FHA "Jumbo" ??? ?????? (loan, interest rate, requirements, rate)

[enigmakairos]

Ok, I'm scared. It seems there are entirely too many people in this field who haven't a clue what they're talking about. Out of 6 brokers/lenders, 3 say we're going to take a hit on the interest rate because our loan falls into the category of an FHA "jumbo." Not to be confused with the conventional jumbo categorization. An FHA Jumbo still falls within Freddie/Fannie definition of conventional, but none the less is considered a 'jumbo' and is accompanied by a nice, big, fat interest rate increase.

The other 3 say there's no such thing as an FHA Jumbo.

ARRRGH.

Either way, 3 of them are completely incompetent. Which one is right/wrong??

[Daddys///M3]

It depends on your market. Anything over $362K is FHA Jumbo, and you absolutely will see an interest rate hit. If your county's max FHA loan limit is still less than $362K, then there is no FHA Jumbo for you. The differences between FHA and conventional are underwriting guidelines, down payment requirements, and MI requirements. A comparison between FHA and conventional conforming is apples to oranges, so that should not factor in at all unless you can qualify for a conventional conforming loan in which case you should not really be looking at an FHA Jumbo program.

[enigmakairos]

Thanks. Just about everything else, I'm clear on. I'm not comparing FHA to conventional, just trying to make clear that the "jumbo" i'm referring to is unrelated to the jumbo rate of conventional mortgages. I'm kind of tired of people not reading posts clearly and answering the wrong question.
I'm also pretty clear on most of the basics of conventionals (and then some). I'm just amazed that half the brokers I've talked to (that claim to have experience with FHA loans) deny there is even such a thing as an FHA Jumbo.

Yes, it's the product we need, the question we've been trying to answer between ourselves was whether the work we want to do on the house (we want to do a 203k loan) is worth doing if it bumps us over the 'jumbo' amount; we already know that the FHA limit in our purchase area is $406. With the jumbo amount starting at $326, we'll be over that regardless, so we can continue to plow forward with the 203k.

Again, thanks.

[renriq02]

Fannie Mae limits are up to 417k
Fannie Mae Jumbo limits go up to 729k. Also known as Conforming Jumbo

FHA limits vary by county, but go up to 362k with no price hits.
FHA Jumbo limits go up to 729, and have a higher pricing when over 362k.
Your county will need to be eligible in order to surpass the 362k limit.

Not ALL lenders offer FHA Jumbo or Conforming Jumbo

FHA Jumbo rates can be from 0.25% to 0.375% HIGHER in rate than normal FHA rates

[renriq02]

Not sure if the new FHA Jumbo limits apply to 203k.

I would call HUD directly to get the answer from the horse's mouth.

Tollfree:(800) CALLFHA or (800) 225-5342

Originally Posted by enigmakairos

Thanks. Just about everything else, I'm clear on. I'm not comparing FHA to conventional, just trying to make clear that the "jumbo" i'm referring to is unrelated to the jumbo rate of conventional mortgages. I'm kind of tired of people not reading posts clearly and answering the wrong question.
I'm also pretty clear on most of the basics of conventionals (and then some). I'm just amazed that half the brokers I've talked to (that claim to have experience with FHA loans) deny there is even such a thing as an FHA Jumbo.

Yes, it's the product we need, the question we've been trying to answer between ourselves was whether the work we want to do on the house (we want to do a 203k loan) is worth doing if it bumps us over the 'jumbo' amount; we already know that the FHA limit in our purchase area is $406. With the jumbo amount starting at $326, we'll be over that regardless, so we can continue to plow forward with the 203k.

Again, thanks.

[enigmakairos]

Originally Posted by renriq02

Not sure if the new FHA Jumbo limits apply to 203k.

I would call HUD directly to get the answer from the horse's mouth.

Tollfree:(800) CALLFHA or (800) 225-5342

Ooooh. Good idea. I'll be the first one calling in tomorrow morning...oh wait, this is a gub'ment agency. I'll call at 11. People should start sauntering into their offices by then, yes?

Thanks

[renriq02]

The longest I waited was about 2-3minutes.

I was surprised when they picked up soo early....

I usually put ppl on hold and get fresh coffee.

[jctx]

Are the requirements similar for an FHA and an FHA Jumbo? What are the major differences, or is it just that one is for a loan below the county's allowable per the website and one is above that? Other than this, is the difference just in the higher interest rate? How does one qualify for the Jumbo? Thanks all.

[jctx]

Also...are the FHA Jumbo limits from March 2008 the same as they are today, or have they changed? Thank you (just found the list as of March).

[ShanetheMortgageMan]

Originally Posted by jctx

Are the requirements similar for an FHA and an FHA Jumbo? What are the major differences, or is it just that one is for a loan below the county's allowable per the website and one is above that? Other than this, is the difference just in the higher interest rate? How does one qualify for the Jumbo? Thanks all.

FHA Jumbo's need to be within county limits. Anything over $362,790 is considered an FHA Jumbo, anything at or below that number is just a regular FHA mortgage, so if the county limit is less than $362,790 an FHA Jumbo loan is not available there.

FHA loan limits are still currently what they were in March of 2008 but on 1/1/09 they are being reduced in most areas. You can check current & 2009 limits at https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/hicostlook.cfm