On the surface, you might think the FHA home purchase program has some things going against it. FHA loans require a 1.75% up front fee rolled in to the loan and FHA loans include monthly mortgage insurance for the life of the loan as well. But there several tremendous advantages of the FHA program that keep it very popular.
1. Lenient credit requirements: While a minimum credit score of 620 is needed in most cases, the FHA is significantly more lenient on past credit blemishes than any of the other programs out there. The wait period after a chapter 13 bankruptcy in just 12 months and for chapter 7 bankruptcy it is just two years. The wait period after a foreclosure or short sale is just 3 years. And with FHA loans, while some outstanding collections must be paid off the FHA tends to allow medical collections to remain unsettled.
2. Less strict debt to income requirements: While the USDA and Fannie/Freddie purchase programs have very strict debt to income requirements, the FHA (and VA) programs tend to allow the ratios to stretch higher.
3. Lower and easier down payment requirements: The FHA only requires a 3.5% down payment. The minimum down payment for the Fannie/Freddie programs is 5%. Further, the FHA allows the 3.5% down payment to be given as a gift from family members. Other programs tend to be more strict about the down payment money coming from the borrower.
4. The FHA program is available to all: The VA program is only available to eligible military veterans and USDA rural housing program only applies to eligible areas considered sufficiently rural. While there are FHA restrictions on some condo complexes, the FHA program works on all single family homes in the US.
To learn more about the available government home purchase programs, including the FHA program, contact us on our home purchase page today.