Florida FHA Loan

Florida is known as the sunshine state and a haven for buying and finding really good real estate property. The fact for most home buyers is, when you need a home, you will require a home loan and who best to work with than 1st Continental Mortgage and our many FHA loan programs. When we talk about a Florida FHA loan, there is a FHA loan limit applicable in different counties and these change to keep up with market conditions.

For example: Baker County in Jacksonville, FL has a one family loan limit of $294,500; a two family loan limit of $331,700; a three family loan limit of $403,000 and a four family loan limit of $465,000. Similarly the non metro county of Lafayette has a one family loan limit of $200,160; a two family loan limit of $256,248; a three family loan limit of $309,744 and a four family loan limit of $384,936. So basically the loan limit in Lafayette is less than that of Baker County.

FHA is a part of HUD and the first thing looked at before issuing a Florida FHA mortgage is that you as a borrower have demonstrated a good repayment history for all your debts within the last 12 months. The credit history basically outlines your willingness to pay back your Florida FHA loan, the same loan that you will hopefully be getting from 1st Continental Mortgage, a Florida mortgage company, and not directly from the FHA. FHA insures the loans underwritten and approved by various Florida mortgage companies. FHA also provides security to the mortgage lenders in case you default on a loan and hence the Florida lenders will be more than willing to offer you the best FHA loan at some of the lowest interest rates in the market.

If your credit history, in spite of sufficient income, keeps on reflecting late payments, and delinquent credit accounts, then approving your loan may be impossible without sufficient documentation and explanation. Here's a brief synopsis of various credit underwriting guidelines for a FHA home loan:

1. Credit history: You as a borrower will need to have a minimum of 4 trade lines. If they are not reflected on your credit report, we can use alternative credit such as phone bills, utilities and rent.
2. Credit obligations: An installment loan like a student loan or a car loan, which has less than 10 months remaining does not have to be included for a FL FHA home loan qualification. The things that can be considered will include large debts, and this is independent of the number of months. If you have an open revolving account that doesn't show any balance then a $10 fee per open account may be included for qualification.
3. Bankruptcy, Chapter 7: Florida FHA requires a minimum time of 2 years since the time of discharge of the bankruptcy. You will have to attach an explanation of the bankruptcy along with your bankruptcy discharge documentation. You will also have to show a reestablished credit without any late payments. In some instances, under our FHA credit flex program we can consider a bankruptcy discharged as little as 12 months ago.
4. Bankruptcy, Chapter 13: FL FHA will consider you for a FHA loan if you are still paying on a Chapter 13 bankruptcy provided all your payments have been made to the court satisfactorily within the previous 1 year.
5. Foreclosures: You need to make sure than when you are applying for the Florida FHA loan, you do not have any pending foreclosure on your property or a foreclosure in the last three years.
6. Federal debt: Before you apply for a FL FHA mortgage, make sure that you don't have any defaults on other federal debts. A federal debt can include a past; FHA Loan, VA mortgages, SBA loans and student loans.

Qualifying for Florida FHA loans

In a nut shell, it's typically easier to qualify for FHA home loans in Florida as compared to conventional loans with like kind terms and conditions. The FHA loans are underwritten and funded by a FL mortgage lender like 1st Continental Mortgage Some of the benefits of a Florida Federal Housing Administration home loan are:

• FHA loans offer tax deductible interest
• You can acquire equity over a certain period of time
• The closing costs on the FHA loans are regulated
• There are no set income limits
• The credit criteria for qualification is lenient as compared to other loans
• They are fully assumable
• Absolutely never a prepayment penalty
• And Much More