FHA Loans

What is an FHA Loan?

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established in 1934 to improve housing standards and conditions and to provide an adequate home financing system through insurance of mortgages. Families that would otherwise be excluded from the housing market were finally able to buy the home of their dreams.

An FHA loan allows you to buy a house with as little as 3% down, instead of the higher percentages required to secure many conventional loans. Taking advantage of the FHA loan program is a great way for first time buyers, or anyone with a shortage of down payment funds, to buy a home.

The FHA does not make home loans--it insures them. If a home buyer defaults, the lender is paid from the insurance fund. This is a perfect mortgage solution for those starting out or those having a tough time qualifying for conventional loans.

FHA vs. Conventional Home Loans

The main advantage of FHA home loans is that the credit qualifying criteria for a borrower is not as strict as conventional financing. FHA will allow the borrower who has had a few "credit problems" or those without a credit history to buy a home. FHA will require a reasonable explanation of these derogatory items, but will approach a person's credit history with common sense credit underwriting. Most notably, borrowers with extenuating circumstances surrounding bankruptcy that was discharged 2 years ago can work around the credit hurdles they created in their past. Conventional financing, on the other hand, relies heavily upon credit scoring. Credit scoring is a rating given by a credit bureau (such as Experian, Trans-Union, or Equifax) that ranks you upon your credit profile. For each inquiry, credit derogatory or public record that shows up in your credit report, your score is lowered (even if such items are in error). If your score is below the minimum standard, you will not qualify--end of story.

I've had a bankruptcy in recent years. Can I get an FHA loan?

Generally a bankruptcy will not preclude a borrower from obtaining an FHA loan. Ideally, a borrower should have re-established a minimum of two credit accounts (such as a credit card, car loan, etc.) and wait 2 years since the discharge of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or have a minimum of 1 year of repayment with a Chapter 13 (the borrower must also seek permission of the courts to allow this). Furthermore, the borrower should not have any late payments, collections, or credit charge-offs since the discharge of the bankruptcy.

Although rare, if a borrower has suffered through extenuating circumstances (such as surviving cancer but had to declare bankruptcy because the medical bills were too much) special exceptions can be made.