How To Qualify For FHA Loan in Tejon Ranch California (Kern County)
Looking for an FHA Loan in Tejon Ranch California?
An FHA loan is a mortgage 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 credit 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 lending companies with adequate insurance; and to help spark the housing market by making home loans more accessible and attainable for people with less than stellar credit or a low down payment due to FHA mortgage limits in Tejon Ranch, California. Essentially, the federal government insures loans for FHA-approved mortgage companies in order to reduce their risk of loss if a borrower defaults on their mortgage payments.
Because of that insurance, lenders can, and do, offer FHA mortgages at beneficial 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.
(Or call 213-474-7389 to ask a local lender anything!)
Benefits of FHA Loans: Low Down Payments and Less Strict Credit Score Requirements
Typically an FHA loan in Tejon Ranch is one of the easiest types of mortgage loans to get approved 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 home 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 mortgage loan is that it’s an assumable mortgage which means if you want to sell your home, 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 Kern 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 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 procedure.
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 enable 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 modification. This insures that the payment adjustment will be minimal 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 house. Rather, the borrower pays a monthly or annual 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 Kern 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 look at each of them.
- FHA 203( k) loans – These FHA loans assist homebuyers acquire a home– and renovate it– all with a single home mortgage. Property owners can likewise use the program to re-finance their existing home loan and include the cost of redesigning projects into the new loan. FHA 203( k) loans been available in two types:
- The restricted 203( k) has a much easier application procedure, and the repairs or enhancements should amount to $35,000 or less.
- The standard 203( k) requires additional paperwork and applies to improvements costing more than $5,000, but the total value of the property should still fall within the FHA home mortgage limit for the location.
- House Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM – A HECM is a popular kind of reverse home mortgage and is likewise guaranteed by the FHA. A HECM enables older property owners (aged 62 and up) with significant equity or those who own their houses outright to withdraw a portion of their house’s equity. The amount that will be offered for withdrawal varies by debtor and depends on the age of the youngest borrower or eligible non-borrowing partner, current rate of interest and the lower of the home’s evaluated value or the HECM FHA home loan limitation or prices.
- FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program – Energy efficient home loans backed by the FHA enable homebuyers to acquire houses that are already energy effective, such as EnergyStar-certified buildings. Or they can be used to buy and renovate older homes with energy-efficient, or “green,” updates and roll the expenses of the upgrades into the loan without a larger down payment.
- FHA Section 245( a) loan – Also called the Graduated Payment Mortgage, this program is geared at debtors whose incomes will increase over time. You begin with smaller sized month-to-month payments that gradually go up. 5 particular strategies are available: three strategies that enable five years of increasing payments at 2.5 percent, 5 percent and 7.5 percent every year. 2 other strategies set payment increases over 10 years at 2 percent and 3 percent every year.
(Or call 213-474-7389 to ask a local lender anything!)
FHA Loan Limits for 2023
For 2019, the flooring limit for FHA loans in the majority of the country 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 reaction to changing house costs.
FHA is required by law to change its amounts based on the loan limitations set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, for conventional mortgages guaranteed or owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ceiling and floor limits differ according to the cost of living in a particular area, and can be different from one county to the next. Locations with a greater cost of living will have greater limitations, and vice versa. Unique exceptions are produced real estate in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands, where home building and construction is more expensive.
FHA Loan Relief
Loan servicers can offer some flexibility on FHA loan requirements to those who have actually suffered a severe financial difficulty or are having a hard time to make their payments.
That relief might be in the form of a short-lived period of forbearance, a loan modification that would reduce the rate of interest, extend the payback duration, 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 Tejon Ranch CA?
The FHA makes it relatively simple to qualify for a home loan. Again, the government guarantees the loan, so mortgage lenders are more willing to approve loans. However, mortgage lenders can (and do) set standards that can be stricter than FHA requirements. If you’re having trouble with one FHA approved lender near Tejon Ranch CA, you might have better luck with choosing 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 Tejon Ranch 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 fortunate 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 guidelines 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 demonstrates good credit history and a solid track record of timely payments will likely be eligible for the mortgage.
How to Find FHA Lenders
Customers get their home mortgage from FHA-approved lenders in Tejon Ranch instead of the FHA itself, which only guarantees the loans. FHA-approved lending institutions can have different rates and costs, even for the same loan.
FHA loans are readily available through numerous sources– from the greatest banks and credit unions to community banks and independent home mortgage lenders. Costs, services and underwriting standards differ among lending institutions or home mortgage brokers, so it’s important to shop around.
Find out more about how to find low FHA home loan lender.
