How To Qualify For FHA Loan in Yorba Linda California (Orange County)

How To Qualify For FHA Loan in Yorba Linda California (Orange County)

Looking for an FHA Loan in Yorba Linda California?

FHA loans have been a flexible mortgage program that’s been around since the 1930’s and is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Popular with first-time home-buyers, FHA home loans require flexible minimum credit scores and down payments than many commonplace loans.

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 crucial to remember though, that the lower the credit rating, the higher the interest borrowers will pay. Something also worth noting is that the FHA loan limits affect your FHA mortgage insurance – its just part of the FHA loan requirements.

The FHA program was created in response to the increase of foreclosures and defaults that happened in 1930s; to provide mortgage lenders with adequate insurance; and to help grow the housing market by making mortgages more accessible and affordable for consumers with less than stellar credit or a low down payment due to FHA mortgage limits in Yorba Linda, California. Essentially, the federal government insures loans for FHA-approved lenders in order to reduce their risk of loss if a borrower defaults on their home loan payments.

Because of that insurance, mortgage companies can, and do, offer FHA home loans at beneficial mortgage loan interest 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

Typically an FHA loan in Yorba Linda 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 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 scenario.

Another advantage of an FHA loan is that it’s an assumable loan 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 Orange 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 make it possible for 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 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.

About Yorba Linda California

The area is the house of the Tongva, Luiseño, and also Juaneño tribal countries, that existed “as very early as 4,000 years back.” The Tongva defined their world as Tovaangar, a country which “extended from Palos Verdes to San Bernardino, from Saddleback Mountain to the San Fernando Valley” as well as included the whole territory of contemporary Yorba Linda. Spanish emigration between 1769 as well as 1840 brought “disease, intrusive species, and also livestock” right into the location, which “upended the eco-friendly equilibrium of the region and required the Tongva to transplant around three goals.”

In 1810, the Spanish crown given José Antonio Yorba 63,414 acres of land, which “spread throughout much of modern-day Orange County.” In 1834, complying with Mexico’s freedom from Spain, Yorba’s most successful boy, Bernardo Yorba (after whom the city would later be named), was approved the 13,328-acre (53.94 kilometres) Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana by Mexican governor José Figueroa. Many of this original land was preserved after the Mexican– American War in 1848 by offspring of the Yorba family members. A part of the city’s land is still owned and developed by descendants of Samuel Kraemer, who acquired it with his marital relationship to Angelina Yorba, the great-granddaughter of Bernardo Yorba. The website of the Bernardo Yorba Hacienda, referred to as the Don Bernardo Yorba Ranch House Site, is detailed as a California Historical Landmark.

Near that very same website rests the second earliest exclusive burial ground in the area, the historical Yorba Cemetery. The land was offered to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Bernardo Yorba in 1858 considering that Orange County was not developed out of Los Angeles County as a different county up until 1889. The cemetery closed in 1939 and also was consequently ruined; nevertheless, in the 1960s, the Orange County Board of Supervisors seized the home to fix the damage, and also trips are currently offered someday per month.

An area of the land was marketed in 1907 by the Yorba household to Fullerton businessman Jacob Stern, who utilized the land for barley fields as well as sheep grazing. Stern ultimately marketed the system to the Janss Investment Company, which initially called the location Yorba Linda, and proceeded to partition the land as well as offer it for agriculture as well as manufacturing.

In 1912, a number of things took place in Yorba Linda: it received its initial post office; the Yorba Linda Citrus Association was established; the Southern California Edison Company started offering electricity; and the very first church was built. The location that would later become midtown was additionally linked to Los Angeles by the Pacific Electric Railway in 1912, mostly for citrus transport.

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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 home loan 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 Orange 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 Home Loans

In addition to its popular FHA loan, the FHA likewise insures other loan programs offered by personal lending institutions. Here’s a look at each of them.

  • FHA 203( k) loans – These FHA loans assist property buyers buy a home– and refurbish it– all with a single home mortgage. Homeowners can also use the program to refinance their current mortgage and add the cost of redesigning tasks into the new loan. FHA 203( k) loans can be found in two types:
    • The restricted 203( k) has an easier application process, and the repairs or enhancements must total $35,000 or less.
    • The basic 203( k) requires additional documents and applies to enhancements costing more than $5,000, but the overall worth of the home should still fall within the FHA home mortgage limit for the location.
  • House Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM – A HECM is a popular type of reverse mortgage and is also guaranteed by the FHA. A HECM enables older homeowners (aged 62 and up) with considerable equity or those who own their homes outright to withdraw a part of their home’s equity. The quantity that will be readily available for withdrawal varies by debtor and depends on the age of the youngest borrower or qualified non-borrowing spouse, current interest rates and the lower of the home’s assessed value or the HECM FHA home loan limitation or list prices.
  • FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) program – Energy effective home mortgages backed by the FHA permit property buyers to acquire houses that are currently energy efficient, such as EnergyStar-certified buildings. Or they can be utilized to purchase and renovate older homes with energy-efficient, or “green,” updates and roll the expenses of the upgrades into the loan without a larger deposit.
  • FHA Section 245( a) loan – Also known as the Graduated Payment Mortgage, this program is geared at customers whose earnings will increase over time. You start with smaller month-to-month payments that gradually increase. Five particular plans are offered: three strategies that allow 5 years of increasing payments at 2.5 percent, 5 percent and 7.5 percent each year. 2 other plans set payment boosts over 10 years at 2 percent and 3 percent yearly.

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FHA Loan Limits for 2023

For 2019, the floor limitation for FHA loans in the majority of the country is $314,827, up from $294,515 in 2018. For high-cost locations, the ceiling is $726,525, up from $679,650 a year earlier. These limitations are described as “ceilings” and “floors” that FHA will insure. FHA updates restrict quantities each year in response to altering home rates.

FHA is required by law to change its amounts based upon the loan limitations set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, for standard home mortgages guaranteed or owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ceiling and floor limitations vary according to the cost of living in a specific location, and can be different from one county to the next. Areas with a greater expense 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 construction is more pricey.

FHA Loan Relief

Loan servicers can use some versatility on FHA loan requirements to those who have actually suffered a severe monetary difficulty or are struggling to make their payments.

That relief might be in the form of a short-term period of forbearance, a loan adjustment that would lower the interest rate, extend the payback period, or postpone 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 Yorba Linda CA?

The FHA makes it relatively easy to qualify for a mortgage. Again, the government guarantees the loan, so lenders are more willing to approve mortgages. However, lenders can (and do) set standards that may be stricter than FHA requirements. If you’re having trouble with one FHA approved lender near Yorba Linda CA, you might have better luck with choosing another.

Note: you never know until you put in an application. Even if you think you won’t qualify after reading this page, talk with an FHA approved lender in Yorba Linda to find out for sure.

Income limits: there are none. You’ll need enough to show that you can repay the mortgage but these loans are geared towards lower income borrowers. 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 shows good credit history and a solid track record of timely payments will likely be eligible for the home loan.

How to Find FHA Lenders

Borrowers get their home loans from FHA-approved lenders in Yorba Linda rather than the FHA itself, which just guarantees the loans. FHA-approved lenders can have different rates and costs, even for the very same loan.

FHA loans are offered through numerous sources– from the greatest banks and cooperative credit union to community banks and independent mortgage lending institutions. Costs, services and underwriting requirements vary among loan providers or mortgage brokers, so it’s essential to search.

Learn more about how to discover low FHA mortgage loan provider.


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