So much as been said lately in our area about home mortgages being difficult to obtain, or a high amount of a down payment would be needed.

In Macomb County MI the FHA loan limit for 2009 will be $271,050.  I don't know about you, but $271,050 seems to me to be a nice sized mortgage limit for homes or condos in our local market.

Many buyers are still under the misconception that FHA loans are subpar compared to conventional mortgages.   I can talk about all the ways that FHA is actually a superior mortgage product, but I thought I would let an FHA expert show you how FHA compares to a conventional mortgage.

Jeff, thank you for putting into words what many of us real estate agents have been trying to convey to our
home buyers.  You did an excellent job with this informative article!

 

 

 

Via Jeff Belonger -- The FHA Expert.com -- FHA Loans -- FHA mortgages -- Mortgages :

fha loans & fha mortgages

FHA loans have been more wisely used in recent months as the choice of mortgages. What I hate hearing is that they have taken the spot of the subprime loans. This is not true by any part of the imagination. This statement is from those that are inexperienced in both the mortgage and the real estate industries. The realization has been that 30% of the subprime mortgages in the last 5 years previous to the last 2 years should have been FHA mortgages, not subprime.

The subprime loan for many years could go down to a 500 credit score, depending on your equity position. But your rate was usually higher. If your score was higher, the less you needed to put down, the lower your rate. Sounds good, right?  Wrong, because the subprime rate was always higher than the FHA rates.

To compound this, so many said just because you had a conventional loan, you had the better loan. This was not always true when putting 3 percent down. In most cases, you were told this, because that particular lender was not FHA approved. Now?  Even with 10% down and credit scores less than 680, FHA loans in most cases, will be the best mortgage for you.

 

 

So you could argue the fact that this is just my opinion, that FHA mortgages in many cases would be better for you. True, even though I have over 16 years of experience as a loan officer in the mortgage industry. But numbers don't lie. Let me show you.....

The example below is based on a $300,000 purchase price with 5% down. One reason why conventional rates are a little higher in this scenario as in FHA rates is because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have added penalties per se. If you are putting down less than 30% and your credit score is less than 720, certain fee penalties would apply to you, which would increase your rate.  The FICO (credit score) that I am going to use is 659, which is above the average credit score and I will still show in this example that FHA loans are cheaper, even with 5% down.  

***And keep in mind, some lenders have penalties on FHA mortgages with credit scores under 620. And many lenders can't do FHA loans under 580. I can still do credit scores down to 500 with a manual underwrite.***

fha loans vs conventional loans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer :  These rates are based on today's rates for a 30 year mortgage and can change any time because of various market conditions. To compare this scenario apples to apples, the fees are the same and with zero points. In this scenario, there are no lender fees or points. The conventional rate also includes the penalty for the 659 credit score.

 

Some of you might be saying that you will be adding $4,897.00 onto your principal balance if you did the FHA mortgage because of the FHA one-time mortgage insurance premium. This is correct and I don't want to confuse you with more numbers and charts. But here is a quick breakdown. If you kept your house for 5 years, which most people sell in a 6 year period, you would have saved $12,770.40 in payments in 5 years. This is a difference of $7,773.40 that you have saved!!!   And one other thing that is very small, but still makes a difference. You will be subtracting a few more dollars per month from your principal because your interest rate is lower, which would offset the interest that you would write off on the 7.000% rate. Just something else to remember, but consult your tax consultant or CPA. 

 

 

 

 

- FHA Loans - FHA Mortgages - Conventional Loans - VA Loans -

Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

 

________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information on how you can obtain your dream home, please click here : Mortgage Financing Options

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags !!!!!


Copyright © 2008 by Jeff Belonger





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7 Comments on FHA loans vs Conventional loans - A real comparision with 5% down

NOV
17
2008
229,971 Points 2 Featured Posts

Kris,

If you do not have the 20% downpayment, then FHA is a good option.  The rules are friendly to the buyers.

Thank you and Jeff for posting this,

Ann

9:37am • #1
308,886 Points 31 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Very interesting. I wonder if the the FHA stigma will dissapear now that the sub-prime cloud is blown away?

FHA is good for folks who have ratio issues. That's what I remember being told when I first got licensed. High ratios meant higher risks involved. Hmm.

9:37pm • #2
195,045 Points 29 Featured Posts Outside Blog

I think we will see a rebirth of the FHA...and other goverment products also. In our area, VA loans almost became extinct. They are BACK now. Great info. GBU~

11:29pm • #3
NOV
18
2008
255,544 Points 44 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Ann:   Jeff did a great job with this.  So easy for a consumer to follow, yet comprehensive enough to show the differences clearly.  FHA and VA loans have always been a good option for home buyers, people just got away from using them with the availability of low-zero down conventional mortgages.

Greg:  I hope it does, for home sellers especially.  Used to be they would cringe if someone brought up FHA.  There really was no reason for that - yes FHA has guidelines, but they are pretty darned liberal now.   I've had many home buyers use FHA when they didn't have high debt/income ratios because the mortgage made sense financially.  I really like it when a lender lays out the good faith estimate side by side with both products.  Let the buyer see all of this on paper and make the decision.

Elizabeth:   We see many VA buyers in my area due to Selfridge and I'm happy for that.  Great program!  FHA is also making a nice comeback.  I wish it had never fallen by the wayside.

3:52am • #4
480,054 Points 151 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Kris... first, thanks for the reblogg and for the very polite comment and a link back.

 

@ Ann... not necessarily..... depending on your credit scores and such, even 25% to 29% might not be a good fit for a conventional loan and going FHA would be better. There are still pricing hits for those putting less than 30% down, depending on credit scores.

 

@ Greg... that is not exactly true....  I have had people with very low ratios and 700 credit scores, but only 3% to use....  there are many different reasons why FHA might be good. I have written about these here : FHA loans are as bad as you think...

 

Kris... again, thanks for this and for the kind words...

jeff belonger

10:11am • #5
229,971 Points 2 Featured Posts

Jeff,

What types of price hits for not putting down 30%?

Can you do FHA on investment property?

Ann

5:21pm • #6
NOV
19
2008

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Kris Wales - Macomb County MI real estate blog & homes for sale search site

Macomb, MI

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