Many expert agree that now is the time to buy a home in Florida. This is especially holds true for Florida’s first time home buyers. Home prices have come down over 40% in some areas of Florida and interest rates are near historic all time lows.
Here are some tips and advice when shopping for a new home in Florida.
Thinking about applying for a Florida FHA mortgage soon? You might want to get your application and pre approval started today.
Beginning next week, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is changing the mortgage insurance fee chart to U.S. homeowners. For the fourth time since 2010, FHA mortgage insurance premiums are rising for all new home buyers that use FHA financing. For FHA case numbers assigned on, or after, Monday, April 9, 2012, will be two seperate changes. First, FHA Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premiums (UFMIP) will increase by 75 basis points to 1.75%, or $1,750 per $100,000 loan. Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium is paid at closing, and most commonly added to an FHA borrower’s loan amount. The current FHA upfront mortgage insurance rate is 1%.
First time home buyers in FL are often faced with the same question… “ how and where do I start” Below we have outlined some basic info and suggestions before you make that big leap towards homeownership. We have listed these items in order of importance, so start with #1 before proceeded to #2, etc.
The Florida VA guaranteed home loan in one of the best loans for our active and non-active military hero’s. The VA mortgage requires No down payment and there is no PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) saving the VA borrowers thousands during the life of the loan.
The VA loan program can be used for both home purchases and refinancing existing home loans.
Did you know that more than 27 million veterans and active service personnel are eligible for VA financing? Yet many don’t realize that they can use this benefit to buy a home – and they can reuse the benefit to buy another home as well, even if used prior.
Today, Acting Federal Housing (FHA) Commissioner Carol Galante announced significant price cuts to FHA’s Streamline Refinance Program that could benefit millions of borrowers whose mortgages are currently insured by FHA. Beginning June 11, 2012, FHA will lower its Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) to just .01 percent and reduce its annual premium to .55 percent for certain FHA borrowers.
To qualify, borrowers must be current on their existing FHA-insured mortgages which were endorsed on or before May 31, 2009. Late last month, FHA also announced it will increase its upfront premiums on most other loans by 75 basis points to 1.75 percent. In addition, FHA will raise annual premiums 10 basis points and 35 basis points on mortgages higher than $625,500
FHA home loans currently require a 1% onetime funding fee, plus monthly insurance (PMI) to be paid on all FHA mortgages. FHA has announced the costs of both the funding fee and monthly premiums are going up starting April 1st
Effective April 1st
Streamline FHA Refinance Change?
We are frequently asked questions about the FHA and USDA requirements regarding the 90 days title seasoning rule. First a little background on what title seasoning is for those that do not know –
Title seasoning refers to the amount of time a homeowner has been on the deed or held ownership in a property. Title seasoning guidelines exist to limit property flipping by investors. Most mortgages today have title seasoning guidelines (generally 90 days min) to prevent real estate investors from taking advantage of homebuyers for profit.
USDA Rural Housing Loans -
The FHA home loan is a mortgage that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA does not provide money directly to borrowers; rather they insure the mortgage against a default. This makes Federal Housing Administration borrowers particularly attractive to lenders. The lenders know that if the borrower fails to pay, they can come after the FHA for a portion of their money.
Borrowers who pay a down payment of less than 20% of the principal of their home are expected to buy private mortgage insurance (PMI). FHA home loans also require a 1% funding fee that is included in the borrower new loan.
Florida first time homebuyers and current home owners should take a close look the no money down USDA mortgage.
USDA Loan Program highlights:
So you are thinking about taking that big step towards first time homeownership in Florida. For many first time homebuyers the process can be overwhelming and you will have many question. This is to be expected from any first time homebuyer and to help we have outlined some tips and advice to consider before taking the plunge and purchasing your first home in Florida.
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