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FHA is a socialist program inspired by the Leninist New Deal during the Great Depression that made matters worse and drove the economy deeper into recession, requiring a World War, industralization and consumer sacrifice to get us out. Some RE propogandists will tell you it's just another pathway to the "American Dream".
History will repeat itself with it's re-emergence.
FHA is a socialist program inspired by the Leninist New Deal during the Great Depression that made matters worse and drove the economy deeper into recession, requiring a World War, industralization and consumer sacrifice to get us out. Some RE propogandists will tell you it's just another pathway to the "American Dream".
History will repeat itself with it's re-emergence.
Sorry, I couldn't resist
Ahh yes... the FHA loans that Congress is tinkering with so that lower-income folks can get a half million dollar loan, backed with my tax dollars, with virtually no downpayment.
Once prices drop another 10-15%, these "buyers" will be mailing their keys to the bank and the taxpayers will be on the hook for these losses.
On a side note, why doesn't Barney Frank just introduce the legislation that he really wants -- just have the government buy everybody a McMansion.
I had an FHA loan back in 1998. Here is what I remember.
We didn't qualify for a traditional mortgage because we had no credit and the little credit my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband) had so-so credit. We also didn't have 20% or even 10% to put down.
Here was the beauty of the FHA loan.
I was able to use my phone, cable and electric bill as my credit. I provided credit authorization and account numbers to my mortgage company at the time and they did a 12 month history to verify that I had no lates. My boyfriend at the time hadn't had any lates in the last two years so all he had to do was provide letters of explanation on why he was late in the past.
All the lender junk fees were paid by the seller, us, the buyer could not pay any junk fees - so that saved us a lot of money.
The appraisal was very thorough. All section 1 of the termite report had to be completed, we got a roof cert all paid by the seller. We also had a thorough home inspection that was paid by us.
We only had to pay 3% down. We were told the 3% could come as a gift but we had some money in retirement so we were able to use that.
We still had to provide the standard income, asset documentation.
We had to have PMI and also there was 1.5% added to the mortgage amount which was called a Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) which increased our loan amount.
If the FHA program didn't exist at that time we wouldn't have had a home loan. Also, we refinanced out of the FHA loan in 2000. Since we only had the loan about two years we were able to get most of our MIP back. Three weeks after we closed we got a check for the refund on our MIP.
That's what I know about it from past experience.
Last edited by Rose Red; 04-14-2008 at 08:56 AM..
Reason: rambled
In my area FHA loans only go up to about $270k for a single family dwelling....Which would be a pretty nice home by anyone's standards in this area (and actually pretty far beyond my personal means).
I guess I'm one of the few people out there who's thankful for FHA. I wouldn't have been able to buy my first home without it. I came out of college and got married and had a kid a year later. For me it was my family's ticket out of apartment life. (I did put about 4% down though instead of doing 100% financing)
I'm just upset with the folks out there who abused it by pushing it to the limits and bought houses that were way beyond their means....the people who didn't do the math and caculate how much money they made and how much the payment would be. It doesn't take a genious to figure out you can't afford a $200k home on $15/hr. This is one of the many reasons the market is in the toilet. The government and loan officers gave them the rope...they did the rest.
Location: central, between Pepe's Tacos and Roberto's
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rose Red
I had an FHA loan back in 1998. Here is what I remember.
We didn't qualify for a traditional mortgage because we had no credit and the little credit my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband) had so-so credit. We also didn't have 20% or even 10% to put down.
Here was the beauty of the FHA loan.
I was able to use my phone, cable and electric bill as my credit. I provided credit authorization and account numbers to my mortgage company at the time and they did a 12 month history to verify that I had no lates. My boyfriend at the time hadn't had any lates in the last two years so all he had to do was provide letters of explanation on why he was late in the past.
All the lender junk fees were paid by the seller, us, the buyer could not pay any junk fees - so that saved us a lot of money.
The appraisal was very thorough. All section 1 of the termite report had to be completed, we got a roof cert all paid by the seller. We also had a thorough home inspection that was paid by us.
