FHA PMI Changes 10/4/2010

For about the 5th time in the last 36 months FHA is changing the way it charges Mortgage Insurance.  While this is a pretty major shift in the Way Mortgage Insurance is calculated for FHA, it’s only about a net $20 per $100K borrowed difference. HISTORY of FHA’s PMI (Mortgage Insurance) First off, it’s not [...]

DRATS! FHA is Getting More Expensive!

As we reported in April, Washington is trying to offset the costs of FHA foreclosures… and so it appears that FHA mortgage Loans are going to get more expensive. Many folks don’t realize that FHA doesn’t really MAKE loans… they just INSURE them. Last week, the House of Representatives gave the FHA power to raise [...]

Congress Making Changes to FHA Mortgages

The House Financial Services Committee acted yesterday to move forward H.R.5072, “FHA Reform Act of 2010″ which, in part, makes a move to raise the ceiling on annual FHA mortgage insurance premiums. FHA does not make mortgages loans, they INSURE them. As an INSURANCE Agency, they are required to hold reserves against any claims  - [...]

FHA PMI update

This is an update to an earlier post reagarding FHA’s version of Mortgage Insurance (which is sometimes referred to as PMI). As we mentioned, FHA mortgages have a one-time mortgage insurance premium, known as upfront mortgage insurance. The cost of this insurance has bounced around alot this year – and is NOW 2.25% of the [...]

Mortgage Insurance vs Default Insurance

Mortgage Insurance and Default Insurance are virtually the same thing. They are called by different acronyms, dependant upon the mortgage loan program you are using to finance your home. It was put into place in the early 1970s to protect lenders against giganitc losses created by large numbers of foreclosure (like the economic conditions we find ourselves in today!) Mark Flanders, of Spokane wrote a great article on potential ways to AVOID paying PMI – although these options are quickly going away.

How do FHA Loans Work?

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has several programs to help folks with homeownership.  An FHA loan is a loan insured against default by the government.  Because of this guarantee, lenders in this day and time are more interested in making FHA loans than ever! FHA loans are not for everybody.  However, they are great loans [...]