Take Note: FHA Streamline Loans
have new, tougher requirements
The FHA Streamline refinance is still an option for
those who currently hold an FHA loan to lower payments.
As of November 17, 2009, however, it was announced that
there would be major areas where FHA would tighten requirements
for the FHA Streamline.
In summary, these are the stricter guidelines:
- FHA homeowners must now be employed at the time of
application
- FHA homeowners must now verify cash needed
at closing
- FHA homeowners must now commission a
full appraisal in order to add "roll in" closing
costs to the refinance
- FHA homeowners must have
made at least 6 payments; and if less than 12
payments made, payment history
must be clean.
Prior to the announcement of the tougher qualifications,
the main point of the FHA Streamline was to help
its homeowners to lower payments however possible.
Helping
homeowners to lower monthly mortgage payments helped
FHA to lower its overall credit risk, so they were
willing to help those homeowners regardless of
work status or
lost value to the home. FHA is now tightening requirements
as part of an effort to control losses in association
with its loan programs. If you want more information
on the FHA streamline or any other options to lower
your payments, contact us for a free evaluation!
The Veterans Administration also
offers a similar program. Call us
for details! |
