After spending the past few years researching and getting feedback from lenders and home buyers, Fannie Mae announced that it will provide an enhanced affordable lending product designed to be more flexible to meet the financial needs of responsible, credit-worthy buyers.
The program has new guidelines (like I've never seen before!) to meet the many financial challenges today's would-be homebuyers are facing. Many can't afford a large down payment, they may have multiple student loans, and/or they may rely on income from non-traditional sources, such as parents or other family members. These factors have impacted the ability of a lot of people from qualifying for a mortgage. Well, that may be about to change . . . perhaps for YOU!
The new program, called the HomeReady™ Mortgage, will be available from lenders later this year, and will offer expanded eligibility guidelines that will be real game changers for a lot of people who could not previously qualify for a mortgage. If any of these new guidelines apply to you, then this may be the year when you realize your dream of homeownship!
All information is believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified with a real estate professional. CENTURY 21 Lakeside Realty Is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® Equal Housing Opportunity.
In January FHA decreased its annual premium by 50 basis points. This reduction has helped fuel the increase in new loans, which can also be attributed to an improving economy and falling delinquency rates.
FHA loans are mortgages that are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is an agency of the federal government within the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). Because the mortgages are insured by FHA, protecting lenders against buyer default, lenders can offer FHA loans at attractive interest rates with more flexible and less stringent qualification requirements.
First, a pre-approval letter is not the same as a pre-qualification letter. A pre-qualification letter can be generated in a few minutes by calling a lender, or on line, and is based on information you provide and a quick credit check. A pre-approval letter, on the other hand, requires verification of income, employment and financial information. It is an actual approval of you, the buyer, subject to the property meeting lender appraisal guidelines.