How To Qualify For FHA Loan in Lincoln Crest California (Los Angeles County)

How To Qualify For FHA Loan in Lincoln Crest California (Los Angeles County)

Looking for an FHA Loan in Lincoln Crest California?

An FHA loan is a home loan that’s insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). They are popular especially among first time home buyers because they allow down payments of 3.5% for credit scores of 580+.

How Does an FHA Loan Work?

Borrowers can qualify for an FHA loan with a down payment as little as 3.5% for a credit score of 580 or higher. The borrower’s FICO score can be between 500 – 579 if a 10% down payment is made. It’s important to remember though, that the lower the credit score, the higher the interest borrowers will receive. Something also worth noting is that the FHA loan limits affect your FHA mortgage insurance – its just part of the FHA loan qualifications.

The FHA program was created in response to the rise of foreclosures and defaults that happened in 1930s; to provide lenders with sufficient insurance; and to help stimulate the housing market by making home loans much more accessible and attainable for people with not so great credit or a low down payment due to FHA mortgage limits in Lincoln Crest, California. Essentially, the federal government insures loans for FHA-approved mortgage lenders in order to reduce their risk of loss if a borrower defaults on their mortgage payments.

Because of that insurance, mortgage lenders can, and do, offer FHA mortgages at beneficial mortgage rates and with less stringent and more flexible qualification requirements. The FHA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.


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Benefits of FHA Loans: Low Down Payments and Less Strict Credit Score Requirements

FHA Loan in Lincoln Crest

Typically an FHA loan in Lincoln Crest is one of the easiest types of mortgage loans to qualify for because it requires a low down payment and you can have less-than-perfect credit. For FHA loans, down payment of 3.5 percent is required for maximum financing. Borrowers with credit scores as low as 500 can qualify for an FHA mortgage loan.

Consumers who cannot afford a 20 percent down payment, have a lower credit score, or can’t get approved for private mortgage insurance should look into whether an FHA loan is the popular option for their personal circumstances.

Another advantage of an FHA loan is that it’s an assumable loan which means if you want to sell your house, the buyer can “assume” the loan you have. People who have low or bad credit, have undergone a bankruptcy or have been foreclosed upon may be able to still qualify for an FHA loan.

FHA Allows a 3.5% Down-Payment

For today’s home buyers, there are only a few mortgage options which allow for down-payments of five percent or less for residents of Los Angeles County. The FHA is one of them.

With an FHA mortgage, you can make a down-payment as small as 3.5%. This benefits home buyers who don’t have a lot of money saved up for down-payment; and, home buyers who would rather save money for moving costs, emergency funds, or other needs.

FHA Allows 100% Gift Funds

The FHA is vigorous with respect to gifts for down-payment. Very few home loan programs will allow your entire down-payment for a home to come from a gift. The FHA will.

Via the FHA, your entire 3.5% down-payment can be a gift from parents or another relative, an employer, an approved charitable group, or a government home-buyer program. If you’re using a down-payment gift, though, you’ll need to follow the process.

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 time frame. The 3/1 and 5/1 FHA Hybrid products permit 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 very little even on a worst case rate change.

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Who Are FHA Loans For?

FHA loans are offered to low-income individuals who have credit scores as low as 500. Individuals with a credit score between 500-579 can obtain an FHA loan with a down payment of 10%; individuals with a credit score higher than 580 can get an FHA loan with as little as 3.5% down. The Federal Housing Administration does not lend the borrower the money to take on a mortgage or to buy the property. Rather, the borrower pays a monthly or yearly mortgage insurance premium to the FHA to insure the loan which the lending institution issues to him or her. In case of default, the lender’s financial risk is minimized since the FHA would step in to cover the payments.

Having no credit history is not a problem with an FHA loan for Los Angeles County. Instead of your credit report, the lender may look at other payment-history records, such as utility and rent payments.

Even people who have gone through bankruptcy and foreclosure may still qualify for an FHA loan. However, the lower the credit score and the lower the down payment, the higher the interest rate.


(Or call 213-474-7389 to ask a local lender anything!)

Types of FHA Loans

In addition to its popular FHA loan, the FHA also insures other loan programs used by private lending institutions. Here’s a take a look at each of them.

