Question: “We made an offer to buy a house with an FHA loan. A few days later, our mortgage lender sent an appraiser to figure out how much the home is worth. The FHA appraisal was below the purchase price amount we have agreed to pay. About 20K below, actually. Now our lender says they […]
The FHA Loan Pre-Approval Process Explained
Are you planning to use an FHA loan to buy a house? If so, it’s probably a good idea to get pre-approved by a lender before you start house hunting. It will help you identify your price range, and will make sellers more inclined to accept your offer. This article explains how the FHA loan […]
The FHA Mortgage Underwriting Process: A Borrower’s Guide
From a borrower’s perspective, underwriting is one of the most important steps in the FHA loan process. It can determine whether or not the loan will be approved and funded. It’s also one of the most “mysterious” steps in the process, especially for first-time home buyers. That’s because buyers usually don’t interact with the underwriter […]
5 Common Reasons for FHA Loan Rejection, and How to Avoid Them
FHA loans tend to have more flexible and “forgiving” qualification criteria, when compared to conventional mortgage financing. But that doesn’t mean everyone can qualify for this program. In fact, thousands of would-be home buyers get turned down for FHA loans every year, and for a wide variety of reasons. In this guide, we will explore […]
How Long Does it Take an FHA Loan to Close?
We receive a lot of FHA-related questions by email that start with the words “how long.” How long does it take to get approved for an FHA loan? How long do they take to close? And so on. So I thought it might be helpful to compile a few of those FAQs onto one page. […]
Do FHA Loans Require PMI Insurance for Life of the Loan?
Reader question: “I have heard that FHA home loans are popular with home buyers because they don’t require PMI insurance. But then I read something that said the insurance costs can be even higher on government-insured mortgages than with conventional, and that I would have to pay the policy for the life of the loan. […]