How the FHA Can Help You Purchase a Home



by Adam Ciboch


If you're a newcomer to real estate transactions, a myriad of different terms and information exist for you to learn. You may be under the impression that it's impossible to purchase a home, given your current financial situation, which has the potential to be all-encompassing and worrisome. You can get help from government programs if you're in a situation like this, though. Familiarize yourself with the FHA.

Federal Housing Administration is what the FHA stands for. In order to help citizens affected by the economic crisis buy homes, it was founded during the Depression era in the 1930s as a government program. The FHA's main purpose has been to help citizens with low to moderate income levels secure housing loans, starting in the 1960s to present, however. Making a down payment may be difficult for these citizens, who also tend to have poor credit.

The Federal Housing Administration is able to offer such loans, because they insure the lenders who are directly providing the loan to the new home owner. If the new home owner stops making payments to their lender, the FHA will cover the loss that the lender suffers. The FHA, as a result, is the only government program that is one hundred percent self-sufficient in that regard. Taxpayers pay no money to keep it operating. Over the years, the FHA has made housing available to thousands of families who otherwise wouldn't have been able to afford a home of their own.

Requirements still must be met, even though the standards for mortgage approval are lower under the FHA program. The person taking out the loan must be able to put 3% of the loan amount down in cash, as one of the requirements. For some people, this might be too high an amount to save up for. You can't have had a foreclosure on a previous home within the past three years either, despite not having to have a perfect credit score.

Several factors must be weighed in determining whether an FHA loan is right for you. In order to qualify for this type of loan, you still need to meet certain requirements. An FHA loan is definitely worth looking into, though, if you do have a poor credit score or a modest income.




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