  • FHA 203( k) loans – These FHA loans help homebuyers acquire a house– and remodel it– all with a single mortgage. Property owners can likewise utilize the program to re-finance their current home mortgage and include the expense of redesigning projects into the brand-new loan. FHA 203( k) loans can be found in two types:
    • The minimal 203( k) has a much easier application process, and the repairs or enhancements must amount to $35,000 or less.
    • The standard 203( k) needs extra documentation and applies to improvements costing more than $5,000, however the total value of the home should still fall within the FHA home mortgage limitation for the location.
  • Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM – A HECM is a popular kind of reverse home mortgage and is also insured by the FHA. A HECM enables older homeowners (aged 62 and up) with substantial equity or those who own their homes outright to withdraw a portion of their house’s equity. The quantity that will be offered for withdrawal varies by borrower and depends on the age of the youngest customer or eligible non-borrowing partner, existing rates of interest and the lesser of the home’s assessed value or the HECM FHA home loan limit or sales price.
  • FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program – Energy efficient mortgages backed by the FHA permit property buyers to purchase homes that are already energy effective, such as EnergyStar-certified buildings. Or they can be used to purchase and redesign older houses with energy-efficient, or “green,” updates and roll the expenses of the upgrades into the loan without a bigger deposit.
  • FHA Section 245( a) loan – Also referred to as the Graduated Payment Mortgage, this program is geared at customers whose incomes will increase over time. You start out with smaller regular monthly payments that gradually go up. Five specific plans are readily available: 3 plans that enable five years of increasing payments at 2.5 percent, 5 percent and 7.5 percent yearly. Two other plans set payment increases over 10 years at 2 percent and 3 percent each year.

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FHA Loan Limits for 2023

For 2019, the floor limit for FHA loans in the majority of the nation is $314,827, up from $294,515 in 2018. For high-cost areas, the ceiling is $726,525, up from $679,650 a year earlier. These limitations are referred to as “ceilings” and “floors” that FHA will insure. FHA updates limit amounts each year in response to altering home costs.

FHA is required by law to adjust its amounts based on the loan limitations set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, for standard mortgages ensured or owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ceiling and floor limits differ according to the expense of living in a certain location, and can be various from one county to the next. Areas with a greater cost of living will have higher limits, and vice versa. Special exceptions are produced real estate in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands, where house building is more expensive.

FHA Loan Relief

Loan servicers can provide some flexibility on FHA loan requirements to those who have actually suffered a serious monetary hardship or are having a hard time to make their payments.

That relief might be in the form of a temporary period of forbearance, a loan modification that would reduce the rate of interest, extend the payback period, or defer part of the loan balance at no interest.

The FHA 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.

How do you Qualify for an FHA Loan in Lincoln Crest CA?

The FHA makes it relatively simple to qualify for a loan. Again, the government guarantees the loan, so mortgage lenders are more willing to approve home loans. However, lending companies can (and do) set standards that are stricter than FHA requirements. If you’re having trouble with one FHA approved lender near Lincoln Crest CA, you might have better luck with another.

Note: you never know until you submit an app. Even if you think you won’t qualify after reading this page, talk with an FHA approved lender in Lincoln Crest to find out for sure.

Income limits: there are none. You’ll need enough to show that you can repay the loan but these loans are geared towards lower income applicants. If you’re lucky enough to have a high income, you aren’t disqualified like you might be with certain first-time home buyer programs.

FHA Closing Costs

While FHA defines which closing costs are allowable as charges to the borrower, the specific costs and amounts that are deemed reasonable and customary are determined by each local FHA office.

FHA Debt Ratios

In order to prevent home-buyers from getting into a home they cannot afford, FHA qualifications have been set in place requiring borrowers and/or their spouse to qualify according to set debt to income ratios.

FHA Credit Issues

An FHA loan applicant’s past credit performance that attests good credit history and a solid track record of timely payments will likely be eligible for the mortgage.

How to Find FHA Lenders

Borrowers get their home mortgage from FHA-approved lenders in Lincoln Crest rather than the FHA itself, which only guarantees the loans. FHA-approved loan providers can have different rates and expenses, even for the exact same loan.

FHA loans are readily available through numerous sources– from the biggest banks and cooperative credit union to community banks and independent home mortgage loan providers. Expenses, services and underwriting standards differ amongst lending institutions or home loan brokers, so it’s crucial to look around.

Find out more about how to discover low FHA mortgage loan provider.


(Or call 213-474-7389 to ask a local lender anything!)