FHA Too Expensive for Home Buyers. There Are Other Options.

FHA says they should have done less business in the past and (to pay for their sins) they should do less business in the future. To help that process along, they drastically increased the Up Front Mortgage Insurance Premium, doubled the cost of the Monthly Insurance Premium, and will require the MIP to be paid for the life of the loan.

Guess what? Their wish is coming true!  The Government Agency created in 1934 to “assist in providing housing opportunities” for American families saw their application volume drop by 50% in June. At a time when mortgage rates were near all time lows, FHA priced them self out of the market. Great help they are!

Many features of a FHA Mortgage make it an attractive mortgage option for First Home Buyers. However, the cost of the mortgage insurance makes the monthly obligation too expensive. I’m working on two transactions now. Each has challenges that could have been addressed with a FHA loan in the past.  One will be done as a conventional mortgage with a higher rate but lower MI for a savings of $60/month; the other, luckily, as a USDA Loan with a similar rate and MI that is 1/3 the cost of FHA premiums.

I don’t think I’ll recommend a FHA loan to my clients unless that’s the only way to get them in a new home.