We only had to pay 3% down. We were told the 3% could come as a gift but we had some money in retirement so we were able to use that.
We still had to provide the standard income, asset documentation.
We had to have PMI and also there was 1.5% added to the mortgage amount which was called a Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) which increased our loan amount.
If the FHA program didn't exist at that time we wouldn't have had a home loan. Also, we refinanced out of the FHA loan in 2000. Since we only had the loan about two years we were able to get most of our MIP back. Three weeks after we closed we got a check for the refund on our MIP.
That's what I know about it from past experience.
Great story. This is how the majority of FHA loans work out. My first home was bought with an FHA loan as well, DPA and all. I used it as a stepping stone. It is a great program for young families just starting out, and I originate quite a few FHA loans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by drjones96
In my area FHA loans only go up to about $270k for a single family dwelling....Which would be a pretty nice home by anyone's standards in this area (and actually pretty far beyond my personal means).
I guess I'm one of the few people out there who's thankful for FHA. I wouldn't have been able to buy my first home without it. I came out of college and got married and had a kid a year later. For me it was my family's ticket out of apartment life. (I did put about 4% down though instead of doing 100% financing)
I'm just upset with the folks out there who abused it by pushing it to the limits and bought houses that were way beyond their means....the people who didn't do the math and caculate how much money they made and how much the payment would be. It doesn't take a genious to figure out you can't afford a $200k home on $15/hr. This is one of the many reasons the market is in the toilet. The government and loan officers gave them the rope...they did the rest.
The true beauty of FHA is that you cannot abuse it. It is a standard full doc loan so you can't lie about your income. Debt ratios are pretty tight at 31/43%, although AUS's can push that ratio if there are substantial compensating factors. There is no interest only, and the loans are assumable so it gives the borrower an out if there is an unexpected loss of income.
Ahh yes... the FHA loans that Congress is tinkering with so that lower-income folks can get a half million dollar loan, backed with my tax dollars, with virtually no downpayment.
Once prices drop another 10-15%, these "buyers" will be mailing their keys to the bank and the taxpayers will be on the hook for these losses.
On a side note, why doesn't Barney Frank just introduce the legislation that he really wants -- just have the government buy everybody a McMansion.
FHA loans are capped at a certain amount and you have to have 3% down. You have to qualify for the loan just like any other loan.
Thank you!!! My husband and I bought our first home a few years ago using an FHA loan. We wouldn't have been able to buy a home without FHA. We chose a 30 yr. fixed payment, which was very very good. We are responsible owners and have never made a late payment. I think that where a lot of people got in trouble was when they went with the lure of the 80/20 loans and the ARMs. I mean, which way did they think the rates were going to go in 3-5 years, even lower??? duh.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rose Red
I had an FHA loan back in 1998. Here is what I remember.
We didn't qualify for a traditional mortgage because we had no credit and the little credit my boyfriend at the time (who is now my husband) had so-so credit. We also didn't have 20% or even 10% to put down.
Here was the beauty of the FHA loan.
I was able to use my phone, cable and electric bill as my credit. I provided credit authorization and account numbers to my mortgage company at the time and they did a 12 month history to verify that I had no lates. My boyfriend at the time hadn't had any lates in the last two years so all he had to do was provide letters of explanation on why he was late in the past.
All the lender junk fees were paid by the seller, us, the buyer could not pay any junk fees - so that saved us a lot of money.
The appraisal was very thorough. All section 1 of the termite report had to be completed, we got a roof cert all paid by the seller. We also had a thorough home inspection that was paid by us.
We only had to pay 3% down. We were told the 3% could come as a gift but we had some money in retirement so we were able to use that.
We still had to provide the standard income, asset documentation.
We had to have PMI and also there was 1.5% added to the mortgage amount which was called a Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) which increased our loan amount.
If the FHA program didn't exist at that time we wouldn't have had a home loan. Also, we refinanced out of the FHA loan in 2000. Since we only had the loan about two years we were able to get most of our MIP back. Three weeks after we closed we got a check for the refund on our MIP.
That's what I know about it from past experience.
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