allows you to buy a home that needs a lot of work done to it. The loan combines the purchase price of the home plus the cost of doing the repairs to the home. No more having to take out a mortgage loan and then worrying about where you will find the money to fix the house up to make it your dream home. In fact, by doing a lot of the work yourself many home buyers find they can easily afford to get more home than they could buying one that is ready to move into. Another big benefit of FHA loans is that they typically don't require as large of a down payment as a conventional mortgage loan would. They also offer loans to those whose credit may otherwise disqualify them for a convention mortgage. In addition, the interest on an FHA loan is typically lower for those with less than perfect credit than it would be through a conventional loan program. They are guaranteeing if you default, they will pay for you loan. FHA-approved lenders therefore typically offer loans with better interest rates and less of a down payment because they are guaranteed they will get their money back no matter what may happen in the future. Of course, to get the best rates possible you should still shop around and compare mortgages offered by several FHA-approved lenders.
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