Make Improvements to Your Home With FHA 203K Rehab Loan

We have all heard the negative news lately about the real estate market and the glut of home foreclosures on the market.  You may be thinking now is the time to take advantage of the low interest rates and purchase a foreclosed home.  But the problem may be some of the foreclosed homes you have seen need a lot of repairs and improvements.  You don’t have the cash to make these repairs.  Well, there is good news and it comes in the form of the FHA 203K Rehab Loan.

There are many benefits for using a FHA 203K Rehab Loan for improvements to a house you are planning on buying.  Also, you can use this FHA Loan Program to refinance your existing mortgage and do repairs and improvement to your existing home.

Some of the benefits of a FHA 203K Streamlined Rehab Loan Are:

1.  The borrower can take out just one mortgage to cover both the purchase of the property and the cost of upgrades.  This loan can be amortized over 30 years, unlike a conventional rehab loan that has a shorter amortization period and higher interest rates.

2.  Like I said before that there is no minimum cost for repairs.  You could use it only to put in an energy-efficient furnace.

3.  There are many different repairs and improvements you can use the loan for.  You can read an article on the list of improvements by clicking on the links at the bottom of this article.

4.  This is not a government loan, it is a FHA insured loan.  There are a lot of FHA Approved Lenders across the country.  Because it is insured by FHA, the FHA Approved Lenders are more willing the make the FHA 203K Rehab Loan.

5.  On of the biggest benefit is the low down payment of 3.5%.  Most conventional rehab loans require a 20% down payment.

6.  Lower interest rate.  Because FHA insures the loan, FHA Approved Lenders can make loans to people that don’t have perfect credit.  That doesn’t mean any one can get a loan, you still have to prove you can pay the loan back.

7.  The FHA 203K Streamline Loan eliminates the need for a consultant, engineers, plans, and consultant’s fees.  This speeds the process up and lowers the costs of the improvements.

As you can see if you are considering buying a home that need repairs or want to make improvements to your own home, the FHA 203K Rehab Loan could be just what you are looking for.

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Interest Rates on 30-Year Mortgages Drop to All-Time Low

According to a report by Freddie Mac this past Thursday, average interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate home loans dropped this week to 3.91%.

English: Mortgage rates historical trends

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It was the fifth consecutive week that the 30-year fixed loan was below 4.00%.

According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage declined from last week’s 3.95%. Average interest rates on 15-year, fixed rate home loans were also down slightly to 3.23%, after last week’s 3.24%  rate. A year ago, the interest rate on the 15-year loan was nearly a point higher at 4.13%.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, states: ”Fixed mortgage rates started the year a little lower this week just as recent data reports indicate the housing market and manufacturing industry are showing signs of improvement.”

According to Freddie Mac, total upfront costs this week for both the 30-year and 15-year, fixed-rate loans averaged .8% of the price of the home being bought. The buyers may also pay closing costs, which are not included in the survey.

However, many buyers won’t get Freddie Mac’s low average rates, Money magazine reported in its December issue. One of the reasons is that Freddie Mac’s low rates require high credit scores and down payments of 20% or more. Freddie Mac spokesman Wandler goes on further to add that Freddie Mac’s average low rates also require more upfront fees than what some consumers are used to paying.

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