The 2015 FHA Loan Handbook for Home Buyers

Do you plan to use an FHA-insured mortgage loan to buy a home? Need straight answers about the program? You've come to the right place. The 2015 FHA Loan Handbook was written for home buyers and mortgage shoppers like you.

The publishers of the Home Buying Institute and QualifiedMortgage.org have joined together to publish a consumer-friendly, 60-page handbook on the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance program. The 2015 FHA Handbook explains this popular financing program in layman's terms that anyone can understand.

It was written specifically for home buyers and mortgage shoppers (as opposed to lenders). It offers clear and straightforward explanations of all FHA requirements and criteria -- credit scores, debt ratios, loan limits and more. You can download the e-book in PDF format for instant access.

The 2015 FHA Handbook: A Great Place to Begin Your Research

Our FHA handbook is not meant to replace the official guidelines and policies published by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It's simply a good place to begin your research. Here's why:

HUD is the official source for FHA guidelines because they manage the program. But the average home buyer will quickly become lost on the HUD website. That's because it offers dozens of handbooks relating to the FHA program. Collectively, they add up to more than 10,000 pages of information (no exaggeration). And most of that information is written for mortgage lenders, in the form of underwriting guidelines, document-filing procedures and the like. The HUD website is simply not the place to go for an overview of the program.

That's where our 2015 FHA Handbook comes into the picture. It offers a consumer-friendly overview of FHA guidelines, requirements and procedures. It is current, convenient, and written specifically for home buyers. It's a great place to begin your research!

An Overview of Loan Requirements and Qualification Procedures

Considering an FHA loan? If so, you probably have dozens of questions about how the program works, and what it takes to get approved. That's where this book comes in. We have taken thousands of pages of supporting documentation and boiled them down to an accessible 60-page handbook.

The 2015 FHA Handbook explains the basic program requirements in plain English, including:

  • The application, underwriting and approval process
  • Basic eligibility rules for borrowers
  • Credit score requirements and industry trends
  • Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio limits
  • Down-payment rules and requirements
  • Minimum property requirements and appraisal procedures
  • Compensating factors and other exceptions to the rules

If you have any questions about this e-book, or our website, please let us know.

About the Editor: Brandon Cornett

The FHA Handbook website and e-book were created by Brandon Cornett. Brandon is a full-time mortgage writer and creator of the Home Buying Institute. He has been researching and writing about mortgage loans for nearly a decade and is cited across thousands of website and blogs. He is one of the most widely published housing bloggers in the U.S., cited by the San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post, PBS and thousands more.